One of the first things I do for the holiday season is write our Christmas letter and mail it out. With an early mailing, our cards or letters do not usually cross in the mail with others, and it sometimes starts a conversation with the other person. I like that. Every year after Christmas, I plan to follow up with more correspondence from the cards and letters we get. However, I usually end up doing only one or two before my lofty goals fall by the wayside. :)
I seem to be one of a dying breed. The newsy holiday letters we receive are fewer and fewer these days, as are the cards. I'll have to admit that I have slowly changed, too. I used to write two or three personal paragraphs to go with the general letter, but that doesn't happen very much anymore. Depending on how tired I am, I may handwrite a paragraph or just a line or two, or possibly just "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."
Since so much is shared throughout the year on social media, I think people don't feel the need to send a special greeting for Christmas - one that you can actually hold in your hand. (I know you can hold a phone in your hand, but it's not the same. At least not to me.)
A few years ago, I was having a conversation with a friend about the proliferation of communication through social media, and she relayed this story. She told her 20-something daughters that they needed to send a card to Aunt Mary. They protested and said they couldn't because she didn't have a Facebook account. It never occurred to them that they could buy a card, put it in the mail with a stamp, and have the post office deliver it. A different generation with different experiences.
When I was getting tired of working on the mailings, I suggested that we could send a few of the family letters by email this year to people we see frequently. But Ward wanted to keep traditional paper copies for everyone. So I did. (Ward was busy working on gifts while I worked on this.) I generally just send the letter, but sometimes a card goes with it. This is usually to an older person that I know would really appreciate it. We used to send a card with every letter, so I guess I have been cutting back in this area, too.
As I look back over the letters we've sent over the years, I am happy we have them. When the kids were little, they wrote part, and it's fun to go back and see what they had to say when they were 8 or 10. So maybe these yearly Christmas letters are as much for me as for anyone else. And that's a good reason to keep doing them.
Do you send cards or letters during the holiday season? Do you get many? Has the number changed over the years?
Until next time...
Note: Apparently, I've covered this topic before. :)
https://liveandlearn-tossandturn.blogspot.com/2015/12/communication.html
I still LOVE getting Christmas cards, although the amount we get is drastically lower now. When I was growing up, a few families would send us the ones with letters included, and even as a kid/teenager, I looked forward to those so much! I do think social media has had a very big hand in sending/receiving fewer cards as the years have gone by. It's a shame. I also still keep many we have received over the years. I love to look back at them. I think I will always send them as long as I am able to.
ReplyDeleteI love getting them, too, and will probably keep sending them, like you, as long as I am able. I keep all of the cards for at least a year, and then I save a few to reread, save some for crafts, donate some to a nursing home or school that might use them in a project, and recycle the rest.
DeleteI have never sent a Christmas letter, but I am a huge fan of sending cards to others.
ReplyDeleteAre you still writing Santa letters?
DeleteI have cut down on the number of cards I send and I rarely write anything more than "Wish you all the best in the New Year", although I might write a brief note in the card I send to my oldest half-brother. I have a friend who sends a printed letter with her card.
ReplyDeleteI thought about you as I was looking through last years cards. One friend makes hers every year and I know that you like to do that, also.
DeleteI send Christmas cards, each with notes inside, but over the years I get fewer and fewer from people. Last year was a new low with maybe four cards in all I got. I use to hang them with clothespins or Christmas tape on a line and loved doing that.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a good place to display cards and put them in a basket. My parents used to string them along our steps. Back in those days, you got a lot of cards.
DeleteI enjoy getting Christmas cards. I mostly send them either to family or to my "Christmas card friends", aka people who my husband or I know from years past, as a way to touch base with them. I frequently send out a one-page newsletter. This year, I'm doing something different--the picture card that I have chosen has text areas where you can write a brief summary. I thought it was a clever combination of photo card/letter, all in one sleek package, so I'm doing that.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it IS a lot of time/effort/expense, so I understand why many people don't want to do it, especially if they are active on social media.
It can definitely be expensive if you mail very many. I've toyed with the idea of doing the picture card like you describe. I will interested to hear how yours turns out.
DeleteI hope Christmas cards never become a thing of the past. We will maybe receive 3-4 a year, but it does make us smile knowing someone is thinking of us.
ReplyDeleteAs Kris described it, it is good to keep in contact with our Christmas card buddies and know that they are still thinking about us. I hope the cards never go away, either.
DeleteI think in the 16 years that Nick and I have been together, we've only sent out Christmas cards four or five times. Some years I think about doing it, but never seem to get around to it. I really enjoy baking for people around the holidays, so I tend to focus a little more on that.
ReplyDeleteI do send Christmas cards to my chemo and senior buddies. I actually send them Christmas-themed cards for the whole month of December.
We get some Christmas cards every year, but it does seem like less every year. I enjoy getting them, especially the photo ones and seeing how much kids and/or pets have grown and changed during the year.
Sending cards out the whole month of December to your buddies definitely counts as sending Christmas Cards. I'm the opposite of you. I tend to concentrate on the cards and not the baking. I do some baking every year, but always below what I think I want to do.
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