General Chat

I used to send out around 70 cards each years mostly to family ,we are a big one !! and friends hubby and I had made along the way

You want to stay in touch and them getting a card lets em know you are still around !!

When Michael died late oct 2015 Xmas was just not something I wanted to do but it was there anyway

I decided to make a donation in his memory to the Wisdom Hospice at Rochester Kent who looked after him in his last days

I have done the same each year

Bee postage is so expensive but I think I have cut it back to the cards I have to send but it's still expensive.

Wish I could opt out completely and just contribute to the hospice for the wonderful care they give to patients and their families

Why not opt out completely if that's what you really want to do? Especially if you plan to make a donation to such a good cause instead.

It's awkward though cos some of the family are elderly and not on social media

Michael's mums family are in USA

Mums BHC family are in Canada and I'm in touch with a second cousin who is in her late 80,s and not on the internet

Do they have email??

We stopped buying cards a couple of years ago but did send a short letter to everyone saying what had happened during the year .......... short, sweet and funny, we hope.

Now we're trying to send as many as we can by email, and many of our friends are doing the same.

We make up 1 letter, print off as many copies as we need, OH adds name to top and may add a note at the bottom.

We used to send between 140 and 150 cards every year, have gradually whittle that back to this year's list of 95. About 60 will have to be mailed but about 35 will go email.

The only cards we actually mail are to the 5 great-nieces and 1 great-nephew, who are all under 10.

We now only buy those 6 cards, 1 for our grandson, 1 for our daughter and son, and for each other ............. and only the first 6 are mailed,

My list has decreased massively over the years but I will still send out cards as many people I know, don't have email. I still like to receive cards I can look through again later and you can get nice but relatively cheap cards. I am hoping to get them written very soon so most can go out 2nd class and a few have to go abroad, it's the only link between family friends overseas, some being friends of my late Mum. When I or they are gone the links will cease as my son will be unlikely to continue.

I give to charity when I can and buy from charity shops. My cards are those that charity related too.

Lizx

Liz ........... we used to buy UNICEF cards, but they honestly became so expensive that buying 110-120 started costing us around $250

Add that to the postage for at least 90 overseas, and we were spending close to $600 (or over £350) just for Christmas cards.

We couldn't continue to spend that much money!

Most of our overseas friends have been sending Xmas letters for years as a means of keeping everyone updated on family events, so we decided to join them! The postage costs are still over $200 (over £110) even though we have cut out a lot of people who did not send us cards or letters for 2 or 3 years (even though we knew they were still alive!!), as well as sending as many as we can by email.

I receive numerous Christmas Cards from those who never bother to phone me throughout the year.

Likewise, I send out loads to many I haven’t called either.

Last year, a lady at Church on Christmas Eve handed a Christmas card to me saying - “Sorry, I couldn’t remember your name”. :-D

It's not the cost of the cards so much as the cost of the postage

I used to buy boxes of cards so the postage costs more than the individual card

The close family ones I hand deliver anyway .and they are bought separately

I still send out over 80 hand made cards. It is my hobby, I love to do it. The stamps I buy books of 12 throughout the year so it is only oversea cards that feel expensive to send when the time comes. I love sending cards as well. (I do also give to charity at this time of year especially).

Interesting isn't it how different families have differing customs?

My 3 adult children and I never exchange Christmas cards and never have done, apart from ones they made as children and were given pride of place.
I have been lucky to have always seen my children, for at least part of Christmas day.

We always exchange birthday cards though, so I'm not quite sure how our Christmas cards idea started.

I send cards to close family and friends, but as we get older the numbers have gone steadily down.

To save on overseas postage, all those living abroad get an e-card. I have been doing this for several years now and the recipients all love them. The site I use is

https://www.jacquielawson.com

which is a subscription site and for a very reasonable annual cost you can send as many cards as you want.

Andysmum ........

I have used Jacqui Lawson for years, and send them to many of my internet friends, plus I often send birthday cards from them to family, especially the children, in addition to mailed b'day cards!

They are great, and incredibly cheap. I think I paid $20 for a 2-year subscription last time I renewed :-0

Years back when my Mum and Dad were alive, we would almost compete, both of us would receive around 130 cards each year. I have lost many people from my lists sadly but have recently gained a few more as I have discovered 'new'relatives.

Lizx