Do I Have to Send Christmas Cards???

I have stopped sending them - I am not even fussed about recieving them, because I have nowhere to put them, and it is such a huge waste of paper, most people just write "love such and such" it is so impersonal and a waste of time.
Did I say I think it is a waste of time?
I would rather just wish someone merry Christmas face to face. it is so silly to send a card, or give a card to someone, while wishing them merry Christmas to their face.

I havent sent Christmas cards in YEARS. I dont get as many as I once did tho, but I really dont care. It was fun when the kids were little, but now it's just a pain in the neck. Seriously, I doubt anyone will notice that they didnt get one from you this year. I've never had anyone call me and ask "hey where's my christmas card?".

I didn't send one last year. My friend sent a family photo via email to everyone in her contact list with the subject "Merry Christmas: this is all I'm can do this year"

I did end up sending Easter cards with a pic of my kids to family which everyone loved. It was unexpected and yet still the same.
M.

I still send them out every year to friends and family, mostly because I love receiving them! I enjoy hearing from people and especially getting photos of children/families to see how everyone has changed in the past year. I stopped doing cards for my husband's coworkers, though - with a couple of exceptions - because I don't personally know most of them. It is time consuming doing cards, and I'm sure since you have little ones, people will understand if you don't choose to send any out. But for me, it's something I actually enjoy.

I'm old skool! I love sending cards. It can be a pain in the butt but I revel in most of the Christmas traditions, like singing hokey Christmas carols. I'd go caroling if I could find friends to do it with. Otherwise, I just sit at home and sing as loudly as I can while I sign and address cards. I like getting cards too and they become part of my decorations.

If most of them are to your hubby's co-workers how does he feel about sending them? Is it important to him? Do you ever get any back? If it's important to him then maybe he can help by signing or addressing some/all. If you get from some, then maybe it's important to them too, so maybe keep it going for them and not for the others who never reciprocate.

Oh, and about the "making it" part. WHAAT?! Unless you've got gobs of time and nothing to do, why??? Walmarts, Walgreens, etc. have decent assorted cards.

Bah-Humbug! LOL!

It is okay to not send cards. But it sure is nice getting cards in the mail =)

For your family, I suggest taking a nice pic of the kids and making your own Christmas cards. I did that this year and everyone loved it. For the co-workers, you could just go to the dollar store and buy a nice looking box of cards for $1. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it's the thought that counts.

However, if you don't send a card, it is totally your choice. No written law, right?

By the way, I am also a Mom of 3.. to the one who said this... and right now I am being both Mom and Dad since Dad is deployed. But you just have to keep on trucking and do what ya gotta do. God Bless!

I send out photo cards every year! However, the recipient list is smaller. I like to do it because Costco has cheap but nice quality photo cards!! Plus, over the years I got to see family and friends get married and have kids of their own and seeing them sending out cards/updates...Now I love being able to join that crowd now. I love showing off my kids :)...Biased Mom I know. I do not however, send the "brag" letter....you know some of the ones that go into your life story and about how life is so perfect and your kids are geniuses and super athletes...blah blah...

I do appreciate receiving photo cards and watching those I don't see regularly grow up and change.

When our list topped 100 + I decided to do an email christmas card and last year did a video slideshow. I take the best pics of the year, add a catchy christmas tune, upload it and send out a link. I got such a huge response last year. I love the tradition, but the cost is just crazy. It's almost a dollar a card if you get even a $.25-$.50 card, with postage and the time running around trying to get them printed. I said enough is enough! I make maybe 20 and send them to grandparents and close friends and call it good. Simple is better in my book!

I have always sent cards adn will continue to do so b/c I think paper communication is becoming a lost art and let's face it... we all love getting "real mail"!

Over the years, we have simplified our card process and have cut back on our list. Basically if we don't hear from someone for two years in a row... off the list unless they are immediate family.

Here's what we do:
- Keep the addresses on labels saved on the computer. When someone moves, divorces or dies- update it on the labels throughout the year.
- Buy your cards as soon as they hit the shelves b/c there are a lot of beautiful and less expensive box sets, but they go quickly
- Write your holiday newsletter as things happen in your lives (you can always edit-out later)
- Don't try to hand-write each card, but do hand-sign them!

It will take you two nights to assemble them, but if you have your letter, the labels, the cards, stamps and a photo ready to go it is pretty manageable. Takes some pre-planning, but I still think they're great!

what's a christmas card? i havn't sent a card in i dont know how long.....

No.
If your husband feels strongly about sending cards to his co-workers,
tell him that's his job.

You don't have to do anything that you dont' want to do....LOL - I don't think that I have ever sent out Christmas cards. although this year, I want to have a picture of the kids taken and put them on a photo card that has a calendar for next year. Something that they can put on their fridge and keep up for the whole year. You can have them made at WalMart and they are pretty inexpensive!! But if you don't want to do it, don't do it - no biggie!

You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Are there any consequences to you not sending them? Probably not. Make your choice, stick to it and don't let yourself feel guilty if you choose not to send them.

I used to send out Christmas cards but I'm not planning to do it this year because it's getting so expensive. When you have a lot of people on your list, it can really add up! I'll still mail cards to special family members that we won't see this holiday but I'm going to skip all of the people we never see. If I were in your position, I wouldn't worry about mailing cards to the coworkers. I like what Shira said below- if your husband really wants his coworkers to receive cards then he can take on that responsibility for himself. You have enough to do without that additional task on your plate.

I'm glad you asked this question! I have been ridden with guilt since Thanksgiving b/c I have "sort of" decided not to do them this year. I have sent out cards every year since college and once my babies were born I've done the picture card. But.....money is tight this year and I typically spend about $100 on cards/postage and decided I just couldn't afford it. I am still not 100% sure I've made the right decision either.

I gave up that one years ago. No one seems to miss it or ever says anything about it.

You don't have to send Christmas cards...ever! I send a long@$$ letter about every 4 or 5 years to everyone, and their grandmother, stating that we really haven't done anything of merit, and my kids and myself look almost exactly the same, add a few inches in their case...pounds in mine. It is costly, and honestly....most of them get tossed about 10 minutes after they are received. If you want to do it...great...but if not, don't bother. The holidays have more than enough reasons to stress and spend, with or without a picture of little Johnny in front of the JCPenny backdrop tree.

Im not sending out Christmas cards this year either. Honestly, I don't want to spend $40 on stamps, when money is tight enough. How about a nice email card with a pic of the kids?? That is what I am doing this year.

I have never sent Christmas cards. The people who are close to us see us all the time and know about us from emails, facebook, and pictures that we send throughout the year.

Hi! I honestly dont send out as many as I used to. I only send to parents, grandparents and siblings also a couple of friends that I am close to. I dont think you have to at all if you dont want to.

A large chunk of my family doesn't send Christmas cards at all.

I like sending cards...but only to those I get a card from. So, for example if Aunt So-and-so never sends a card back, I don't send one...until I hear from her. Yes, it is expensive (cards, pictures, stamps) and it's very time consuming. Why do you send to your husband's co-workers, do they send one back? Is he close to everyone you send a card to? Are you close to them? I think a lot of people give cards out of obligation...and that is not what the Christmas season is about. I clean up my card list every year, adding and subtracting those who never send one back. These days, you can get by with sending a mass email or if you have facebook, post a picture of your lovely family and send your Merry Christmas on its way. I am all about simplicity...and saving time and money where it counts.

I send out cards every year. Last year we went to Disneyland for Christmas. No cards, no gifts, no tree, no decorations. It was so nice to have a year off. This made me rethink how I celebrate Christmas.

Yes, but I am old fashioned. At CVS online, you can download a picture from your computer at your house onto a card and then write whatever you want and they will print it on each card. Then you pick them up the next day. I love receiving cards from friends old and new, those I talk to all the time and those not so often. It is fun to watch everyone's kids grow up and see how much they change from year to year. Your kids can even help you put the return address labels and stamps on the envelopes. You never know when your pictures & cards might brighten someone's day too. Good luck!

hubby's co-workers??? yeah... i think you can let that slide
but deff deff send to family and close fam. friends
plus.... you can always go eco-friendly
one hyphenated word, my friend
e-card

CANT STOP MAH
~~~MYSTERYK~~~

I quit doing Christmas cards 2 years ago when my DD was born. It was just too much that year, with a newborn and all. No one ever said a word to me about not receiving a card from us. So the next year I skipped it too, and this year I am skipping it too. If anyone noticed and thought it was rude..well, they never said anything to me. I don't consider it rude if I don't get a card from someone. My husband does take cards to work and gives them to co-workers, but thats it. I figure, I see all the people I care about over the holidays, and I tell them Merry Christmas in person.

I was sending them to ALL my husbands (HUGE) family every year and distant friends etc. I do photo cards and the price with postage eventually adds up. So from sending over 50 every year, I strictly ordered 20 this year and only sent to people I keep in touch with and our close family!

I stopped sending cards about a year or two ago to people I rarely speak to. The only cards I send are to my close friends and family. They get a card (that I have usually bought after xmas the year before to save on money) Then I print pics of my 2 girls and everyone gets one. Usually Walgreens or somewhere else has a special for like 10 cents a piece. I end up sending about 50-60 cards. Easy and cheap!

No - you don't have to do anything you don't want to do.

I like to GET tons of cards, so I send tons. My husband likes to get tons, but seems to think they should come whether he sends any out or not....which isn't how it works. But probably, a lot of the people who don't get one are relieved!

And, as far as I can tell, notting getting a card is the ONLY repercussion for not sending one.

Of course you can forget about it forever! It is not something you have to do - ever. Why do you send cards to your husband's co-workers? I can't imagine that you ever see them (except once a year for the holiday party), and I'm sure they are not a part of your childrens' lives. So, forget the co-workers as well and enjoy a stress-free Christmas! Besides, if people want to see what your kids look like, they can check them out on your Facebook account (assuming you have one).

Simple solution -- go to Hallmark.com, download Smilebox and you can make your own card, add a couple of photos and send it off. It may take a half hour, depending on how creative you get but it still gets the message out there and it is eco-friendly. It's VERY cheap too!!!! :) good luck.

We don't do Christmas cards.... for the past couple of years, this year included. It is just a budget thing for us.
And anyway, people just throw them away after the Holidays anyway.
Money down the drain.

Or you can send e-cards..... that is what people do too.

You don't HAVE to do anything you don't want to. I send cards to people who send us one. There are been years where I didn't send any. Do what is good for you.

No way, you dont have to send them. First time I sent them out was last year. I send a card with a family picture on it, there is a lot of family we dont get to see often, and Im sure they like seeing a pic of my kids, as I do theirs. I would def not do it if I didnt want to.

Skip a year. Then people will take you off their list. Then only send to those you want to. I did this and it is great!

I will admit, I'm one of those people that gets all stoked over doing Christmas cards...I always do the cards that hold a photo and get one of the kids doing something Christmasy (cutting down the tree, etc.) or playing in the snow. This year I am making my cards and rubber-stamping the designs (plus the photo) For me, it is fun, and something I can do when I have down-time at work. I send the cards to family members that live far away and they can see how much the kids have grown. The people we see all the time appreciate it too. My SIL has saved every single one. I know there are people that are not into sending cards, but sometimes, just like thank-you notes, it is the thought that counts. Make it as easy on yourself as you can, buy the cards, sign them and address them and that's it. Or make the photo cards at the drug store or on-line and mail them out.

BTW, there are about 35 to 40 of my cards that go to family and friends...coworkers get cheaper, more generic cards.

I hand-make my cards. And nothing simple will do. I get a little over-the-top Martha Stewart about it. Alas...! That takes time and money and we are flat broke this year. I am sad that I cannot make cards this year and I know I am going to be pestered about it when people don't receive one from me. But something has got to give and this seemed like an easy thing to cut in this busy holiday season.

I have simplified my list by only sending to those that send one back. It went from 150 to about 60. Most are far away family and old friends. All I really do is address them, even though that is a pain! If you are okay getting taken off other people's lists, I don't think that there is anything wrong with stopping, especially if they are all just coworkers. You could even just have him take in one (or a computer mock up), and hang it up at work.

Keep it simple don't send them.I'm opting out this year i'm sure i'll be asked but you know what I don't mind my answer is i'm a very busy mom of 3 have yet to get my list of other things completed so I simplified & reducing what needs to be done to those that I don't need to do.Also there is no presents wrapped yet have no energy to do them.