Greeting cards: have you stopped sending them in the mail?

1. 72

   AussieTreeChangeposted 12 years ago

   More and more people are sending greetings online via email or using electronic cards or social media pages or even mobile phones.  Have you stopped sending cards the old fashioned way?

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      Beth37posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Sadly, I have stopped for the most part. I don't even remember the last time I used a stamp.

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         AussieTreeChangeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I received a lot less Christmas cards in the mail.  And those people that didn't use snail mail used the internet.  So I guess next Christmas I will do the same.

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      That Grrlposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I mailed out more than 20 Xmas cards this year, stamps and all. I still mail cards for birthdays and anniversaries too. I'm starting an ecard site for my own art but I still like paper cards in the mail too.

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   ritsukakunxposted 12 years ago

   I still use stamps... to mail some bills! :p My water company charges $5 for paying online... weird, huh?
   
   But I still like to send cards! I like to get cute ones from Etsy. People always think these are unique and like to get them. I think I only got one card in the mail last Christmas, though. I don't even get birthday cards. My mom started sending ecards. I don't even open them as I feel they aren't personal at all.

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      Beth37posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      lol.. I know. My mom stopped sending us all bday cards and gifts cause every other year she takes us all on vacay to a time share somewhere. But you know family dynamics... most years I'd rather get a card. There's nothing sadder than not getting a bday card, even from your own mother. lol

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   Victoria Lynnposted 12 years ago

   I still send birthday cards to close family and friends. I think they mean a lot more. I also send thank you and sympathy cards. I get some birthday and thank you cards in the mail. Love them! I've never cared for doing Christmas cards, so that part doesn't matter much to me. I think it's a cool thing to send and receive real cards in the mail!

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   grand old ladyposted 12 years ago

   I like adding cards to gifts but never have sent them by mail. I am trying to get in touch with an old friend in the US, however, and if I can get her addy (have asked help from my sisters to look her up) then I will definitely send her a card. I miss the old days when you wrote letters to each other, but Skype is so much more fun!!!!

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   farmloftposted 12 years ago

   I send Christmas cards and sympathy cards and some birthday cards. I always add a note in my own handwriting.
   
   I treasure the last cards I received from my deceased mother and sister and many friends. Would I feel the same if they'd only left me an on-line message? I don't think so...

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   Marisa Wrightposted 12 years ago

   I used to send real Christmas cards by mail every year, right up until last year.
   
   This year I didn't, simply because almost everyone else has stopped sending them to me
   
   I had precisely two cards on my bookshelf this Christmas.  Pitiful.
   
   The trouble with ecards is that you look at them once, and then forget them.  They're not they're every morning to remind you of your friends and family, and make you smile.

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      Jean Bakulaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I still send Christmas cards, because most of the people I exchange cards with are either across the country or someplace far enough that I don't see them, often for years. So we update once a year. That's sort of pathetic too, this year I decided that if I only care to get in touch with someone once a year, it's probably because we went in different directions in more ways than geography. I don't like to hang on to old or dead relationships, though I have to search myself to see if I'm the one who let it get that way. I do like to spend time by myself.  Our immediate family stopped cards, because they are just too expensive, almost $5.00 for pretty ones. So we only exchange if it's a super achievement or something really exciting.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I used to be the same, Jean.  But over the last few years, everyone else is either sending ecards or has stopped altogether.   I continued posting all my cards as usual every year until Christmas 2012.  Then I took stock and realized that in 2011, I received only one card in the mail.  So I gave up!

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      rebekahELLEposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds familiar.  I didn't have too many cards this year, nor did I send them out... I bought a few cards for my immediate family, but that's it.  I don't send ecards or really care for them.  I would rather someone pick up the phone.
      
      I recycle cards to use for art projects at school. The kids love them. 
      
      I think it's kind of sad that we don't send cards or letters like we used to.  Receiving a hand written letter in the mail is now nostalgic.  I'll probably send out Valentine's cards cuz I feel kind of bad that I didn't send out more Christmas cards.
      
      That would be sad!

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   Zsuzsiposted 12 years ago

   I still do, because I know it's such a great feeling to open the mailbox and see a handwritten card instead of just bills and ads. I also try to include some printed photos next to the letter because it's more personal and always appreciated.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I do a combination:  Some cards I mail, some I hand deliver and some I email.  It has become very expensive to mail cards, even if you buy the 2 for $1 type and it is also time consuming.  To me the main idea is the thought...the fact that I remembered you on a special day and vice versa.  I also think sending cards is wasteful because generallypeople just toss them away after a short time.  I feel the same about sending flowers.

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         Victoria Lynnposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I feel that way about flowers but not cards. I save them and put them in a box. From time to time, i read over them. They bring back great memories. I buy the ones that are 2/$1 at dollar stores instead of the 4 and 5 dollar cards. I think they're very affordable and mean so much. I nearly always buy real cards for birthdays for people who live closeby or far away.

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   philliposted 12 years ago

   I only send them at Christmas. I don't even send the e-cards, otherwise. I guess because the family and friends that I care to send my greetings to, I generally see in person. I don't know why I don't send them more. I guess that once I was old enough to consider them they were already out of vogue and the e-cards were never very popular with my circle of friends and family.

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   KDeusposted 12 years ago

   Call me old fashioned, but I like to send and receive cards in the mail. We get so inundated with emails, that an e-greeting can be easily overlooked by the recipient. Both my parents are still very much card senders and maybe I inherited that from them. I enjoy going to the store and looking through the cards and selecting the right one that fits what message I want to send them. I also enjoy the little handwritten notes that an e-greeting just can't accomplish.
   
   In this day and age, we're always looking for a quick, easy, and cheap way to do everything. People won't print off e-cards, they'll delete them. Special cards received in the mail may be tucked away as a memento and the handwriting on the page allows you to feel just a bit closer to the person who sent it.
   
   As long as a mail carrier delivers mail, I will always mail out cards!

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      Victoria Lynnposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, KDeus, I couldn't have expressed it better myself. You said it all perfectly as to why cards are so special and important even in today's technological world!

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      AussieTreeChangeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I too still love to send the old fashioned way and love picking the right card.  There have been many times I have become very emotional standing in the isle reading cards!  especially if they are for someone close like mum or my sister!  Or I had laughed out loud reading the funny ones!

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    cheesybigmacposted 12 years ago

    I agree, I feel people are out of touch with the way things used to be, not many people are "old fashioned" and the ones that are...are slowly waning, (spelling?) I personally feel its better to talk face to face and send cards or flowers or whatever versus using the internet for those tings, it just dosent have the name impact as it would if it were an actual paper card.

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    jansharesposted 12 years ago

    I still send cards in the mail, more personal. The ritual at Christmas is our way of touching base with family and friends we don't see regularly. Until USPS finally shuts down, I will continue to send greeting cards for all occasions.

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    ct92posted 12 years ago

    I have also stopped, unfortunately.
    But very rarely I post a card in the mail when I am on holiday, but it is not often at all.

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    birthdaywishesquoposted 12 years ago

    Cards in the mail are of course more personal. The problem I can find out people's email address more easily than their residential address.

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    khmohsinposted 12 years ago

    Unfortunately yes. The trend is little bit changed now. Its easy to send greeting cards in e-mail as compare to the post mail. Majority people are available on the internet, so it is quite easy to wish them by sending greeting cards through e-mail or Facebook wall.

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