Why Are Paper Christmas Cards Still A Thing? Millennials, For Once, Are To Thank.

Just one card this season a lot due to the cost of postage.

It seems like a disappearing tradition, similar to letter writing in general. We have not gotten more than a couple per year for a while, and usually one of those is a real estate agent reminding us that his services are available. I can recall, as a kid, when we received a big bundle of them, sent out a big bundle and exchanged a smaller number at easter.

We send and receive real cards.

A note sent via Facebook ain't cutting it.

Might as well stop getting dressed in the morning.

Cost of postage? Yeah, right. I've seen the lines at Starbucks for the second $6 latte of the day. Laziness is more like it.

I am so sad to see the well written thank you note via snail mail, disappear....sigh

I received two cards this year and sent about six. I do miss getting cards but I also understand why nobody wants to take the trouble and expense anymore.

I guess I'm weird, I've never liked cards, always thought they were a waste even before the internet.

I can't tell you how many cards I've sold at craft fairs and farmers markets over the years. Many thousands. Oh there, I told you. I don't do the fairs anymore but I still constantly get asked if I have any cards for sale. They sure seem to be popular around these parts even though postage costs go up every year it seems. (I'm in Canada...don't know about US postage costs.)

Sent none for years. Got maybe six between me and my mom this year. One of those, yes, was a card from a real estate agent who sold my house a decade ago and I never seem to fail to get a Christmas and birthday card from her office...

Mark

PS Have stacks of old cards (all occasions) that my grandmother saved and I still hang onto. My grandparents, great grandparents, etc. sent cards with long meandering letters written on every fold of the paper. Those are peeks into their daily lives. Who was visiting who, who was sick, who was recovering from being sick, etc. Since my grandmother died, I have never gotten nor sent a card that had more than a few words written in it.

PPS None of the cards we did get were from young people. Aside from the realtor, they were invariably people 70+

Nothing like sending someone a Facebook message at the holidays to show them you really don't care.

Here in Belgium whe like the tradition of a real written card. Mainly birthday and Christmas cards (not at New year, than we are drinking beer and wine with eachother)
I have also a POD site with greeting cards (US based) and every year I sell more and more (this year 4.714 cards) so I think a lot of people still like it.
Maybe it's an idea to upload more cards to FAA...

we got nothing. at least not at home. my father is a dentist. so he will get stuff now and then. i think one person gave us something for hanuka, but beyond that we got nothing at all. in the past it was a gift basket or chocolate, popcorn tins, even a card. this year, its like the holiday never existed.


----Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

I think we got about 6 cards - a couple from relatives that are older than I and then my wife's friends; my dear older brother sent me an "e-card" - I'm not sure he knows how to write any more. The wife sent out about 8 or 10 real cards - even one to my older brother and his wife. Me - I don't care about cards - a waste of paper. I usually browse the card aisles (since Hallmark has disappeared) and pick a nice one out to show my wife what I would get her.

And thank goodness it's finally the day after yesterday - I was already tired of it a week ago.

I got one from my bank...everyone signed it. I was impressed. I figure they must have had a signing party with lots of eggnog!
What is eggnog, btw?

"But for others, the idea of taking the time to exchange tangible tokens of holiday cheer is more appealing than ever at a time when buzzing and pinging digital devices never seem to cease demanding our attention. That’s true even if finding the perfect card now involves sitting at a laptop, editing digital photos and clicking through dozens of template designs."

The article reads that people are looking more for customized cards where they can add their personal touch. Most of my sales have been for Greeting Cards, and I also send many throughout the year. I price them to sell, and blow them out the door so to speak, so people can share hope and goodness with those they love, plus as my father always said "pennies make dollars".

"Maybe it's an idea to upload more cards to FAA..."

Exactly Jan!!

I'm with David King. Waste of paper/$

I do miss actual letters, not the hard to read hand written snail mail ones anymore though, I prefer the easy to read Email ones. But now, with social media and text, no one Emails.

Like Marks relatives, I used to write letters & emails that meandered all over my life, and I enjoyed reading about my friends/relatives life details. I miss Emails.

I have my own greeting card business and the problem I run into after the sale, is that people don't want to use them..they want to keep them as keepsakes. They are considered more of a gift, than just a greeting.
That said, my card sales haven't slowed down at all.

Carlin, I just read the funniest article, explaining to the younger generation, how to use their cell phones as walkie talkies! You guessed....punch in a number and call to SPEAK to the other person!! Sadly, it was not meant to be funny....

I love Christmas cards... I think it's a beautiful tradition and a great way to stay in touch with people you rarely see. I sent about 150 this year, printed from one of my holiday images, and including a custom designed 2019 calendar magnet.

And I got a sale of the image I used on this year's card after my sister shared it on FB :-)

We sent out about 35+ and when we get a chance we will rally up the number received back to those sent out.
Of the ones I sent out to friends that I dont converse with on a regular basis I sent a meandering letter printed out. I dont want to make people read my handwriting so I give them something legible to read. I only got back maybe two so far with an update of things going on in their lives.
I sent maybe two with quick notes that filled half a page... I was amazed at how long it took to repeat a similar message twice... there is a reason to type it out... ;-)

But it is dying off... NOBODY young sends anything to us. No neices or nephews or grandkids

Well, many people are still purchasing our greeting cards here for the holidays!

I customize calendars to send to friends and family in lieu of Christmas cards, each with a personalized message. Costs a bit more than cards, but not by much.

I still receive xmas cards but not tons like in years past. Nearly everyone that always sent cards in the past has died, and contemporary friends send Jacquie Lawson instead.

One friend makes me one-of-a-kind art cards on birthdays and holidays. This year, it was my bright red Ranger trucking through a 3-D evergreen forest. Sunny day, blue sky, a Christmas tree glittering with gold sparkles is lying in the bed of the truck. I treasure every card she sends but this is one of my all-time favorites.

30 cards received and about that many sent.....

We sent out about 20 cards this year and got at least that many in.

I usually sell four or five boxes of cards every year at Christmas.

If it were up to me, no cards. When I see one in the mail I spend maybe 6 seconds scanning the card to get the general look and feel, see who its from, then throw it in a pile with all the others. However, its not up to me, my wife really gets into it. Reads all cards we get and normally pens a special (short) message on each card we send.

I sent 2 after receiving 2. My daughter sent about 35. Don't know how many she received.

Someone made me a happy camper by buying 208 boxes of the 25-card packs.

Not sure they were for Christmas but it made for a Merry, MERRY Christmas in this household!

We have sent some where between 40 and 50 and received a similar number.
Definitely less than 10 or so years ago, but that’s in part that, sadly, many of my Mum’s generation are no longer with us.
My children ( 21 and 23) definitely send fewer cards than I did at their age.
I do enjoy getting people’s news each year and try to scribble a short update in mine.
Just signing and sending year after year does begin to seem a waste of paper.

We didn't receive many cards this year. Kind of sad...they used to go all across the entertainment center in our living room. I didn't send any myself...instead I sent my family and a neighbor very expensive gift boxes with all kinds of food goodies. The neighbor was the only one to tell me it arrived and say thank you. So...guess what? Next year, the family is getting Christmas cards and that's it.

Interesting discussion on this article found on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/news/millennials-drive-greeting-card-boom-4869322/


(hint - use this information in marketing your greeting cards)

We seem to get less cards each year and this year it made me feel rather unpopular. I display them on the mantle as decoration so this year I took a few cards from previous years to fill out the look.

Maybe this year it might have been due to a strike by Canada Post that made people say "Forget sending cards" or maybe because of the strike we will receive our Christmas cards in time for Valentines day.

Here are my thoughts, edited from one of my blog posts from a while back. It was about the sale of a single "thinking of you, grandfather" card (and I inserted a pic of the card of course):

"I'm particularly happy when a greeting card sells.

It means that someone, somewhere, appreciates their grandfather ... or grandmother, or mom ... or whoever ... and is letting him or her know in the good old fashioned way. A way that those of my generation truly appreciate ... something you can hold in your hands ... something that someone else held in their hands. Something that someone took the time to look for, and lay down some money for ... and put a stamp on and put in the mail to you. You can put it on the mantle ... or on your bedside table ... as tangible and REAL evidence that someone was thinking of you. You can show it off to your friends. Look ... someone cared.

And there's the other side. The buying of the card ... your thoughts of that person in your life. Your rememberings. For however fleetingly, you and your memories of time spent with that person ... that person's love for you ... are going out into the universe. That person may even feel a split second of joy even before the postman slips the card into the letterbox ... because of the time you spent with them in the land of memories.

I know it's becoming fashionable to dispense with Christmas cards ... and to send your birthday and other greetings out in an email.

But there's still something so so special about a greeting card.

So ... it is with great joy ... on behalf of this particular grandfather ... that I thank the purchaser of "Thinking of Grandfather" today!!"

BTW ... we sent out over 50 Christmas cards, as usual, and got probably about 50ish back. I haven't counted them up.

@Marlene

"Eggnog, egg nog or egg-nog, historically also known as milk punch or egg milk punch, is a rich, chilled, sweetened, dairy-based beverage. It is traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, whipped egg whites, and egg yolks." from Wikipedia

Jeffery Johnson | Photo Captures by Jeffery
https://www.PhotoCapturesbyJeffery.com