What's that? About $14,800 Maryland tax dollars at work play?
Posted on 12/29/2005 3:16:08 AM PST by beaversmom
It began to dawn on Kimberly Forsyth last week: She wasn't getting as many Christmas cards as she used to.
"Usually by now my mailbox is full of them," said Forsyth, 42, a business consultant who was at the main Baltimore post office recently, sending Christmas packages. "By now I usually have 40 to 50 cards. This year I have about 10."
Of course, Forsyth wasn't sending as many as usual, either - about 50 this year, compared with 150 in previous years. She writes a personal note in each of her cards and said she just doesn't have the time this year.
The Greeting Card Association says just as many holiday cards will be sent this season as in the past few years - about 1.9 billion, for an average of 26 per household - but that is still down from the 2.2 billion that circulated about 10 years ago.
Even if card-sending has remained at the same level in recent years, in post offices and card shops around Baltimore people said they've been cutting back on their holiday greetings for reasons of time and money.
Some said it's the cost of postage, now up to 37 cents for a stamp and increasing to 39 cents in January. Others said they're just so busy that they might not get around to signing, sealing and delivering their usual batch before time runs out. And a few are sending holiday e-cards over the Internet to acquaintances who don't quite rate an actual card.
(One notable exception is Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who sent out 40,000 cards, about the same as last year and reportedly more than any other governor in the country.)
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
Got as many CHRISTmas cards as usual BUT also received several "holiday" cards. I'm happy to know Holi was born in a manger in Bethlehem. I wasn't aware of that fact.
What's that? About $14,800 Maryland tax dollars at work play?
It seems we received more than the average amount of cards this year and most were Christmas cards.
I received a lot of E-cards
Same here-- lots more ecards & email, much less paper traffic. Between the annoyance of locating the right cards in a store and postage, I rarely send cards anymore-- if I want to say "hi" to someone, I'll write a short handwritten letter.
It's not just the postage and e-cards, but the PRICE of a box of cards can be extreme sometimes, even when they are on sale for 50% off.
My mother and I make a special trip for Christmas cards during the after-Christmas sales. We usually find many at very reduced prices, especially if we go early on the 26th before the good ones are picked over. We also buy our paper, stickers, tags, bows and ribbon as needed at the same time for next year.
Strange,
I actually received more this year.
We received the normal amount, but keep paring down the list of those we send to as some of them are friends we haven't seen for 20+ years and probably will not see again.
We don't send to those we see in person. I agree that many people are sending e-greetings or making phone calls (esp. young people). Cell phone packages usually allow unlimited long distance calls on weekends/ holidays/ evenings and that's the way most young people communicate. My age 20 something children do not send Christmas cards at all.
An etiquette question: Is it permissable to send an e-thank you (e-mail, e.g.) for Christmas gifts in lieu of a snail mail version?
sw
My mom and I do the same thing.
That's a good question. I've wondered the same thing. Sometimes I will send an e-mail to let the person know I got the money/gift and then send a thank note via snail mail as well.
I noticed the reduction this year, but then I sent out fewer cards. I finally took all those folks off my list who have never gotten around to send cards.
Well, I'm probably too casual for "Miss Manner's" rules, but I think it's good to thank the person in whatever way you normally communicate with them. Call, write, email, stop by and visit... just do it soon if the gift was sent by mail from afar, because the sender is wondering if you got it, and most important, if you liked it.
I thanked my family in person, and also sent them pictures in email of the present being put to use! I think anyone would like that.
I've never understood why Christians send other Christians "Holiday" cards.
I send/recieve "Holiday" cards from my non-Christian friends but that at Least makes sense.
Because they don't buy two kinds of cards and they liked the picture or the message of the 'holiday' card?
I don't see "Happy Holidays" as anti Christmas, the way some of the hyper sensitive do. Jeepers... it's just a greeting.
I see "Happy Holidays" as a way to greet people you may not see between November and January, who you hope have a nice Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. That's how it started, not as any way to 'dis' Christmas.
I think it's missing the point to receive a card from someone and wish they had sent you something else.
I do think that overall, it's the age of this woman that is affecting her feeling that there aren't as many people sending cards. The generation that always sent written Christmas cards is aging and dying out. Her parents and their generation were much more into Christmas cards, hand addressed, than the generations to follow, who may rather send ecards, post a message of cheer on their blogs, or even make a phone call of good cheer and call it good.
We sent more Christmas cards this year than I have before, but I think that is more because I am recently married to a new 'in-law' family that is far away. There were some years when I was single that I didn't send any at all.
Yeah, they're too lazy to buy two kinds of cards, so they just buy a "Holiday" card.
I've told others, i.e. Christians friends, just send me a note, and skip the "Holiday" card. If you don't care about Christmas, that's cool.
I think that's really rude of you, you'd not get anything from me again if you said that.
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