Stop Sending Christmas Cards - what do you think?

babelfish

This has long been an annoyance with me and everyone that you ask (usually the woman of the house!) hates writing the things. We spend ages making a list of recipients, buying the cards and then writing them all out and, of course, worrying that we've forgotten anyone! Then when we receive them, the house gets overloaded as we used card trees/hangers to put them on.

I decided that I would tell everyone this year that Im not sending any cards. I would rather give the money to charity. I thought I would tell everyone in plenty of time so that they hadn't already got me one.

Apart from feeling guilty about the people who work in the card industry I feel it is the right thing to do and also a green thing.

I will still send gifts to all the usual people but there are people who I don't see very often who may get upset if they don't receive a card because Im unable to explain why I haven't sent one. Do you think its something you could do?

All opinions on this welcome.

muz

Hi babelfish,

I decided to do this about 4 years ago, and now I only send a handful of cards to people that I don't see very often, eg. friends or family who live away. You will probably find, as I did, that if you don't send people a card then you wont get one in return! which is fine with me, less waste etc.
I just told everyone that I was trying to be greener !!!

My aunt has also done this, and instead of sending cards, she takes out a small ad in the local paper to wish all her friends and family a merry christmas!!

vixarooni

i love cards!

it makes it all christmassy. Im a traditionalist though, i love writing my cards out and sending people new year wishes aswell.

fast forward 20 more christmases and i may feel differently!

jamtart6

I make handcrafted cards so love making them and sending them, I like xmas cards that have a letter in about what the family has been up to that year etc. A plain old " to X from X" is a bit of a pain.

I do hate 50 for £1 types though!

kethry

I make my own too, its something i enjoy and gives me another creative outlet.. I try to be green by recycling old christmas cards (i get family members to give me theirs after christmas, which i recycle the following year) - i cut bits out of the pictures on the front and use these to make new cards, then properly recycle the remaining card. Having said that, i really only do give/receive cards from family members - OH's family are in the netherlands, so we only see them once a year, if that, and my family are scattered all over so i don't see them very often either, so a handmade card is a really nice touch - we're talking maximum 30 or so. I'd probably feel very different if i had to make and send 100+ of the things!

The other thing i'm doing is putting on the back the note: please recycle your cards, and telling them *where* they can recycle too (apart from giving them to me that is!)

keth
xx

consumermonkey

I stopped giving card back in 1999. As a non-lover of the Christmas thing, it was not all that difficult for me really.

I keep telling people at work I don't do the whole card thing, yet they still send them to me, even though they have known me for many years. these days I just leave them there unopened and bin them boxing day. I do not apologise if some feel this is cold-hearted, I would rather the people do what I do and send the money I would have spent on cards to my charity of choice.

minimacka

I stopped sending cards about 2 years ago when my fil and g.mother died of cancer in the same year. I now donate some money to a cancer charity. I also asked my workplace to do this so instead of spending £100-£150 on specially made cards they now donate £100 to a cancer charity who will send a e-card to all our customers.

Im glad that I started to do this because most of my family now do this so in my eyes its money well donated.

sophiesmum_2

Last year in the sheltered housing where i work we began a new tradition with cards. Most of my residents are in their 80's and were finding it difficult to write out or deliver cards to the other residents - basically they would send one to the other 54 flats and receive the same back.
Last year we set up an area in the main lounge where people could put one card addressed to the whole court and we had a donation box for what they would have spent on cards.
We used the money raised to buy small items. These were then made into parcels for the local christmas homeless shelter. We managed to present them with 50 wrapped gifts of hat, scarf, socks, gloves and chocolate. They were distributed on xmas day and we were sent a letter and photos from the project. For many of the people it was their only gift and they were thrilled.
My residents loved the idea and results so much that they want to do this every year now as it saves them the work, reduces waste and helps others too.
So at xmas we will be a card free zone again.

buxtonrabbitgreen

I do have a lot of cards to buy and write, but to me it's all part of christmas. I do find that old friends who I have not seen for ages tend to get in touch when I send a card. I belong to a dance class and we all buy each other cards also most of my colleagues, we have all worked together for many years. I bought all my cards in the sales in Jamuary so I have nice cards at little expense. I only have to actually post about 20, the rest are hand deliverd. Also having kids, they all like to give them to thier friends. All the cards I have say to recycle on the back anyway. Though the recycling date will be out of date, but never mind.

babelfish

kethry wrote: »

OH's family are in the netherlands, so we only see them once a year, if that, and my family are scattered all over so i don't see them very often either, so a handmade card is a really nice touch

I really think these are the only cards you should send. My husband has a dear old aunty who doesn't live near to us and we always send her a card so that she knows we are thinking of her. Plus your idea of making them yourself is good and its very green to reuse old ones too.

Im afraid Im not very artistic and crafty though so this isn't for me. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and all the traditions and we have decorations and a tree and everything else (the same old ones we have had for about 20 years but I love the memories they give each year!). But Im 42 and have had a lot of cards to write over the years and Ive just got increasingly fed up with this one tradition.

kethry

babelfish wrote: »

I really think these are the only cards you should send. My husband has a dear old aunty who doesn't live near to us and we always send her a card so that she knows we are thinking of her. Plus your idea of making them yourself is good and its very green to reuse old ones too.

they are pretty much the only cards i send. We don't work, so we don't do the obligatory-sending-a-card-cos-otherwise-we-get-dirty-looks thing.. LOL. The only other ones are to friends, who, again, we don't see in person very often. For me though, the handmade card is as good as a present, not in terms of money, but in terms of time spent, to show the recipient: "hey. I'm thinking about you. hope you have a good christmas".

babelfish wrote: »

Im afraid Im not very artistic and crafty though so this isn't for me. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and all the traditions and we have decorations and a tree and everything else (the same old ones we have had for about 20 years but I love the memories they give each year!). But Im 42 and have had a lot of cards to write over the years and Ive just got increasingly fed up with this one tradition.

Oh absolutely, i completely understand that handmaking cards isn't for everyone and wasn't suggesting that it should be: more that it was a different way of thinking of it, perhaps the way it would originally have been thought of back when christmas cards were originally developed (by the victorians, i believe), rather than the en masse sending-a-card-to-everyone-including-the-neighbour's-girlfriend's-daughter's-boyfriend's-cat... okay that was a bit ridiculous but you know what i mean from the sound of it!!

From the sound of your OP you're more worried about people who won't get a card and yet who you actually want to keep in touch with, or family members who you don't see so often. The only other thing i can suggest for those is writing a short note (or phoning/emailing them) around now explaining that you won't be writing & posting christmas cards for the foreseeable future, and that instead, you'll be donating money to X charity, and then they know. It may defeat the object: writing to them to tell them you're not sending them a card.. LOL.. but you will only have to do it the once and not next year. I assume they're people you keep in touch with anyway, and i bet its only a small minority that you can't actually contact in another way.

keth
xx