A few days ago when I was blogless, a few of you gave me some winning ideas. Thanks to Melissa's, today we'll be talking about Christmas Cards.
I'm getting more and more Christmas cards emailed to me every year and let's face it, I paid
- $ 30.00 for my friend to take our family picture (thanks, Mylie)
- $ 0.15 for said family picture to be developed - 100x over
- $ 4.00 for a box of 12 cards (only because I got them on sale last year and stored them with my Christmas decor ALL YEAR LONG all the while annoying my husband for doing such an insane thing), oh ya, x8 ... $32.00.
- and a blasted $ 41.00 on stamps. STAMPS!
What are we up to now, $120-ish? (I don't pretend to do math in my head.) Granted, I send out 100 cards, which is a crazy amount. But I'm mormon, I have like 700 cousins. Okay not really, I can't really say that because only about a dozen of them actually get cards from me.
B U T
I absolutely L-O-V-E getting the mail in December. Every day I go to the mailbox not worrying about all the bills or countless credit card offers or the annoying Little Caesar's Pizza flyer (we get it, you sell cheap pizza!) I go out there looking forward to the different colored envelopes with the words "Happy Holidays" stamped on them from the post office. I get all sentimental when I see my friends' kids growing up (though don't get me started on the family letter) and displaying the cards in my home makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, like proof that I DO have friends. My therapist* says that it may be that recognition once a year I need for my self esteem to know I have friends and family out there that love me!
What do you think? What do you do?
Do you enjoy getting cards as much as I do?
Should I continue to "invest" that money into the physical cards instead of virtual ones?
*I don't actually have a therapist - yet - any recommendations out there?
I'm sure after this post you may think I need one...
I'm sure after this post you may think I need one...
19 comments:
I totally love getting cards in the mail also but I can understand why people email them. Llke you stated it starts getting pretty expensive! So I say as long as you get some out there even if is over cyberspace so people can see your fun families that is great!
I love getting Christmas cards! I love keeping in touch with others through sending Christmas cards and letters. However sending physical cards through the postal service is not in the budget (time wise or money wise) right now. We do send some cards to immediate family, but only a few.
Eventually I plan to send physical cards (soon I hope). But I also think it's the "thought that counts", and I will enjoy cards whether they come through email or the postal service.
I guess what I am trying to say is I don't judge people by how they send their cards, because everyone's situation is different. But I do enjoy the real cards more.
LOVE mailed Christmas cards!
don't really care for emailed cards. Actually I feel gipped when I get them. They don't quite do it for me the same way a mailed card does.
And I recently realized that I had the wrong address for you (only slightly wrong), hope you still got our card.
I've been thinking about this too...and I think if you can afford it, then send the cards. If you can't sleep at night because of it, best to email it. Emailing isn't quite as fun, is it?
I got a lot of emailed Christmas cards this year too, and although I was happy to hear from people....(shhhhh) I didn't read all of them. Aren't I bad?
I thought about e-mailing my cards this year. It's cheaper and it saves me the time of tracking down all the addresses. But, like you I LOVE, LOVE getting the real deal in the mail. So I send mine via snail mail, and blogged it for those whose address I couldn't find.
I am right there with ya. This year I think I sent about 125 Christmas cards and for some crazy reason for the 5th year in a row I AM STILL MAKING THEM!!! I do not know what my problem us. BUT it is all worth it when I see those cards in the mail box like people from you that I am just so excited to open them I rarely make it into the house to open them. I love it! AND I do like the letters attached. I mean I hate when I get a picture of a family with nothing to be said. I wanna know how old so and so is, where the are working what else is going on. I have read some that are a little much I must admit, so I know what you are saying, but please dont send me a card with just a picture and nothing else. Or even worse, a card with NO picture or letter!
Mindy~ I love this post! I have said a few times on various blogs that my christmas cards by postal mail are on hold until David finishes residency. Just one expense that I can easily check off the list- NOT because I don't love them, {because the exact opposite is true} but b/c it's only once a year so it's one thing that's easy to say "okay I'm not spending money on that" and then actually NOT do it. But the problem is, I can't NOT send a card back to someone who sends one to me, and so this year for example, I did send a few, and there are a few that got addressed and never sent b/c I ran out of stamps and December got crazy and I didn't get around to buying more {as I reminded my self that i was x-naying this until Dec '09}...
So to answer your questions...
I love Christmas cards and as soon as funds allow, I'll be sending them again, and until then I'll do what I did this year, and probably post one on my blog.
I too L-O-V-E getting cards in the mail and I have always been one who hates loosing touch with people! I love to get pictures and read a litte update (emily R's* are always SO good, she's so creative!) I used to give my mom a hard time for not sending them (I even did them for her one year!)
So YES do INVEST.
(Oh! and just to make john feel better I'll tell him about when we came to Austin and you called us back after we got back to Houston. poor guy (:
i hear ya - they aren't cheap. I don't even attempt to do the math on mine because I know Jay would FREAK out. To me, they are totally worth it. I too love mail and Christmas time is made even better by getting cards from people who you love/miss and feeling like they are apart of your Christmas and by extension, you are part of theirs. Plus, I am a total gift lover (giving and receiving) but really can't afford to buy and send presents to everyone I know and love - so Christmas cards that probably cost me $100 to design, make and send are well worth it. Virtual ones are such a cop-out. But hey, if any of you don't treasure them enough for my effort, let me know so I can put you on the virtual list for 2008! :D
Wow! that was a lot of work and a lot of cash. I'm just grateful for photoshop, adobe illustrator, the skills (somewhat) to use those tools, and a place to print them that will give me a deal. I think far to few people send out Christmas cards. I think it really is a great way to say 'we are thinking about you'. We feel validated when we get them, and more like someone really does care about us in the midst of their busy lives. I love sending them and saying that I really do care about them too.
Christmas cards are my FAVORITE. I agree, it can get real expensive, but I don't care. I know that I, like you, love to walk to the mailbox EVERYDAY the month of december, just anticipating how many cards will be in there...I always have a 'christmas card wall'. perhaps that's my way of lifting my own self esteem. if I have a wall full of cards then people who come over and see it will see that I REALLY DO have friends! hee hee
Christmas cards, invest.
I have a testimony of Christmas cards. They make me happy and bring us closer as families and friends. Amen.
Mindy, I love getting cards in the mail also. However, I was way too cheap this year (and over whelmed) with just having a baby so I didn't send out any cards and I feel kind of bad now! But I think they are fun to get in the mail. I love putting them up in our home too and Lily loved looking at them also. Keep them coming via USPS! :)
i love christmas cards in any shape or form (even ones that trickle in in january)--but have to agree with all the comments on how expensive it is. i was a little disappointed that so many of the ones we got were emailed compared to real mail--because i love to display them--but i can't complain too much b/c we email too.
I love getting cards in the mail. I felt really bad that I sent out e-cards this year but we did go out of town at the beginning of December and I just didn't plan far enough ahead. It can get really expensive but you can also get picture cards printed at Sam's Club or other places like that pretty cheaply. Another problem I had was that I couldn't get the kids (and husband) to cooperate when we were trying to take family pictures. I'd rather send e-cards than send a card in the mail without a picture.
I actually still have my cards up.
I love receiving them for the same reasons you do! I scurry to the mail box all through Dec! It's like getting a little "I love you" gift or 3 everyday...who wouldn't love that.
I spent a ton of money, too, but it was so worth it.
Therapist? Call anytime.
Or watch Dr. Phil. It is free. Well, aside from the cable bill.
Also, Instead of sending gifts/cards next year, I'm donating a sum of money for each individual to the "Human Fund". People like that.
You know how I feel about getting the family together once a year for our Christmas family picture. You've even seen me get a bit grumpy when others don't cooperate and put it off to the last minute :>) It means the world to me and I love adding a personal message to each family rather than just sending our picture in an envelope. It takes time and $$, but is well worth the effort.
Great post. I love how you talked about collecting all the card as proof you do have friends, HA! So me. I leave them posted up in our kitchen on the door as a pathetic reminder that yes people do like me!:) The therapist comment cracked me up! Clever post, I liked reading it...
mailing out Christmas cards is a priority for me.. and a touchy subject with my husband. I honestly had to cut my list this year and I finally scaled it down to 175. I know, it's insane.. I need to see someone professionally too. Anyway, for some reason, it just seems worth it. But I agree with Terica, a picture in the mail isn't enough for me. I love the letters and updates. Getting the mail in December (and into the new year) is the best!!
btw, your card was beautiful.. SO worth storing for 11 months!!
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