Snail or Email or What Kind of Holiday Cards?
The tradition of mailing out Christmas cards has changed in recent years, with the price of postage, but I still say there is nothing like going to the mailbox and bringing back a stack of cards.
To sit in your favorite place and to open them like precious gifts. (This is where I say thank you to card companies who do such a fabulous job on design, like Tiny Prints.)
I had just commented to my family that “we’re just not getting the cards this year,” like we have in the past.
But then 2 days straight there were about 8 pictures cards that came in the mail.
That’s 16 beautiful gifts from family and friends! And now more have rolled in …
Next year I have an idea of how I’ll display them, but for this year … smack-dab on the refrigerator where we can all enjoy.
On a sunny, wintery day I sat down and addressed each envelope.
It took time, but I actually enjoy writing out the names and thinking about each family.
Here are a few of our card pictures from the past. The boys.
And then their sister came along.
And then today.
Do you send snail-mail cards, email cards, Christmas letters … or how do you send a holiday greeting to your friends and family?
(Tiny Prints provided my cards but did not pay me to write this post today.)
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I send snail mail cards but only received five cards this year. FIVE!! I’m grieving over the changes brought about by social media, which IMHO is the culprit. I’m anti facebook, twitter, and blogs so the snail mail cards are really important to me. I felt lonely from lack of cards this year. Sounds silly… but it’s true. It’s a dying tradition.
Cards are one of my favorite parts of the holiday season! I love them and just like you said, they are like a gift. I love seeing all my school friends’ kids growing up, kids that I have never met usually because of where we all live now. I love to display them and it’s such a treat to see what’s in the mail box every day.
It’s New Year’s cards for me this year as I have ran out of time…..thanks for all of your blogs this holiday season as they have prompted me to “stay off the broom” and focus on what is important this time of year. And as a result, I am happier and my family is too. Thanks again for all of your inspiration and Merry Christmas!
The last few years we’ve done cards via e-mail, with picture slideshow and video…it’s been fun. I do still like getting physical cards and if postage wasn’t an issue I’d probably still prefer to do it that way.
Snail, snail, snail! I love sending and receiving Christmas cards. I send out over 350 and enjoy each one. They have slowed down a lot this year and I haven’t really enjoyed getting the ones via email. Seems strange.
It is snail mail for me all the way……. I sit down on Thanksgiving week end and make out all of my Christmas cards. I hand write every one, and put a personal message in each card. It is very personal to me, to connect with people we love and who have shared in our lives over the years. This one time of the year for some is the only time we correspond. I truly feel that hand written cards are a picture to who we are. No one has the same hand writing as we do, and yes over the years my hand writing has gotten a little worse but I still do it. I know we all say we are too busy to do such things but it really does make a difference. I too love to go to the post office in our small town and open the box to find sweet little envelopes stuffed with news and love from near and far…… with that said I say
Merry Christmas to one and all, remembering ALWAYS that JESUS is the only reason for the season!
Blessings Curtis & Sherrie
You guys are such a beautiful family! I love getting photo cards from friends, but it bugs me when they only include their kids in the pictures. I want to see the whole family!! I send out photo cards every year. You’re right, just sitting and writing out addresses to friends and family the old-fashioned way is kind of relaxing. Happiest of holidays to you, my friend! Hope we can get you out to San Diego sometime in 2012!
Your family is gorgeous! I love getting and giving snail mail cards, especially photo cards. I just haven’t made the time or had the energy to send them the past couple of years to send them myself. (I guess since losing a child, I haven’t liked the way our family photo has looked.) Years ago I received a New Year card from a friend. I have sent New Year cards many times since then. I hope to get one out this year…we’ll see. Thanks for sharing your card here!
Merry Christmas!
I love sending and receiving cards this time of year! It makes me sad to see a noticeable decrease in the amount we receive, it is a tradition that is slowing falling away I’m afraid. We do the picture cards each year since we’ve had kids, it fun to see a measurable change every year!
I feel much like you do…nothing beats a mailed, hand-written card. It is a little personal gift of time and thought that blesses the giver and receiver both. I think it’s alright to cut down on your list, but never stop altogether.
Stunning! Your family is beautiful. And I most definitely do snail mail. : ) Always. xo
I always love walking to the post box this time of year, then being thankful for those who thought of me enough to send the card….and those with a letter are always my favorites. I send very few….and have some regrets later. I need to think this one through and put thought into action on year.
Snail mail, for sure. I love to send AND receive cards. I agree that they are like little gifts. For next year, I hope to include a little letter to update everyone about what we’ve been up to over the year along with a photo card of the kids (so far it’s been just the photo card with either a brief handwritten note or a drawing by one of the kids). It’s definitely a happy tradition for us, too. :)
I have always sent out cards with a letter or at least a note inside each card and my list has always been about 60-80 cards. I sent out a postcard type card this year with our family photos and a short message on the backside with an update for those who are not on fb etc. I too love sitting down and reading each card and letter. The electronic cards are just not the same!
Love your family photo!!
We send out photo cards via snail mail too! Our oldest daughter actually designed ours this year, so it was extra special. I do however have our family and friends addresses in a special file so I can print the address labels, saving me a bit of time. I love seeing all your older card pics, the one of the boys is precious…looks like a Rockwell scene.
Snail mail- it’s just a small token of our appreciation for friendship and completely worth the cost. Your card is beautiful!
I sent out cards with a copied letter that briefly told of our families year and I handwrite a personal note to each letter. The cards were purchased through Gideon’s International and so each card provides funds for a Bible to be given out somewhere in the world. I love doing this and I know that the real message of Christmas is being given out. Another tradition is to keep a binder notebook with each of our Christmas letters in a plastic sleeve and our family can look back to see a sort of journal of our lives over the many years. We enjoy receiving and reading letters and cards from friends and family….what a joy it is to find them in our mailbox!
I love your cards! I’m a big fan of photo cards, too. We’ve gotten TONS of cards this year, and I totally agree with how exciting it is to go to the mailbox and bring a stack back inside! It’s one of my favorite parts of Christmas. I sent 97 hand addressed cards this year, and while it took all afternoon, I love the tradition as well.
I love snail mail cards – both for sending and receiving :) And picture cards are the best. I love your Christmas photo!
It’s snail mail for me! I really do enjoy spending the time and going through the address book each year, remembering those that we don’t spend time with but like to keep in touch at the holidays. Each year since we got married, I’ve kept the cards we received and it’s fun to look back and see how families have grown and changed over the years, who’s come in and out of our lives.
As for the type of card we give – I’ve started to make my own cards in the past couple of years – last year was an embossed design and this year was a stenciled evergreen sprig. It takes time but it’s so worth it to do something personal (like your photo cards).
I even like receiving cards after the holidays – you know, those cards that didn’t make it out quite in time to get there before December 25th.
LOVE getting holiday cards and letters too! I send out cards, usually photo card, to my friends and family!
You have a beauiful family!
Merry Christmas!