Christmas Cards - is this a thing?

[WhatwouldCJdo]

Had several emails /social media messages of
"Hi, instead of spending and sending Christmas Cards, I am donating money to MyFavCharity. Here's the link to donate to."

I get the donate to charity instead of sending cards.
But am I expected to donate to all their charities because they don't want to send cards?

Am I missing the point,?

I think it's just a load of wanky virtue signalling. I don't get what sending Christmas cards and donating to charity have to do with each other or why they are somehow mutually exclusive.

Also didn't Jesus teach not to boast about giving to charity?

I do this for some people. It's not virtuous it's because I hate to think of the environmental effects of all these Christmas cards. I send cards to people I've not seen but those who I see get told we've donated to charity. Also the level of consumerism at this time of year when so many have nothing just doesn't seem right.

I've worked in the charity sector for years and I know what a difference a small donation can make.

Oh but I do not suggest people do the same. That is a bit shit!

No OP, they are donating to charity instead of the money they'd have spent on cards. I suppose they're just sending you the link in case you also want to support that charity but it's certainly not the norm for you to also donate.

In my experience it is boasting and i have found a few times that people have stated they are giving to charity so they dont have to buy, write and send cards but havent actually given to charity themselves, hense the link to donate..ive also had the 'link to donate' which turns out to be a link to see how much they have donated....again, boasting.
I agree with pp and dont see the relation the two have to each other. Unless the charity is related to the enviroment i dont really get it (and even then, card is recycleable)

Seems odd to ask the people who would have RECEIVED your Christmas cards to donate their money. I thought the idea was YOU donate the money in lieu of buying cards/stamps

I think @mumtoboy has it right: it's so that you can see that they have actually donated.

It's a bit clumsy, but given the comments on here about people who don't send cards because they just can't be bothered (including the one on this thread), you can see why a genuinely environment/consumption-aware sender might be trying to ensure their friends don't think badly of them.

As above. We've done this for the first time this year - we don't have enough money some months to feed everyone without straying into overdraft territory.

We lost a little girl at 27 weeks a few years ago so have dontated to the baby box charity the money we would have spent on cards. The Facebook message is so that friends aren't guessing as to why they dont have a card, and all our friends will know firsthand what this charity means to us.

I feel that donating to charity is a private thing, but if charities benefit from competitive giving it’s probably a good thing.

I can understand donating to charity in lieu of a gift, but I think you should make an effort to donate to a charity close to the heart of the recipient. Then it’s a gift, not just giving away someone else’s gift.

Cards are a way of saying that you are thinking of people that you care about but don’t see very often. At the very least, an I’ve-given-your-card-to-charity text should be a personal message to the recipient that shows they mean something to you and aren’t just a name on your Look-how-great-I-am mailing list.

As they're sending you the link, then yes this is a whole new level of CF-ery. Because she they may notnquite have reached the point of expecting you to donate, but they're sure as hell hoping you will.

And it's virtue signalling anyhow. Giving or notgiving to charity is fine. Puffing it off most certainly isn't.

Any denying something that gives others pleasure is a bit off. If they wanted to give to charity at christmas, and wanted to reduce their festive expenditure to afford it, why don't they cut the booze, the cheese mountain, the expensive turkey, any new clothes etc?

Send cards or don't, but remember the reason to do so is to give others please at Christmas. You can send an e-card or e-mail,a festive letter just as cheaply and quickly as sending an email to say you're not doing so. Cards don't have to be actual paper - but some people really like real ones. if those people matter to you, then wouldn't the importance of the card be obvious?

No wonder isolation is a growing issue .

For MN research purposes I have just clicked on 2 links sent to me (one says in the email here is the link for me to donate) and neither has a donation from the sender. Guessing it would show their donation?

If it is about showing the donation thats fine but tbh I don't need proof, and I cannot afford a minimum of £5 to every link I get.

I am not grinch about donating instead of cards but about being asked to donate as well.

P.s. FIxtheBone, I am really sorry for the loss of your little girl.

Everyone I know who's done this has a reason for that particular charity so they might just be letting you know about the card thing but also may hope someone might follow their lead

I love the tradition of buying cards but people do seem to be doing them less. You can buy charity cards plus you are also helping the retail sectar by buying on the high street.