Do you send out, or receive, greeting cards?
When you send out cards, do you simply sign the card or include a personal message? If you include a message, is it personal or generic?
When you receive cards, are you sometimes disappointed in the card because there is no meaningful message (or perhaps a gift)?
I have not sent out cards in a while, because I usually email or text people and I put the same message there. I usually only appreciate cards when there is a meaningful message. Growing up, I used to get birthday and Christmas cards from close family and sometimes a friend and I still keep them. However, over time I have not received meaningful cards (or sent out cards). Some cards I receive just have a signature, and while I am glad they thought of me to send a card I usually throw them away. I find these cards no different than the generic cards from the doctor's office or year-end cards from other establishments that come in the mail.
Great thread as always,
@MsMediator.
I don't know how many followed this tradition, but when I was growing up, it seemed to be some kind of gracious expectation that people would send out Christmas cards with an annual "Christmas letter" -- usually a page or two of updates on how everyone in the family was doing. I've always loved written correspondence and started participating in it since the time I could write sentences, so when I was old enough, my Mom had me proofread her Christmas letters every year. (Please excuse all the typos now I make on the forum -- these days my brain seems to proofread things as they are in my head, not the way I've actually written them.)
My Mom didn't like writing letters but it was a tradition, so she upheld that with faraway friends and family for many decades -- and I followed her lead. These days I wish I would have insisted on keeping a copy of each of her yearly letters for myself.
As a big fan of exchanging letters and the power of conveying everyday life stories in written words, nothing was more disappointing to me than getting cards with only a name signed, or letters that were maybe 3 or 4 sentences. Therefore, I always tried to make sure to include some kind of story in my letters, no matter how mundane, but to hopefully embellish each with a little humor.
Now sure, I'm well aware that this might bore some to tears, but that's what I love about writing -- if you're on the phone with someone, you're pretty much trapped -- but with writing, you can choose to talk away at any time. If someone reads something I wrote, it makes me happy to know they chose to take their own time to do so.
The first time I went to a meet a small group (about 6) of CC members in person was around 2015; CC also had live chats then, so I knew a lot of faraway people. That year I sent out something like 66 Christmas cards. I printed out a traditional annual Christmas letter to send with each card, about 2 typed pages, then signed and hand-wrote an additional note specifically tailored to each person and their situation.
Yes, it took a while. I remember having them all laid out in rows on the living room floor to stay organized. But to me, it was pure joy and something I genuinely loved doing. I felt like I was wrapping gifts for people. Sometimes, there would be a yearly picture as well. However, I also realize that most people don't have the time or will to write something or much of anything back, so over the years, I lost touch with a lot of people.
These days I don't send Christmas cards but I do send handwritten letters to certain people at least a few times a year.
I miss the days of snail mail and old-fashioned pen pals, but when I've looked for modern online pen pal communities online, they all seem to be groups I wouldn't fit into (either very young, only interested in gifts, or those looking to write to fellow moms and Grandma's.)
The other problem I find is that cards and stamps are SO expensive -- nearly $10 for a card, unless you get generic boxed ones which are still pretty pricey, and stamps are nearly $1 a piece... These days I just buy colored paper and stickers and use that instead.
I would love to get back into old-fashioned penpallin, but it's hard to meet anyone you can trust to get to know, and even I have to admit that it's hard to beat online speed and convenience.
