Do you send out holiday/new year cards?

[Anonymous]

I'm amazed by the bitterness on this thread about Christmas cards. You're genuinely bothered that someone took the time and effort to remember you and to send you a card? Really? The whole point of the cards is a touch of human fellowship.

[Anonymous]

So I genuinely enjoy creating and receiving family photo cards. It also pushes us to have a family photo each year whereas usually I don't take many photos. If I get some snarky remark I know that person probably doesn't like it so I leave them alone and don't send a card again. Mostly, I get sweet notes back and I genuinely enjoy seeing photos of old friends from the neighborhood, high school, college, etc.

Now I did stop the holiday party years ago. I didn't enjoy all the prep. I did enjoy seeing friends, but eventually the negative outweighed the positive. There were more and more people who said they were coming and never mentioned when they changed mind/got sick/whatever. One friend complained that our party conflicted with some random thing he wanted to do, but his wife forced him to come. All the party poopers who burned me out enough I decided never again ended up being the people who missed it and every year sent out feelers and when we said we weren't having a party they were disappointed. I still don't miss it. It's a ton of work, far more than creating a card, writing a note and sending it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm amazed by the bitterness on this thread about Christmas cards. You're genuinely bothered that someone took the time and effort to remember you and to send you a card? Really? The whole point of the cards is a touch of human fellowship.

If the cards are written on with so much as a “Merry Christmas from Bill and Ted,” then yes, it’s a touch of human fellowship. Loading my address into a Minted auto-mailer with cards featuring your family going straight from a mail house to me, never even touching your hands, is nothing more than a bid for attention. You don’t have to like that this is my perspective, but this is my perspective. And it seems I am not alone.

I already look at your family on Facebook. Why you felt the need to kill a tree so I can look at them some more is beyond me. Your bid for attention is not a holiday greeting. “Wishing you a happy holiday season” in your handwriting is a holiday greeting, and I am grateful for even the family photo cards that have that much written on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My weird hang up is when the photo is from the beach. I get you were all looking tanned and pretty, but it isn’t Christmas-y. So now your card isn’t a holiday greeting as much as it’s a gratuitous glamor shot.

I do the cards with 8-10 photos and I do a quick summary on the back of the kids ages and interests and what DH and I are up to. If someone hates me for this, I don't really care because I guess they weren't my friend to begin with.

You’re not a friend if you are sending people junk mail that serves no purpose but to show off your Family Ad.

Bye Felicia!

Bye, Jessica! Please save the trees and keep me off your list! You don’t need my attention that bad, surely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm amazed by the bitterness on this thread about Christmas cards. You're genuinely bothered that someone took the time and effort to remember you and to send you a card? Really? The whole point of the cards is a touch of human fellowship.

If the cards are written on with so much as a “Merry Christmas from Bill and Ted,” then yes, it’s a touch of human fellowship. Loading my address into a Minted auto-mailer with cards featuring your family going straight from a mail house to me, never even touching your hands, is nothing more than a bid for attention. You don’t have to like that this is my perspective, but this is my perspective. And it seems I am not alone.

I already look at your family on Facebook. Why you felt the need to kill a tree so I can look at them some more is beyond me. Your bid for attention is not a holiday greeting. “Wishing you a happy holiday season” in your handwriting is a holiday greeting, and I am grateful for even the family photo cards that have that much written on them.

You are bitter and it's difficult to believe that you have friends who want to send you cards. The emotional investment in your hatred and being upset by cards is on the weird side of things.

[Anonymous]

I love getting Christmas cards! I do not keep in touch with old grad school friends but love seeing their families grow over the years and reading what they’re into now… The bad ones are really cringe-bad (my mom’s friends are hilarious) and I don’t love the photo cards with nothing else on them (too generic). But a good Xmas card with a little note/photo? I love it!

I don’t love doing this personally, but my husband does, and as a result we have kept up relationships that otherwise would have died. Then, when said grad school friend comes into town for a conference, we’re more likely to get together.

I don’t understand the vitriol on here. Do you grinches also not like Xmas cookies?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm amazed by the bitterness on this thread about Christmas cards. You're genuinely bothered that someone took the time and effort to remember you and to send you a card? Really? The whole point of the cards is a touch of human fellowship.

If the cards are written on with so much as a “Merry Christmas from Bill and Ted,” then yes, it’s a touch of human fellowship. Loading my address into a Minted auto-mailer with cards featuring your family going straight from a mail house to me, never even touching your hands, is nothing more than a bid for attention. You don’t have to like that this is my perspective, but this is my perspective. And it seems I am not alone.

I already look at your family on Facebook. Why you felt the need to kill a tree so I can look at them some more is beyond me. Your bid for attention is not a holiday greeting. “Wishing you a happy holiday season” in your handwriting is a holiday greeting, and I am grateful for even the family photo cards that have that much written on them.

You are bitter and it's difficult to believe that you have friends who want to send you cards. The emotional investment in your hatred and being upset by cards is on the weird side of things.

It takes 30 seconds to recycle the no-greeting ones and hang up the ones with messages. The fact that this bothers you so much shows that you are a Minted-no-effort-type who is mad that you are spending money on something without getting the attention you so desperately crave.

[Anonymous]

PP here- I don’t know why I get photo cards, with no personal note- from acquaintances/friends we see regularly - like at church. I wish those people would cut us from their list. But my DH sends them one of ours since they send to us. We’re in a standoff!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I send them and love getting them. I don’t bother sending to people I know don’t care about cards. I send about 40 and usually receive about 30.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only thing I dislike are when people send the yearly letter to everyone. If I get these I don't even read them. They're supposed to make the card more personal but it has the opposite effect--either write something specific to each person or leave it alone. And the letters are always too long and cringeworthy.

I love the letters! Especially when they’re funny.

Some senders are GREAT (and so funny!) at the letters - to some it is just a bragfest, but we do like the "photos as updates" cards. People are busy, if they think of us enough to send us a card, that makes us happy: "look what so and so is up to! Look how big the kids have grown!" type things.

Some people look to be offended, obviously cards are not for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love getting Christmas cards! I do not keep in touch with old grad school friends but love seeing their families grow over the years and reading what they’re into now… The bad ones are really cringe-bad (my mom’s friends are hilarious) and I don’t love the photo cards with nothing else on them (too generic). But a good Xmas card with a little note/photo? I love it!

I don’t love doing this personally, but my husband does, and as a result we have kept up relationships that otherwise would have died. Then, when said grad school friend comes into town for a conference, we’re more likely to get together.

I don’t understand the vitriol on here. Do you grinches also not like Xmas cookies?!

+1

DMV people will complain about literally anything innocuous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My weird hang up is when the photo is from the beach. I get you were all looking tanned and pretty, but it isn’t Christmas-y. So now your card isn’t a holiday greeting as much as it’s a gratuitous glamor shot.

I do the cards with 8-10 photos and I do a quick summary on the back of the kids ages and interests and what DH and I are up to. If someone hates me for this, I don't really care because I guess they weren't my friend to begin with.

Barf.

If you were a real friend and actually kept in regular touch with these people, they’d already know all that.

DP but this is SUCH a stupid take. I have lots of friends that I have made in my decades on this Earth and quite frankly, I do not have the bandwidth to actually keep up with all of them, especially as people move all over the world. It is still super nice to see pictures and read these little updates once a year.

Why does it have to be all or nothing? Why do people have to keep in touch regularly or never? Once a year is fine for lots of folks.

That’s a very shallow relationship then, if you can even call it that. More like an acquaintance at that point. I don’t get the point of wasting time and money to write little shallow and trite brag notes to people you don’t even see or speak to anymore. That sounds so sad to me.

Ok. Again, why does it have to be all or nothing? What’s wrong with some shallow relationships/acquaintanceships that make one smile and bring good feelings once a year?

And quite frankly, IME the people who refer to the notes as “bragging” are usually just triggered because it makes them reflect on all that they have failed to accomplish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm amazed by the bitterness on this thread about Christmas cards. You're genuinely bothered that someone took the time and effort to remember you and to send you a card? Really? The whole point of the cards is a touch of human fellowship.

If the cards are written on with so much as a “Merry Christmas from Bill and Ted,” then yes, it’s a touch of human fellowship. Loading my address into a Minted auto-mailer with cards featuring your family going straight from a mail house to me, never even touching your hands, is nothing more than a bid for attention. You don’t have to like that this is my perspective, but this is my perspective. And it seems I am not alone.

I already look at your family on Facebook. Why you felt the need to kill a tree so I can look at them some more is beyond me. Your bid for attention is not a holiday greeting. “Wishing you a happy holiday season” in your handwriting is a holiday greeting, and I am grateful for even the family photo cards that have that much written on them.

You are bitter and it's difficult to believe that you have friends who want to send you cards. The emotional investment in your hatred and being upset by cards is on the weird side of things.

It takes 30 seconds to recycle the no-greeting ones and hang up the ones with messages. The fact that this bothers you so much shows that you are a Minted-no-effort-type who is mad that you are spending money on something without getting the attention you so desperately crave.

I just find your attitude weird. Someone still took the effort to include you, regardless of the card type. And you're basically saying the equivalent of FU for sending a card to me. Ok.... people obviously don't have control over what happens to the cards after they are sent out but this contemptuous attitude does say more about you than the sender of the card.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We send Christmas cards, yes. Old-school card and hat we actually hand-sign and in envelopes we hand-address and stamp. It’s crazy to me that this is no longer the norm.

Photo cards are basically a carefully curated “promotion for your family” and are not about Christmas nor kind wishes for the recipients at all. Just narcissism like everything else these days.

What an ungracious way to think of someone who bothered to put you on their list and purchase a card for you.

Agree

I really appreciate all who bother to send us cards - especially as mine are always late.

I am there for the happy news and any other news people choose to share and I love seeing how families cha ge and grow.

We keep all the cards in plastic seal lock bags with the years written on them - I do plan on looking at them More carefully when our youngest goes to college …

Viva la holiday card tradition - in whatever style family and friends choose to send them …

🎄🎊🔔🕎 ⭐️

Holy Hoarder in Training, Batman!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We send Christmas cards, yes. Old-school card and hat we actually hand-sign and in envelopes we hand-address and stamp. It’s crazy to me that this is no longer the norm.

Photo cards are basically a carefully curated “promotion for your family” and are not about Christmas nor kind wishes for the recipients at all. Just narcissism like everything else these days.

What an ungracious way to think of someone who bothered to put you on their list and purchase a card for you.

Why do you act like this is some huge favor to which we now owe you a moral obligation? The sender sends it for THEMSELVES, not the recipients! how people think about the card is immaterial. The cards are for you, not us.

Hmmm. NP here. Not true for me. I send them because I want people to mail them to me, so it’s my attempt to keep the tradition alive. No moral obligation to do if you don’t wish. It’s pretty much the only time I get personal mail, which I love. It does mean I’m thinking of you. I’ve culled my list, and save cards for a year or two and look at them again before tossing.

I guess I’m a total narcissistic cotton-headed ninny muggins.