Do people not send Christmas cards as much anymore?

[PaulaSue]

I send a ton but a lot of friends said they are not doing them this year or the last few (one said) years. It makes me sad and I love to see the pictures but oh well what can you do?

 

[zalansky]

We do photo cards too now that we have kids, and I will never go back to boxed cards. I don't have the time, energy or will to hand write out 50 cards. It's bad enough I have to write out all the addresses. We have received a few boxed cards on which people just signed their names. That, to me, is the most impersonal. I love getting other peoples photo cards too, and see how much their kids/dogs/families changed in the past year.

 

[wilderness01]

Pearlieq wrote:

What is personal to me about a picture of the most important people in YOUR life? If I'm already close to you, I know what your kid/dog/house looks like, and if I'm not close to you I really don't care that much. I mean, it's nice to look at for a minute, but beyond a glance and thinking "Your kid/dog/house sure is big/cute/expensive-looking", it doesn't have much impact for me and will be forgotten in a few minutes. I'm not offended to get them, I just don't really value them all that much.

I honestly think they're kind of self serving. People talk about the effort of getting their kids dressed up, taking the photos, and picking them out, but I think that effort benefits them more than anyone else. It doesn't have to be done, so there must be something about it that people enjoy. And that's fine, but don't pass it of to me as concern or effort on my behalf. Plus, if we're being honest (or cynical--take your pick ) don't people kind of use them to show off? The message usually seems to be "Admire my kid/dog/house".


First off this response is really not in the Christmas spirit now do you think? Secondly I don't "show off" anything more than my children's faces. That isn't "showing off" either, it is just updating our friends/distant family on their growth. You can only see from the mid-chest up so really you can't even see what they are truly wearing and certainly we are not showing anything more than how their faces are maturing. I do not nor do our friends and families feel, "I have seen them once so who cares what they look like." You are correct, that is cynical. Do you not have any photos around your house? Or are they just of you and your husband? Maybe it is just our preference and to each their own, but we have lots of pictures up of friends and family that are updated with current pictures from time to time. Our Christmas card certainly isn't about "admire my kid/dog/house" it is about sharing our life with our friends/family. Thirdly, I have plenty of pictures of my kids and our friends/family ask for updated pictures of them as well. This is in no way self-serving to me. This is a way to get them a picture and honor their request at least once a year. I try to give people who ask for pictures updated shots when they ask, but sometimes life gets in the way and at least at Christmas I make an extra effort to shoot some new film. I have never thought twice when I looked at someone's kids/dogs and thought "boy that is expensive looking." I just don't have that issue, so I could care less if they are taking the picture in the middle of a dirty snowpile or in the middle of a lovely resort from their last trip. The surroundings make no difference to me, just the thought and wish of the season that someone thought enough of us to include us in their lives. Seeing kids grow up is keeping up with someone's life and what's going on in it. Kind of like listening to what is happening in their life. Kind of like reading someone's journal and making comments on the progress in their journey or sharing their vacation experiences with them by reading about their trip report. I never thought anyone writing personal essays were self-serving, only sharing their experiences and what was important to them. Really whether they are words from a journal or a picture, which is worth a thousand words, it is a means of sharing period. There are no other issues in it for me at all. Sorry you feel this way. I guess we will have to agree to just disagree on this one. Have a Merry Christmas.

 

[LVSWL]

Right there with you WildernessO1!!!