My 71 cards go out tomorrow.
We’ve received 12.
I love the tradition and am sad to get fewer each year. We display them in our entry hallway.
I’m also sad when I look at my list and see one or more people has died that year. Or someone is no longer a part of my life in any way, and I decide to drop them from the list.
I’m sentimental, and the Christmas card process is lovely but a little emotional for me.

Maybe it’s because I was the cousin who lived far from my extended family growing up, but Christmas cards were always an important part of the holiday. It was nice to feel remembered by other people.

Anonymous wrote:There is a couple I met on a 2 week international trip 20+ years ago. They are fanatics about their holiday cards and every year it's somewhere different ... the Oscars, in the audience at a game show, as extras in a movie, the Great Wall.

This year I looked at the return address and it was just the wife. He died this summer at 68.

It was like one of those things where couples take pictures of each other for decades ... then the last one is just one of the spouses.

Very sad

Gosh, that is sad PP. Good on her for continuing to send the cards though. I think for many people it's a beautiful way to stay connected.

There is a couple I met on a 2 week international trip 20+ years ago. They are fanatics about their holiday cards and every year it's somewhere different ... the Oscars, in the audience at a game show, as extras in a movie, the Great Wall.

This year I looked at the return address and it was just the wife. He died this summer at 68.

It was like one of those things where couples take pictures of each other for decades ... then the last one is just one of the spouses.

Very sad

Anonymous wrote:Three years ago we had a terrible year and I skipped sending them. It was a relief not to put on a happy face and since then I haven't felt compelled to do it again, it's too hard. I used to send about 75 and get up to about 50 a year, but it's dwindling. This year I've received about 10. We keep pack them away with with our Christmas ornaments and it's nice to flip through them when we're decorating each season. I still love receiving them, even if it's a posed photo shoot I've already seen on social media. Time is fleeting.

Other people love receiving them, too. Why not send them to the 10 people who are nice enough to still send theirs to you, despite the lack of reciprocity?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We haven't sent one in quite a few years and as such, we have been dropped from many lists.

We'll still get photo cards from family and some friends but not nearly as many as in years past. IDK, we probably have received about 5 or so and will end up with around 20?

Merry Christmas!

We’ve also stopped sending them but it’s hard to know if we’ve been dropped or other people just made the same decision that we did. We also have received about 5 and I doubt we will receive more than 15 total.

you've been dropped. cards are expensive. after 2-3 years of sending and not receiving (basically, as soon as i notice it), i stop sending. it's no fun to spend 100 bucks on cards and not even get enough in return to decorate my mantle nicely. so now i spend half that.

Anonymous wrote:Are you still sending?

Receiving?

How many?

I know it’s early and many people haven’t sent their cards yet, but I feel like last year I noticed a dramatic drop in numbers. I’m curious if those of us who typically send/receive can weigh in with an update on what they are seeing.

Fwiw, I’ve noticed multiple people posting comments on social media this week along the lines of, “Hats off to all the moms still sending holiday photo cards” and “Please don’t cut me from your list just because I haven’t mailed a holiday card in a decade.” That’s what prompted me to post tonight.

I hate the "please dont cut me from the list!" people. We all like getting holiday cards, right? (or at least i do, and so do the people who say things like don't cut me). So why don't you be someone who contributes to the holiday card fun instead of someone who just takes and doesn't give back? i've pared down my list considerably, when i realized i was sending out about 50 cards and only ever getting about 20 back in the mail. now i send only to the people who send them to me, plus my elderly relatives. a few people actually asked why i didnt do my usual card- and i was like, i did, i just cut down my order from 50 to 25 cards, and stopped sending them to people who have never sent me one back. they were like .... oh, yeah, i guess that's me!

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Sent out about 50 today. New this year we sent some to our kid's language tutors in mainland China. We'll see if those arrive in 2025 or 2026.

We send 50-60 photo cards with a brief message every year (mix of family, friends, and current/former colleagues with whom spouse or I are friendly). So far we've received about 20 of same. The senders are almost all in the "families with kids" demographic, where the 'kids' in question are toddlers through college-age. I don't find ordering/sending them that onerous (although I felt like the design offerings from Shutterfly and Minted were pretty lame this year...), but I agree that stamps have gotten crazy expensive!

Have received about a dozen. At least 1/3 are similar—families in the autumn woods. Yawn.

Whenever I consider dropping the tradition I think about how much I enjoy receiving them. They truly are a highlight of the season.
People are posting less on SM which is a net good thing and it’s lovely to see families growing up.

Anonymous wrote:We haven't sent one in quite a few years and as such, we have been dropped from many lists.

We'll still get photo cards from family and some friends but not nearly as many as in years past. IDK, we probably have received about 5 or so and will end up with around 20?

Merry Christmas!

We’ve also stopped sending them but it’s hard to know if we’ve been dropped or other people just made the same decision that we did. We also have received about 5 and I doubt we will receive more than 15 total.

We haven't sent one in quite a few years and as such, we have been dropped from many lists.

We'll still get photo cards from family and some friends but not nearly as many as in years past. IDK, we probably have received about 5 or so and will end up with around 20?

Merry Christmas!

I'd say we've received 10 thus far, half of which are from older (50+ yrs) family members. I just think that for my age group (late 30s), sending out holiday cards isn't really a thing that's done anymore.

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate cards when a personal, meaningful message is hand written.
When SIL (DH’s brother wife) sends a business type card addressed to my husband, I store it as an evidence of malevolence and continue with my life.

You don’t sound at all psycho.