Who else feels that there are far too many Christmas cards being sent?

[CliffRichardSucksEggsInHell]

At the risk of appearing to be a scrooge. I only send cards to friends I won't be seeing over Christmas. Just what is the point of sending them to people you see every day? Or to family that you are spending Christmas with? Surely it's a waste of the energy produced to make the cards, not to mention the trees cut down to produce them.

ds is only 4, he doesn't care about Christmas cards, he can't read or write, yet 6 of his nursery pals have sent him Christmas cards (actually no they haven't, their parents have) and I will be expected to send them back to these children. Surely that's going too far?

I'm going on a card strike.

I'm with ya!

I take it it's just me then.

Bah humbug!

Oh cool! Thanks Bauble!

Fancy a humbug?

Absolutely, ds1 has about 10 cards already and I know there are more coming and every year I absolutely refuse to send them back but don't know how long I can hold out! Plus half my colleagues (50 of them, half of them buy a goat from oxfam or something). However, I've now managed to offend a colleague at the christmas do by sounding off about this and his 3 yo had just sent my ds a card at nursery! It does just seem to be to impress people/tick boxes whatever.

A humbug??!

Far too fancy.

I'll have a dry cracker and a glass of water, please.

@ Bauble!

I really do think it's a complete waste - when did kids that young start sending bloody Christmas cards? And what is the point of sending cards to people you are spending the season with? Dh's mum sent us a card - but we're at theirs on Christmas Day!

Do people just feel obliged now to send them? If so, card companies must be rubbing their hands with glee.

send them you miserable bugger.

I agree entirely. This year I have sent a grand total of 6 cards; next year I intend to send none and see if anybody notices. At work we now do a charity collection instead of sending cards.

I generally only send cards to people I won't see until after christmas. and I see the objection to nursery cards.

but it's nice to keep in touch with people, and sending cards every year is as good a way as any. people will notice if you don't send cards, but they probably won't say anything.

We've just decided that next year we will send an email to people for whom we have an email address, cards to the others, and the money we save will go to Oxfam.

At our church we can opt to send a world vision one to the whole congregation. I love not having to send to church people! And they raise heaps of money at the same time.

I don't really send to people I see, but ds has sent to his whole nursery class because he really really wanted to and has really enjoyed doing it! He's written his own name on them all and decorated all the envelopes with Christmas stickers.

this year I've not sent any xmas cards! (have only received one so far)

mylittleponey - are you happy with that then?

My ds has no interest in cards and the cards he has been sent have been written by parents, the kids probably weren't involved at all.

They ain't getting one back because I really don't agree with it. I don't want to make Hallmarks or some other card company rich just because I feel under pressure to return cards. I'd rather spend my money on other things at Christmas.

very happy cliffrichard - we'll get a few more and they'll look lovely. I'll send a happy christmas email with photo. I think more & more people are not sending out cards.

Try telling that to the schools up here!

I don't do emails either though. I'd rather phone them and speak to them in person over Christmas. It's the ideal time to get in touch with people you've not spoken to for ages. Block emailing is a bit lazy. Pick up the phone!

mylittlepony: I think more and more people are not sending cards to you.

You don't have to line Hallmark's pockets to do it either. You can buy charity cards or you can make your own. you bunch of scrooges.

I buy Oxfam, I still think it is a waste of resources. And whilst you may buy charity or make your own, those sending back may not be. For every card you send, you are saying to that person "send me one back or you are a scrooge" I say challenge that notion! Wish them a Happy Christmas in person or phone those friends you've not seen. Make an effort as a person and not as typing on a pc screen or some scrawl on a card.

I'm with you Cliff!

I'm still using up a box of cards I bought about 3 years ago . I've sent about 10 this year which is pretty good. Two of these are friends who live a fairly long way from me and the rest I don't see on a regular basis. I hate the thing about sending cards to all one's colleagues but thankfully this year, I seem to have escaped that pointless hell.

Cards are nice for people who don't get many and can't socialise much isyim though - one card tends to get lost amongst 100s but if you only get 10 cards then 1 missing really shows .

It's not a waste of resources. printing emails, or sending brochures with phone bills is a waste of resources.

senora - could be the case!! but I really do get the impression it's not just me not sending cards.

I'm with you. We send cards to friends overseas, and DD has made some for her nursery nurses, and a handful of nursery pals.

But today we recieved 4 from friends at church, who I see at least 3 times a week at various activities, and will see several times before Christmas! Odd.

Friends of mine have at least 50 cards up at their house already, many are "Merry Christmas to a dear Son in law", "Merry Christmas to a dear son and daughter in law", "merry Christmas to a dear granddaughter" etc, and they are going to see the rellies on Christmas day! Now that is bizarre, and I think wasteful.

It does seem to me that sending cards is a bit of a badge or status thing. There's no point whatsoever in 36 children in ds1's preschool class all sending each other cards, that's 1296 cards for children who don't read & the vast majority will be chucked in the bin come boxing day not even recycled so yes that's a waste of resources. It's no longer about keeping in touch with people you see rarely, it's about status. Twould be better to make a charity donation as many people in my office do on the department's behalf. I'm not scrooge, I just think the world is too damn over-commercialised as it is to be wasting more time, energy and paper sending cards to children and people that I don't know and who won't care.

I send cards to family and friends that I wont otherwise see..this year I made photo cards and stuck a photo of dd2 in her nursery nativity play costume( she was an angel) on the cards.

dd just came home with 16 cards from school. Most of them are from places such as Next or Marks and Spencer.
Needless to say I'm not about to write 16 cards now - if indeed I just happened to have 16 spare. So I'll just have to be the ignorant one at school now!

I've also received 6 from the school where I work, some from kids I don't work with. And again, I'm afraid I won't be sending any back because I don't have the time now, we finish on Thursday.

Oh well, maybe we won't get so many next year. Just think how much money we'll save people if they don't have to buy a card for us!