I don't anymore but like receiving them.

Tip: Have your card be ONE picture of the family. I hate it when there are 20 tiny pictures that include Timmy standing on second base 30 ft away or multiples of the pets.

Let's face it: all we want to see is how well the parents have aged and how good looking the kids are. Indulge us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New in my neighborhood with a young child, do you send them to neighbors you’re friendly with? Obviously they do not need a glorified family photo of us but I wasn’t sure what the neighborly norm is.

I like getting them from the neighbors fwiw.
I prefer if there is a little handwritten note but totally understand that there's not always time.

I'm counting down the days until kids are old enough and not busy enough to help with this so we can actually put little notes on the cards.

We have the service mail them, which i HATE but since we ALWAYS travel to family for the holidays, the logistics of getting them done in time, completed and mailed would require starting in October. Many years I was lugging 100 cards and a roll of stamps in my carry on for my flight to inlaws, just annoying.

I'm the DH, and I send out cards mostly because we love getting cards and I know thats partly how this works -- you got to send to receive. But my DW (an immigrant who rolls her eyes hard at holiday cards) and kids all have started to have strong opinions on how the card looks, which photos I use, etc. Which is fine, I really don't care -- but coordinating between 4 people on design decisions and photo selection is horrific. I just want to offload this to the kids and DW (who all have opinions when it isn't to their liking) but if I do that -- I know it won't get done (we've tried this before). Anyone else have a basically a weeks long family fued over designing the card??

Anonymous wrote:New in my neighborhood with a young child, do you send them to neighbors you’re friendly with? Obviously they do not need a glorified family photo of us but I wasn’t sure what the neighborly norm is.

I like getting them from the neighbors fwiw.
I prefer if there is a little handwritten note but totally understand that there's not always time.

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 clearly think about this a lot. I think its safe to say the people sending you these Christmas Cards don't think about you at all.

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.

Bothered, no. That’s why I made the junk mail comparison. I’m not bothered by that either. I just don’t find either particularly interesting. I wouldn’t feel any need to keep them year to year or to feel any special attachment to it as a piece of mail. I am one name on a list of many people that the recipient chooses to send a card to, but that doesn’t mean the card means anything to me.

Think of it like your boomer parents calling you and saying “do you want this random thing I found cleaning out my basement?” 9 times out of 10 you do not want that thing. Are you mad they asked you-no. But just because they wanted to give it to you doesn’t mean you’re obligated to want it.

But if they want you to have it, why can’t you exercise some grace and take it, and then quietly get rid of it on your own if you have to?

There a lot of grace-less people on this thread.

My wife hates sending out cards and does it every year out of a moral obligation. People who get then are the people pressuring to get them even if they don’t send them.

Anonymous wrote:New in my neighborhood with a young child, do you send them to neighbors you’re friendly with? Obviously they do not need a glorified family photo of us but I wasn’t sure what the neighborly norm is.

Only if you like to be friends

New in my neighborhood with a young child, do you send them to neighbors you’re friendly with? Obviously they do not need a glorified family photo of us but I wasn’t sure what the neighborly norm is.

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.

Bothered, no. That’s why I made the junk mail comparison. I’m not bothered by that either. I just don’t find either particularly interesting. I wouldn’t feel any need to keep them year to year or to feel any special attachment to it as a piece of mail. I am one name on a list of many people that the recipient chooses to send a card to, but that doesn’t mean the card means anything to me.

Think of it like your boomer parents calling you and saying “do you want this random thing I found cleaning out my basement?” 9 times out of 10 you do not want that thing. Are you mad they asked you-no. But just because they wanted to give it to you doesn’t mean you’re obligated to want it.

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.

+1000

I love cards. I have zero social media and moved out of state. It is literally only time of year I get a picture or an update.

Even is 99 percent throw in garbage my mothers sister who died at 95 in 2018 who lives in Europe and does not send out cards I ran into her next door neighbor on my trip to Europe in 2021 and she knew all about my kids and family. My aunt treasured the annual update and kept all the picture cards and notes. Had them on display for months

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.

How old are you?

I send about 150 photo cards each year. No personal message. It’s a fun family tradition for us. I don’t have social media so this is my one chance to send a snapshot of our lives.