Greeting cards - Yay or nay?

[china mom]

Are greeting cards important to you? As a sender? A recipient?

I am horrible at cards and never remember to pick them up before the occasion and have to make a special trip at the last minute.. Like wise, I don't really appreciate them when I am on the receiving end. I am not nostalgic enough to save them either.

I have friends and family that live for cards. They remember every occasion with one. I would like to be better about cards but it has just never happened.

How about you?

 

[Meriweather]

I always send one to an aunt.....no computer, so it is a way to reach out.
Every holiday.

 

[soccerdad72]

Not a big fan personally, but I have a lot of family than loves them, so we always try to send them out. My mom and my MIL, for example, will send our boys cards for even the most obscure holidays (e.g. St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, etc.)

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I am a card person. I always send them but not on time lately. I have 3 sympathy cards to do now.

I like getting them too. I don't save that many.
Always send Christmas cards.
Once a month I send notes to the sick and shut ins at our church. I just buy the blank notes from the dollar store and write something inside because if I Sent a real card all the time it would be getting too expensive.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Are greeting cards important to you? As a sender? A recipient?

I am horrible at cards and never remember to pick them up before the occasion and have to make a special trip at the last minute.. Like wise, I don't really appreciate them when I am on the receiving end. I am not nostalgic enough to save them either.

I have friends and family that live for cards. They remember every occasion with one. I would like to be better about cards but it has just never happened.

How about you?

As a mom, I appreciate getting at least a card for my birthday. Even though I'm reachable via internet, I appreciate the effort that you at least went out and looked through one or two other cards before you bought one and sent it to me. Gifts, not so much. I just like to know you at least took some time to think about me.

 

[nkereina]

Cards are thoughtful, IMO. You know the person took the time to go to the store, pick one out, write you a message, and drop it in the mailbox. When I have a birthday, I mostly get texts or Facebook messages, so I appreciate the few cards I actually get in the mail.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yeah I do cards. I actually organized the cards a few years ago in labeling the year and I've put them in photo boxes you get at Michaels (bought when they were dirt cheap). For sentimental value I've kept basically all. I would personally feel bad for throwing away a card I received. My husband doesn't care either way.

I do take time to pick out the card.

As far as friends and family I think that depends on the relationship and norms for your circle.

What I will say is cards have gotten very pricey so I can understand how one might feel overwhelmed if they felt like they needed to give a card for every occasion to every person.

We do Christmas cards for our neighbors in our part of the cul-de-sac though they were bought as sets when they were inexpensive and we just got more sets earlier this year when Hallmark had a few left that were 75% off. I thought it would be nice when we moved in 4 years ago to do that so we've just kept it up writing a quick note wishing them a good year. One of the neighbors across the street moved but within a 10min drive from us and they like to send Christmas cards with a family picture on it and a family update. We hope they continue that even though they've moved. We'll still be sending them a card come Christmas.

If you know people who really care about it I doubt it so much about the physical material item of a card but more the thoughts behind it.

 

[Nora03]

I make cards as a hobby, so each one I make is a little work of art. So my family and friends get those cards. I love receiving cards. I have a card my parents gave me many years ago expressing their love for me and special handwritten notes of thanks from each of them for something I did for them. I cherish it and read it occasionally and have a little cry. They’ve been gone many years. I really like the cards my DH gives me and he knows I appreciate them. He’s not romantic or wordy, but chooses perfectly worded cards.

 

[Christine]

I'm a NAY. Don't like to give, don't like to receive. It's a rare occasion anymore where I card captures the perfect sentiment.

I will send a card for sympathy to someone that I can't express my sympathy in person to.

 

[design_mom]

Eh, I'm in the middle.

If I'm receiving a card (christmas card, birthday card, etc.) then i do like to receive them. Especially if it's obvious the person picked out the card for me. (My husband got me a card recently that says "If we only had one cookie, I'd give you the bigger half." It's funny because "the bigger half" is a pet-peeve of mine. Half is half -- equal parts. I knew he picked it out just for me, even though he was teasing me, rather than just grabbing the first one he saw.)

If it's a card that accompanies a gift and the card is pretty much just serving the purpose of a gift tag (to ___, from ___) then I'd say skip the card. Do a homemade tag or write it on the wrapping paper. We've stopped doing cards for most birthdays where we'll see the person and give the gift in person... but I still do them for people that I won't see. (My mom is usually out of state on her birthday. I will send her a card.) And I do still send Christmas cards.

 

[NAB]

Love getting cards especially at Christmas. I don’t save them though. Buy Next years when they are on sale after Christmas.

I saved all the cards my kids and husband gave me. They always draw extra stuff on the cards or in them. Makes me laugh. Plus I only get a few now from husband because I told him don’t waste your money, so when we are at the store we will show each other a card...lol

We usually get a lot of junk mail these days so I like sending them out to my family , Birthdays are some times late but who cares.

 

[china mom]

I never mail cards at all. With one exception - a sympathy card. I do take the time to pick a perfect card and write a personal note. But i never mail holiday or birthday cards.

I end up grabbing a card at the last minute if I am giving a check as a wedding gift. A shower or wedding gift that is actually a gift will usually only have a gift tag.

My son got presents last night for his 16th birthday and I bought the card yesterday morning. I just can't get it together to buy ahead of time.

At work, the Office Coordinator pulls a stack of generic cards and all of the Admin staff signs it. There is no thought or feeling behind our signatures. In fact, she had just put "Sue's" card in her mail slot when she learned that Sue had just quit that morning. So, jokingly, since my office is just across from the mail slots, she crossed off Sue and wrote Maria (that's me) and said she would save it for me.

It has been a running joke between us all summer, every time I come across it on her desk. My birthday is at the end of this month.

Ya' see, all of Admin has already signed it, in fact, I probably did too, but there is no sentiment behind it.

 

[Squirlz]

I use cards for my Mom. For birthdays among family and friends, Facebook wishes are fine for me. My Wife's Father and his Wife do something I can't stand. They have some service where they have plugged in people and dates and the service sends out cards complete with their 'signature'. Super tacky IMO. Cards show that you were thinking about someone. Remove the thought and it's just more trash in the mail.

 

[disykat]

I used to enjoy Christmas cards, but gave up on that a few years ago.

Other than that, I also don't really value cards. I don't send them often, nor do I particularly enjoy them. I do appreciate the thought of the sentiment of the occasion though. I consider them a way to let people far away know I'm thinking of them. I try to keep an assortment of cards handy to send when I haven't been able to express the appropriate sentiment in another way. Sometimes I do find one perfect for someone and get it, but I'm certainly not a card person. I send maybe 5 cards a year? Usually after a death or to someone struggling with an illness.

As far as part of a gift, I use gift tags and only use cards if the gift is money or gift card.

 

[Minnesota!]

My mom likes getting them for her birthday, so I send one each year. She picks out a nice one for my birthday each year. Beyond that, no, they are not important to me. Any that I DO get, outside of my mom's, I throw away after reading it.

 

[KPeterso]

I am more or less in the middle. I do like sending and receiving them. But I am not always good about doing so. Don't ask for 1 on time for a birthday because it would be a miracle if it happened.

I really liked them in college. My Mom made a point of sending me a card every single week (sometimes upcoming holidays like Halloween, sometimes for a great job on something, sometimes just to let me know she was thinking of me or provide encouragement). And if it seemed I was having a rough time, I got multiple in a week.Just her special way of making me feel extra loved while away at school. She emailed me daily, but still dropped a card to me every week just because and so I always had some mail in my box.

 

[cabanafrau]

I've cut down tremendously since the price of cards got so high within the past year, year and a half. When fairly plain cards hit 7.99 at Hallmark and I really struggled to find anything worth sending I cut back to very special occasions in our household, very special occasions only for people who I thought wouldn't miss the extras I cut out and stuck to what I was doing for the elders who I thought really appreciate getting them.

Interestingly within the past 6 months 2 longtime Hallmark stores in our area closed their doors. One loss made me really sad because they carried a nice selection of smaller gifts that have made shopping for some occasions really quick and easy for a long time. I started figuring I wasn't the only one turned off at the prices Hallmark wanted for really uninspired, sometimes genuinely ugly cards and gift wrap. I've started picking up some baskets secondhand, putting in some gift shred, tying a bow on the handle and giving a lot of gifts in baskets instead of wrapping or gift bags anymore.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I've cut down tremendously since the price of cards got so high within the past year, year and a half. When fairly plain cards hit 7.99 at Hallmark and I really struggled to find anything worth sending I cut back to very special occasions in our household, very special occasions only for people who I thought wouldn't miss the extras I cut out and stuck to what I was doing for the elders who I thought really appreciate getting them.

Interestingly within the past 6 months 2 longtime Hallmark stores in our area closed their doors. One loss made me really sad because they carried a nice selection of smaller gifts that have made shopping for some occasions really quick and easy for a long time. I started figuring I wasn't the only one turned off at the prices Hallmark wanted for really uninspired, sometimes genuinely ugly cards and gift wrap. I've started picking up some baskets secondhand, putting in some gift shred, tying a bow on the handle and giving a lot of gifts in baskets instead of wrapping or gift bags anymore.

There's still a decent amount of Hallmark locations around me but not all are actual Gold Crown locations and normally they are franchised ones so I'll get coupons that are only good at X location and another coupon good at Y location and then I'll get actual Hallmark coupons that come from corporate. All of the locations carry different types of merchandise. One has a lot of Vera Bradley stuff, another one has some but then had more local-made items, another one is more traditional Hallmark store, etc.

 

[Nohal]

My mom sent out cards to everyone for every occasion. They were important to her. I send to immediate family for every holiday (Halloween, Christmas, Easter, and Birthdays). Mom passed away at the age of 91. When were cleaning out her house, we found that she had saved every card, invitation, thank you note, and graduation announcement that she every received. There was a lot of paper items that went into recycling.

 

[Anastasi]

Nope, I think spending $6-$10 for a card is ridiculous. I could care less if you give me one. To me, handing someone a card once a year on their birthday or mother's day to show love is a cop out. Showing appreciation for a person is year round. A simple "I love you" or "thanks" year round means way more than a piece of paper with some canned verse on it.

My son and his fiance have a fun game that they will do when they are at the grocery store. They will pick out card for each other, let each other read them, and then put them back. $15 saved.