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To send or not to send Christmas cards? sm

Posted: Dec 17, 2010

In the age of cell phones and computers, I figure that I would text Merry Christmas to everyone and/or send free e-cards via email or other social network sites. Some disagree with me that that is too informal, lazy, what have you. I do have some cards that I do send to people with no phone, PC, or do not have their number or email, i.e. elderly folks and neighbors. My thoughts on this are:

A. I already pay for my cell phone and email so texting and e-cards are free.

B. I can send the same card/greeting/message to everyone in my address list at the same time.

C. I save $$$ on cards, stamps, paper, pens, stickers, "letters", etc.

D. I'm saving the planet, going green, one less card or envelope to recycle (hopefully the recipients recycle their cards after the holiday and do not throw them in the garbage).

E. I only send an actual snail mail card to people who send me one, partly out of obligation, but the ones who do send me cards I do not have their number or email or they don't have any of the above at all.

F. I do not think it is any less meaningful to send a nice e-card via email or other means to say Merry Christmas to all my family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc. Especially ones who live in another state or country.

G. Maybe I'm just too busy or lazy to go out and buy cards, fill them out, sign them, stuff them, lick the envelope, write the address out, stick a stamp on it, and walk it to my mailbox. I have no kids or pets and we don't do the big holiday picture every year and I don't feel like writing a letter to anyone about my life and everything that happened in 2010 when it wasn't that exciting to begin with, plus I text or email or see them online most of the time anyway and we all know each other's comings and goings.

Does anyone else feel that in the age of technology that Christmas cards should just be one less thing to do? Any thoughts?

;

I don't do cards at all anymore except to my uncle - Backwards Typist

[ In Reply To ..]
who lives in NM and is in his 70s. I only saw him once in 10 years at the family reunion. Before that, I had no idea where he was (family fight years ago when I was a kid). My aunt told me where he was about 12 years ago and I've kept in touch ever since. During the year, it's by email, but at Christmas, I send a card with an update on family, etc. They do the same.

Other than that, I think we only get 3 cards from other people every year. I stopped sending to them when we started falling on hard times a few years ago. They understand.

I have no other relatives except my uncle and 2 aunts left and I don't even have one aunt's address but I do call her. The other aunt has Alzheimer's and doesn't know who I am anymore.

I am old so I still enjoy re-reading old Christmas cards - Older than dirt

[ In Reply To ..]

I am old, so not so much into the text thing and I get tired of checking my Emails, so I still send out Christmas cards the old-fashioned way, using our dependable United States Postal Service.

I always buy next-year’s Christmas cards after Christmas when they are half price or better. I have a huge box that I keep in the closet. I have all my unused Christmas cards, my Christmas card mailing list and pre-typed labels, and I also put all the cards I have received in that box. I have cards that are over 40 years old. If it happens to be especially cold or there is a blizzard on the day I start packing up my Christmas decorations, I can sit for hours re-reading those old cards to see who was married to who way back when, what the kids looked like (when people were still sending those photo Christmas cards), and how life has changed for everyone.

I am hoping that once I am gone, someday one of my kids will go through the box and maybe read a few. They will be able to read about their history. Almost as good as doing a genealogy.

A text or Ecard will never replace that. Sure sorry to see the old traditions falling by the wayside.

What gets too expensive or too time consuming next? I am waiting for the virtual 3-D Christmas tree, where you plug in the projector and aim it at the wall. And the outdoor projector that makes it look like your house is all decorated with lights, with Santa and his reindeer on the roof. Everything will be 2 seconds to set up and 2 seconds to take down, and will be neatly stored in a 2x2 box in the garage for next year. We used to enjoy getting the whole family together to decorate. Times sure have changed.

As I said, I am OLD.

But I know it is getting expensive to mail Christmas cards to people who probably just throw them away, so the decision is really up to you.

Just one opinion.

Merry Christmas (sorry I can’t send you all a REAL greeting card)

You made some good points. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas to you also! :-) nm - SassyPants

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

I know what you mean...I am really into genealogy and (sm) - Yochana

[ In Reply To ..]
what will this generation leave to remind the future generations that we even existed? Photos taken with cell phones or digital cameras that never get printed...how do you save emails for future generations, etc. I love the old letters, cards, and photos of my grandparents, great and great grandparents. Just recently my great aunt sent me a postcard that my grandpa had written...a grandpa I never really knew as he died when I was 3 years old. That little piece of paper meant so much to me.

I know what you mean about old letters - Backwards Typist

[ In Reply To ..]
I never knew my maternal grandfather and when he died, I was sad that I didn't know him. It's a long story there.

Anyway, since I'm always on ebay looking for my surname, one day all his WWI medals, French Fourtigierre, Indian Patch (the troop he was in), and dog tags came up for sale! It cost me more than I could really afford, but I won them. I was so happy.

In the meantime, a newly found cousin (who didn't believe I was related until I had proof) had received a bunch of letters to his mother, sister, and brother. She sent me copies of his life in WWI. I cherish them highly.

Sadly, when my mom and dad were divorced, she threw out all his letters from WWII. I did find one, but the rest were gone, and dad's new wife has all his picture albums from WWII and also has the only known wall photo of my dad and grandmother when he was about 4. I can't find out where she lives to see if she would be willing to give them up since my dad died in '88.

Mom was a saver of cards and letters (except for the above), every Christmas card, every card when she was hospitalized, etc. I kept them. I also have a whole trunk of photos from the past 50 years that I've been putting names on them that she didn't (which is about half). Thank heavens she was a photo bug. :-)

Sorry, I kinda ramble at times. The whole point of this post is to agree with you about future generations. They need to know about the past and if emails and digital photos are all that's left, what will happen to the past?

To older than dirt: Love it....I'm with you! Very well said. - MT Lady

[ In Reply To ..]
Older than dirt: I've wondered the same about the digital Christmas tree being the next step... after seeing so many pre-decorated trees in the stores now..what's the point in that? The fun and feeling is in decorating your own tree. I remember when our kids were little that every year my I'd say "this is the prettiest tree yet" and my daughter would sweetly remind me that I say that very year, but these are great memories. Your post made me smile and I appreciate your thoughts.

SassyPants - Just me

[ In Reply To ..]
I respectfully disagree. It is not about saving money or having convenience. It is about humanity, not technology. (And I am no technophobe--I have a smart phone, a custom-built computer and enough geek toys to quality me as a nerd.) Still, I find it very disappointing to receive e-cards, etc. We are becoming a nation of mechanized people and I don't like it.

It all depends on the person you are directing your wishes to - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I have some friends I email a x-mas card to because they are the type of friends who prefer email cards.

I have other people I will type a generic letter to letting them know how my year went and what exciting things happened to me during the year (which this year should be about 2 sentences) ha ha.

I have other people, older friends and dear to my heart friends that I prefer to buy a Christmas card and hand write a personalized greeting or letter too.

I too am like Older than dirt. I have a box of Christmas cards that were sent to me and I cherish reading the holiday greetings and letters from my relatives who have passed on.

I figure by buying a Christmas card I am supporting the people who created them, and by putting a stamp on it, I am supporting the UP Post office however little it may be.

Young, geeky 46-year-old woman who prefers cards in the mail! - Feeling Old

[ In Reply To ..]
I enjoy receiving Christmas cards every year and have always mailed out cards to about 100 people each year. Some send cards to us, some don't, but that doesn't matter to me. I wasn't going to do it this year; it seemed that there was no time, no energy, too much to do. I said this to my husband, and he was actually upset that I wasn't going to do it.

I decided this past Wednesday to just do it. I went to the store and grabbed cards and sat down to do the cards. Two hours later, they were signed, hand addressed, return labels stuck in the corners and sealed. I am heading to the post office in a few minutes to buy stamps and mail them and I FEEL GREAT ABOUT IT! I think I would've missed the feelings that come up when I do them. Addressing the envelopes brings memories and also makes me glad that I reach out every year to people that might not be part of our every day lives but are still important, even if only with fond memories of good times past. I forgot how much I love doing them.

My regret is only that I did not read these posts years ago; I would've saved all the cards sent to us over the years. What a great idea! I have always kept the photo cards, but now I am going to start keeping all of them. I have a great hat box that would be perfect to store them in. Thank you for the idea!

Here is an idea ... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Post a card online? delivered by postal mail ...

http://www.clickandpost.com/

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