Christmas Cards - Leavenworth,KS

Yep, I do photo cards every year, have been since about 1999 I think, when my youngest was born. For the last several years I've preferred to do the collage type cards, because we rarely have a decent photo of all of us together. Usually I use a vacation photo, something from a sport or activity the kids are doing, and always try to include the pets if possible!

We got nice ones made this year with a photo of us from Halloween. Before we had kids though we didn't send holiday cards at all.

We do picture cards about every 3 years.
The rest of the time we do greeting cards but some years I take a year off from sending cards.
I'll have my cards in the mail tomorrow.

It varies year to year. This year is a no.

We have really scaled back the busyness of Christmas stuff. Christmas cards are at the bottom of our to do list.

I also feel like they have lost their umph with the explosion of technology and social media. I now see all my dear friend/family, near and far ,daily on facebook. I watch their kids growing up on my phone and computer screen. I exchange emails throughout the year with updates and pictures as well.

Sooo, I just don't feel the urgency anymore to let people know what we have been up to all year and include a family photo. Seems a little redundant.

We tend to pull it together every few years and include a professional family photo.

We don't do pictures. We send out a lot of cards with a funny letter. People tell us they look forward to it. We buy several kinds of cards like Jill K does and choose per recipient. For many, it is our only gift to them - the card and letter, and we enjoy receiving them as well. We hang them in our kitchen.

We do a photo card every year. I have a couple of friends who take really great photos and I've been lucky enough to snag one of them to do a quick photo shoot for me every year. We usually head out to a local park some weekend in November and they take a bunch of pics, then I pick one group shot and one shot of each kid for a 5-photo collage card. We did our photos last Saturday, I ordered last Sunday and got the cards on Friday. I haven't addressed them yet but plan on doing 10 a day this week until they're done.

If I had to rely on photos that my husband or I take, the cards would be a lot less attractive. My friends manage to make my kids look like they're in a clothing catalog. When I take their pics, they look homely and disgruntled, and are usually out of focus and looking in different directions. It's amazing what a good photographer and high-quality camera can create!

I typically send cards yearly. Sometimes personalized, sometimes not. I detest the yearly newsletter and will never do that.

I did a great holiday/Christmas card in 2012 during my daughter's Senior year of high school. She graduated in June 2013. That card has highlights of her Senior year.

Since then, I've sent a few cards here and there. Nothing big. This year... I have no family pic yet so I'll probably send a few cards here and there.

I send them out because it gives me joy. Photograph of kiddo and one of the family, a canned greeting, and address labels. Kind of old fashioned, and think that in this day in age when we don't get hard copy pictures, a photo card can be a nice momento (even if it gets chucked, along with the tree).

Best,
F. B.

No, I gave up doing cards years ago. I figure that if the only contact I have with someone is that one card all year, then we are probably not close enough for me to even bother with that. Frankly, I hate the cards. Most folks only sign their names without a personal message because they are sending so many out. We don't send any cards and we no longer receive many as a result... I am fine with that. It is just a hassle that I don't wish to add to me to-do list.

I usually send out a ton of cards and receive a ton in return. We all love getting cards in the mail, and I hang them up and enjoy them all season! A few years ago I took a break from sending cards, and the number of cards we received sharply declined that year and the following year, so I'm back to sending out a bunch. :)

I 'was' a faithful x mas card sender through the bulk of my marriage. The list included all the friends and relatives that attended our wedding...and then some additional people.

During our separation, I sent cards to some people. But, post divorce, I no longer sent cards.

I remain in regular contact with those that care about me and kiddos throughout the year.

It is enough.

ooooo, great question. i always send out cards, and i used to stress hugely over it, as i included at the very least a handwritten note in each one, and sometimes a full-blown letter.
i dislike the generic christmas letters so have never gone that route, although i totally understand the reasoning and read the ones i receive with pleasure.
i've taken the pressure completely off myself this year. i'm sending out about as many as usual, but i've got them all pre-printed with a nice holiday wish message from 'the T family' and our return addy already on the envelope. i'm astounded at how much faster it is getting those suckers out!
it feels like a cheat in a way. the card is a nice picture card from our vacation, and the printed message sums up my sentiments pretty well, but i do kinda feel like a schlub not including something personal in every one.
but not THAT bad<G>. the pleasure of having this turn into a fun holiday thing and not an overwhelming must-do outweighs the little niggle of guilt i feel.
:) khairete
S.

We do a big matching outfits type picture every fall and they use to just go in the cards but these last few years it has been a better deal to do a picture card.

I'll send a few cards, but I don't send cards to everyone I know. I've tried in the past and it just isn't worth the stress. Not to mention the fact that my handwriting is embarrassingly illegible unless I write in block letters.

I send cards every year. I usually prepare them all right after Thanksgiving then mail them in the first week of December. I send religious Christmas and secular holiday cards, depending on the recipient. I also send Hanukkah cards.

I love getting cards in return and clip them up on cords on the wall. I think other people's photo cards are great, but we've only done a photo card once. Everyone in my house pretty much hates bothering with the process so we don't do family portraits on a regular basis..

No, I can't afford to spend the money on stamps or we can't have Christmas for the kids.

I send Christmas cards each year, and put pictures in some of them, along with a newsletter. Last year I cut back on the amount we sent out and tried to only send to elderly relatives who are not on social media or email.

Unless they have a written message in them I think they are a waste. Why go to all the trouble and expense to send someone correspondence and put NO correspondence in it? LOL

I used to start with grand intentions, and by the time Christmas actually rolled around, I had a handful mailed and a stack for husband to take to work (they distribute to each other--work friends-- in their work mailboxes).
The past few years, I've sort of dreaded the chore and tried to get by with as few as possible.

The kids are older now, and would be mortified if I tried to send out a "picture card" of them dressed in holiday attire.

I still have the cards I bought last year (unopened)... with no plans to open them this year. Until (most likely) husband comes home from work one night the week before and says, "I need cards for x, y, z and 1,2, 3"...

I like getting them, but I have enough "obligations" to deal with already, and don't like feeling obligated to add another thing. I do sort of like sending them to "old school" people (the parents of some of my long time friends, who aren't technologically inclined, for example), but as a general "to do" for a long list of people... not anymore.

Some years yes, some no. I have our cards all ready this year, I just need stamps.