I have received 4 and sent none. Two were from contractors that I had paid to have stuff done. One from next door and one from another mom at my kid’s school.
Who (we shall remember) most famously (in public print, no less) offered Bill Clinton oral sex for "keeping abortion legal."
So much for journalistic credibility.
We only sent out about 70 cards this year - down from 100+ in previous. It’s getting expensive and seems wasteful to broadcast cards to everyone we know, most of whom we haven’t seen/heard from for years and only think of when it’s time to send out cards based on last years list.
USPS postage rates are killing off the Christmas greeting cards. USPS is killing the Goose which lays the goldeen egggs for the USPS.
Probably about half of the mail I send every year is Christmas cards, and even then I overbuy stamps. Next year's October tax payment will still have this year's Christmas stamps on them.
I will readily admit that I have always been terrible at sending Christmas cards. Not sure why... the time gets away from me. However, yes.. we received about four or five... I think the postage rates have decreased the amount. When you start adding up the cost of food, gifts, etc.. not much left for postage.
There is one type of card that has always annoyed me... the dreaded “my life is so great and better than yours” card. Maybe I’m the only one that gets those. A relative or neighbor writes about their year.. “John and I had a wonderful time in Bora Bora, the kids are all going to Ivy League schools, I decided I didn’t like last years carpet colors so I replaced the entire house with new carpet again, attending the Kennedy Center every Friday night is becoming boring, the new Lexus is wonderful...” I hate those...
Hallmark give to the DNC. Why not?
I think it is. The passing of an age for sure. I don’t send anymore. My family and friends and I send eCards and, quite honestly, they are beautiful and we really enjoy them. We also tend to send many more than just one.
I am surprised that I say this ... but I kind of like it.
The only cars I get are from people who want tips
While the internet may be killing Christmas Cards (why pay for a stamp when e-mail is free?) I remember a time when the Christmas Card was a simple brief statement, not a journal of the year’s events. It was meant as just a cheery well-wish and not a summary of the year that some saw as “bragging” (i.e. MY daughter was an honor student this year and MY son was All-District. MY husband got a raise, blah blah blah...).
So the commiebabe is truly mourning the loss of a federal bureaucracy and the union (ie Democrat votes) stooges that come with it.
Somehow a Christmas email sent to a distribution list doesn’t have the same personal touch as a mailed card but I must admit it is an efficient way to distribute the all-important Christmas letter.
For the past several years Mr. Mercat has designed and sent his own, usually with a cute photo of our granddaughter. Last year it was a photo of my two older brothers at the ages of about 3 and 7 sledding in an old black and white photo. So glad he did because the younger one passed away this year. This year his mother is in her last few weeks and so caring for her has taken precedence over Christmas cards. His example did however, start our niece and nephew doing photo cards with their families and these are proudly displayed on our refrigerator. We get a few but not many. I don’t miss them.
When I DON’T receive a Christmas Card or a Christmas e-mail, that is when I know my friend is dead. :-(
Mailing Christmas cards is probably dying out as the senders are dying.
My wife is a ludite in her 70’s, and she had a core list to send cards to every year of about 40 cards, and I had a core of about 10.
After I became proficient in computers about 2 decaces ago, she would have me do an annual Christmas update letter re our family to be copied. Then, she would send the letter with a hand written personal 1/2 page update to her/our friends and relatives with about a dozen in Christmas cards.
About 10 years ago, I started sending most of my so called Christmas letters via email to those with and using email.
I’m down to about 3 cards with the letters to ludites like my wife.
Now a total of 2 dozen Christmas Letters handles my wife’s and my short mailing list. At least two more people celebrated their last Christmas a year ago as this/year’s letters/Cards were returned, and we found out that these former friends are no longer around.
I communicate via Email with a lot of relatives and frends on a regular basis. So there is no need for a Christmas update letter.
This trend has to be devastating Hallmark, we used have two freestanding Hallmarks and a couple of seasonal shops in stores. The last Hallmark closed last year, and the shop area is becoming a chain specialty store which will carry some seasonal Cards, but probably not Hallmark.
That’s not the Christmas card, that’s the Christmas letter. Which has always been kind of annoying and weird. “Now I will tell all you people I didn’t talk to this year what happened while I was not talking to you”. Christmas cards are alive and well, my wife has forged my signature on nearly a hundred.
WE received far fewer this year than last year. WE sent out fifteen. In short, I agree the Christmas card custom seems to be dying.