Christmas Cards

The scouts here deliver local cards for 30p each. A poster is placed in a Building Society in the High Street which gives details of each collection point, how much is charged and when the cards will be delivered. A box is in place for the cards, a piggy bank on top for the cash, under the eye of the cashiers at the counter. When I take the cards down on Twelfth Night they go out for recycling.

TyneAngel, could you, instead of buying the stamps through the year, put the money for them in a jam jar and then go and buy the Christmas ones when they come out? Just an idea. I agree with you about cutting out the no-message people. I used to exchange letters in the cards with some old friends. It has gradually dwindled to notes written in the cards, but it's still interesting to get that much news.

I've posted 3 of mine!!! They were both in (non-Christmas) parcels, but I was organised enough to get the cards written to go with them! Now I'll be feeling so pleased with myself that I'll forget to get on with writing the rest...

We send cards only to people we won't see at Christmas, it's daft to give cards to those you live with.
Most young people simply don't do cards so I think they're dying out. I send fewer each year.

Thank you Indiana ?

grannylyn65 here is the Jacqui Lawson site

I don't know what a Jacqui Lawson card is!!

I've bought a book of 6 second-class stamps from time to time throughout the year and tucked them away with the left-over cards from last Christmas. Although this means I don't have the bonny Christmas stamps, it does lessen the load. Also, I decided a year or two ago that if I only heard from people once a year via a Christmas card that only said something like 'Happy Christmas from Bob and Betty' or whoever, that didn't constitute a friendship and I crossed them off my list, unless there were special circumstances.

Glad you said that roses. I have a friend who gives to charity instead of sending cards. She still has cards sent to her though and happily displays them. She is denying her would be recipients the pleasure of a card while not going without them herself. And she chooses the charity that her would-be recipients are donating to! Far better IMHO to tell friends not to send you a card but to put the cost of the card and stamp in a charity box. If they then decide to join in and not receive cards, then that is fine.

Have pruned my Christmas card list this year and sending to 30 close family and friends. Always send to those who are on there own and to whom a card is very much appreciated. Posting second class on 8th December.

I had donation request from Salvation Army today and in it was a Christmas card which they ask you to sign and send with the donation so that they can give the card to a homeless/ needy person. I will be doing that.
Talking of postage, I paid £10 to send a 1.4 kilo parcel to Scotland on Saturday.

Giving the money to charity won't help anyone that would have liked a Christmas card through the post.We send cheques to two charities at Christmas, Barnardos and Salvation Army , but would still send cards as well.

Got out the box containing cards, wrap, ribbon etc today, and found that I had about 70 cards there, so no need to buy any more this year.Yes, the postage,even 2nd class is expensive, but Christmas is only once a year after all.

Just been to the PO to buy the stamps can't believe it cost more for the stamps than the cards this year... and I've cut down and will deliver some by hand, it really is such a waste of money I think I'd rather donate the money to a good charity I may well do that next year I think.

In reply

I made a big mistake one year of asking for staff list at work. Just to get the spellings right on a few names. But me and my big heart started to feel sorry for staff I was leaving out. I ended up writing nearly hundred. Talk about daft. Narrowed right down now. Lol! Merry Christmas All!

Posted my first batch of cards today, second class. Will post the rest by Friday 4th December. Must admit I won't be sending as many this year as last year. Unfortunately on an economy drive, the price of stamps are outrageous. Not that I'm being tight, but there are a few people I haven't seen for years, and I think they send to me only because I send to them. The way I look at it is I'm doing them a favour, and letting them off the hook. Am I wrong?

Yes, great fo people far away. Have to say I always found it a bit strange to give cards to all the people you see every day, at work, neighbours, etc. Will be busy writing them today and tomorrow morning, as we are having lunch with friends from the UK tomorrow- and they will take them and post them for us in the UK next week.

I post less now because of Fb and people passing away I've written a few already. In total I will give about 40 cards and receive about the same.

It's a good way of hearing from people who have drifted away over the years.

Post 30 or so. Getting less each year. Then hand deliver locally. So another 15. Love getting cards through the post. I try for second week in December. Likely to be later this year. Each time I buy the stamps I wonder about a note saying this will be the last time but as I love getting the cards I don't and I guess won't.

Charity cards bought and waiting for DH to write his bulletin which will go with the cards to those people who we keep in touch with after twenty years overseas and some neighbours who moved away. Love reading their news! Postage is fairly hefty but worth it. We have whittled down the number we send as it used to be about ninety every year but if a person didn't send a card for two years running we took them off the list. Local cards are hand delivered round the village. It's exciting getting the cards, reading the news and putting them in the hanging containers which decorate all the doors downstairs. I always keep the cards from family, and still look at the ones received from those who have gone, sad but the memories are good!

Now that most of us don't get any actual letters ( not counting bills!) it is rather nice to open all the cards.

I remember when I was a child (around 1950) my mother used to wait and post Christmas cards on Christmas Eve, so that they were delivered on Christmas morning!

Another vote for real cards, not e-cards. We got one e-card last year and looked at it a couple of times, but the real cards were stuck up on the doors as usual so that we could see them and think about the people who sent them - much more fun IMO. I'll get down to it next week, I hope (see Procrastination thread!)

I am a Christmas card fan and always choose a very thick, quality card which has to have both a religious picture and be by a traditional artist, usually Renaissance but often Arts and Crafts or Pre Raphaelite. I write the card and envelope by hand and enclose a yearly newsletter which, if irritating, can always be binned by Chrustmas curmudgeons. Then I post the lot on the 10th December. It is a real thrill posting all those lovely, white, crisp, fat envelopes with their Christmas stamps and hearing them fall into the box. Then there is the sheer joy and pleasure of almost three weeks' worth of personal post from others - lovely envelopes on the doormat from all over the UK and the world.

I have also sent a Jacquie Lawson card to everyone on my e mail list for Christmas Day.

I love Christmas and everything about it but the cards are really special.

PS in answer to Minder we were told that last year 76% of the money goes to the charities, it varies according to costs of hiring the space for the charity shops, many are in churches so the church also benefits.