The lost art of Sending Christmas Cards

I remember as a child my parents receiving dozens of Christmas cards every year. Some with a letter detailing the highlights of that families year, some with photos, and some with so much glitter we left it in the envelope.

The past few years the only card I get is from my Cat's Vet.

It is just me or are Christmas cards a thing of the past?

P.S. I still send cards, just don't get many .

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ArishMell · 70-79, M

My circles of friends, and my relatives, still exchange cards; but I know many have cut down because the total for the cards and stamps can be steep.

Actually the cost of an individual letter stamp for posting within the UK is very low considering it can cover any distance from the next street to the furthest of the Shetland Isles, but the total for a sizeable batch seems high, especially to those who want owt for nowt!

I still counted about 30 exchanged cards last year though, so few of my contacts have reduced the number.

I used to pick out humorous ones particularly relevant to their intended recipients, but those are the more expensive so I now go mainly for the lower-cost boxed sets.

'

Last year I had one "card" from a couple I've known for many years, but in an odd digital form I found really rather hurtful.

I first thought it an unsolicited advertisement but I don't normally receive them. So then thought fraud attempt. Then I spotted their names and twigged the truth. The couple had used some tacky web-site that creates an e-post "card" by tacking a picture and generic greeting to a simple form in which the sender enters the names.

It looked cheap and worse, felt cheap - "Happy Christmas by 'Access' ".

Previously, they'd always bought cards that supported the RNLI charity, which I also support, so were doing that no longer.

I was tempted to send a terse "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, xxxx and vvvvv, from [Arish]" e-post with an attached Winter-scene photo I'd taken; but decided I am above that - and pointedly sent a proper card from the RNLI shop.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@ArishMell I only sent seven cards this year. Cost me over twenty quid. Mind you they were all international.

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@ninalanyon Ouch!

I do have two I send abroad - one to a pen-friend in Norway, at that. I am not sure what they cost though.

Since I paid for them at the same time as paying the 2022 car-tax (at the Post Office counter) those two stamps' prices were rather inconsequential...

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@ArishMell Luckily for me there is no car tax on my car. At the moment EVs are exempt. And we have a different system for collecting it anyway; the insurance companies are responsible for collecting the road tax so it just adds to the monthly bill for insurance. This also means that you can't get one without the other.

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@ninalanyon EVs are exempt from Road Fund Licence in the UK to... at the moment! They will have to do somethibng about that eventually I suppose.

We can't obtain the licence either, without proof of valid insurance and (if applicable) the MoT, but what is odd that although the PO can verify the insurance it still needs see the MoT certificate. You'd think if the licence agency can let the PO verify one, it can do it for both!

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@ArishMell The difference here is that it is all integrated and done the other way around. The insurance company checks the MoT (EU prøve) and pays the road fund licence for you.

It's good to hear that the UK is encouraging EVs a little bt exempting them from the road fund. But I heard that the grant for EVs has gone down to 1500 pounds which isn't very encouraging.

Here EVs are exempt from all the new car taxes and those are especially high in Norway