Do You Handwrite Your Christmas Cards?

We are going to try writing a letter this year. People should receive theirs around Christmas......2015.

Well, since my kids are so beautiful and I'm a "photographer"...........
I take pics at home and order Photo Cards

;)

Sorry - couldn't resist!
Also sorry, so many people jabbed at you on that question...........jeez!ouch!

I like to see a personal note.
A stock "newsletter"? That's an entirely different thread! LOL

This Q kind of reminds me of the "no O. 'does' thank you notes anymore, right?" and "no O. actually rsvp's to a party invitation any more" types.

I know people that wouldn't DREAM of sending a non-personalized, preprinted card AND ARE offended when they receive those. (Not me. My boss is O..)

But I DO think that even a pre-printed card can benefit from a small "Merry Christmas!" or "See you at Granny's on Christmas Eve" written in it.

It IS what separates us from other animals!
Well, card personalization and the ability to accessorize.

Oh dear no!

We do printed cards with family pics (from Snapfish.com) but I do hand address them. Last year we did at least 80, but this year there's several more people on the list--getting overwhelming, but I will ALWAYS hand-write the addresses.

What I REALLY dislike is receiving a very generic, "Season's Greeting" card that is printed AND the address is a label. That kind of a thing just seems very prefunctory to me, so I'd rather not receive it at all if you can't go through the trouble to even find a meaningful picture/graphic, message, or even write my address. Ungrateful much? Maybe, but just being honest. We really only get stuff like that from some of my husband's colleagues who don't really know us enough to know whether he's Muslim or Christian. If only they'd just ask, they'd know that we celebrate Christmas, not Eid.

I LOVE the photo cards or a photo attached. We also hang them on the wall as a decoration. After Christmas is over all of the non personal ones go in recyling.

I always hand address them (have thought about doing labels).
I've done letters if we've had a big year (baby, house, move, etc.) - but not doing one this year.
I've done the photocards with message when life was super crazy (baby).
This year I've found some nice cards, printed a 4X6 picture of the family, and will hand sign them all with a personal message on most.

The cards that are preprinted with a generic message, labeled on the envelop, and barely signed don't impress me - especially from my retired uncle and aunt who have the time and money to write something when they haven't seen us in months. What's the point, otherwise?

We are sending out almost a 100 this year. (We've moved across country 4 times.) The prints should arrive today and the envelops are addressed and stamped. Now, I just need a quiet evening, some wine, and White Christmas on to watch. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! (<------ That's handwritten, btw!)

R.:

I don't do a letter - I write in each card and hand address them.

I used to do a letter, but I don't any more...I like to personalize it!!!

I like the beautiful picture along with a thoughtful note inside. We display our cards as Christmas decorations. At work we nestle them into the tree, at home we attach them to a garland hung around a door frame. You can buy gorgeous glittery snowy christmasy cards of landscapes, angels, Santa, the wisemen, etc at Dollar Tree and the Dollar Store for a buck or two.

As to receiving: I'm not picky, I like most kinds of holiday cards.

For sending/giving: I mix it up. I don't know that we'll get a photo card out this year, so I'm making some artsy cards myself (esp. for my few Solstice buddies-- Hallmark doesn't make a card for us-- and my MIL, who always appreciates them), and buying some. And yes, a small note is included with each one, handwritten. Usually a reflection of some fun experience we had this year or a note toward what we are mutually looking forward to.

It takes a lot of time, but it's worth it. My husband stays up late around this time of year, getting cards addressed to his friends in Europe so they'll arrive on time.

I like to give the picture cards because it is a quick and cheap way to share pictures of the girls with relatives and friends. Sams Club/Costco usually has a decent deal on the photo cards.

As for writing them out...I find it pure agony to try to figure out what I want to say to each person so it is one of those things that would be put off...put off...put off. So for me the pre-printed photo cards are the best option.

I'd have to say I like getting the picture cards for the same reason I like giving them. The greeting cards get trashed while I keep all of the photo cards.

I buy nice cards, sometimes with a short pre-printed message, but then I always hand write a note in every single one of them. I have become less verbose over the years because I found it was just taking too much out of me to write so much in each and every card, but I do write at least one or two sentences to each person and sign all of them personally. I also still hand address all of them! We also have 60+ cards we send each year!

Way to go! That is wonderful.

As for us I take each year at a time. We have done handwritten cards, pre printed cards with a picture, letter and a picture and nothing at all. We take each year as it comes and try our best to get our "to do" list done...but sometimes we let some items go undone...to keep peace,serenity and the holiday spirit in our home. Not just to get it all done exactly how I dream it up in my mind. I have learned to let things go without guilt...so that I can better enjoy life and the holidays with my family and friends.

I don't prefer any specific Christmas greeting...it is just nice to be thought of. I tend to host a lot of holiday parties to spend time with my treasured family and friends....in my mind that sometimes counts as "our card".

Good luck and best wishes at getting all those thoughtful cards done and in the mail soon..that is wonderful gift to your family and friends!!

Yes.
Our cards may be pre-printed but I always hand write in them, as well. Not generic greetings. Personalized writing.

Yep, I hand write them, but we only send out about 35-40, so it's not as bad as 60! And I keep them pretty short and sweet, unless it's someone/a family that we're really close to.

Yeah, I still handwrite mine. I have so many relatives that I don't see,it always is nice to make sure they aren't overlooked for the holidays. Plus friends, etc..The list gets to be pretty overwhelming, probably about 50 each year. Like you, I start early. Probably do 5 a day, that way they are all done, and I send them all out a week before christmas. It's also fun for them to see how my son's handwriting has changed from year to year with his name. I always like the handwritten ones the best!

For many years now I send e-mail cards with a photo and a personalized message. Nothing to save no right envelope messed up. It takes about two hours from photo to done.

We send a picture card and I write a personal note on the back of each one.

We hand-write ours. The hubster would like to just sign his name and be done but I always insist on a personal line or two, preferably from each of us. Since we don't have any kids at home, we don't do photo cards, but occasionally I'll include a photo with the card for people we don't see that often. I enjoy getting photos enclosed that way but I don't always know what to do with photo cards. They're not the right size to frame, but I hate to throw them away. So they usually get displayed on the fridge for a little while and then get thrown in a box.

I handwrite mine but I have shortened the message and I don't send
out as many due to the cost of the postage & our economy (we don't
have as much $ anymore).

Oh man, oh man.

I have no time for Christmas cards. Next year I probably will. With the insane schedule we keep, I don't have time to address and mail them all, even if I print them.

I think it's a GREAT idea and the ones we get always have something handwritten in them :).

Kudo's to all you busy mom's that get it together in time to do them!!

We have gone to printing addresses, but we sign each one. I might sign a bunch for the entire family but there are some we track down everyone for and make them sign (like the grandmas). We choose which people get which cards (we do several...funny, religious, generic winter) and we stuff most of them with letters (which people say they look forward to...DH tries to be funny). We do between 80 and 100 cards annually.

I like picture cards. I keep them.

There's this theme in our house...gift wrapping, sparkling wine....Christmas cards with handwritten notes, sparkling wine.....the annual spring cleaning of important documents/bills/etc, sparkling wine. We sit down with a pile between us. My husband handwrites all of the ones in Spanish while I tackle all the ones in English. I just can't not handwrite the cards. For me anything else seems too impersonal in a world already overcrowded with hurried, rushed and impersonal.

As for what I receive, I don't care because I know people have busy lives and busy schedules. Getting a card at all is a huge deal to me because it meant someone stopped to think of us which makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. I do keep the cards from year to year so I don't forget who has sent a card the previous year.

I hand write them. I use to include a letter with them but it seems there is never the time there was before. I did the newsletter one a couple years but always hate the "bragging" effect it seems to have rather then the personal handwritten one where you ask personalized questions and thoughts about their families. I just sign the cards with a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year being the only message now.

I'm actually working on hand drawn xmas cards for my family.
I have xmas designs that i draw up on a card then fill in a nice message.
It's a lot of work, but so fun cause I can personalize each card for each family member.

I would rather receive a hand-written card. I know the extra time it took to put the special effort into it and that makes it that much more special. A lot of my friends who get the picture card still write a special note on them.

I love getting cards w/ pictures and/or letters. I'm nosey...so I don't mind those cheesy letters. ;)
I hand write and hand address all my cards. Like you, about 60+.
And everyone gets a picture of the kids.
That I really need to be taking as I type. ;)

I do not write a personal note in each one though-a few maybe, but I don't have a whole lot to say to most of my CC recipients. Lol.

This question depresses me. I hate to think of all we have lost due to technology. Yes, all this new stuff is AWESOME, but I don't think it should replace EVERYTHING. Some special things I wish to remain the same. Yes, I hand write all my cards, and I don't like typed cards or e-cards at ALL. I think they are VERY impersonal and less thoughtful, less genuine, they don't count to me. Plus, I'm an artist. Of COURSE things done by hand are more appreciated...and on top of that, I LOVE people's different hand writings:)

I have "issues" sleeping. SO like Friday night after cuddling with my husband until he's sound asleep, I sneak out of bed and pull out the address book and address close to 100 envelopes for the cards (which I buy after Christmas the previous year or before Thanksgiving). Then I check FB to see if there are any friends there that should get a "real" card instead of FB wishes, and if I don't have their addresses, I'll message them requesting the address. Then over the next week, every day I handwrite cards. My husband signs some of them, and some, my 5 year old signs too. I include cards/address the envelopes for my husband's family/friends too but leave them separate for him to fill out. If close family or friends, I'll sign also. Everything will be mailed off by the end of this week. Many of the cards I send out have a new photo of the boys, or all 4 of us if I can get one taken in time. There are a select few that get more than 1 picture though, depending on how long it's been since we've seen them and how close we are. Occasionally I'll send a "news letter" with photos printed on the letter, but that's more like every few years.
My favorites are the ones from a great friend of mine, where she actually hand makes each one, paints them, does all kinds of neat touches to them. She's so artistic! I've kept all of them for 14 years. We like to receive cards and display them through the Christmas season as festive decor.

I prefer to receive cards that are hand written and I write out all of my cards also. To me, it is very thought-less to send a card with pre-printed names in them. Just my opinion though. I am still one to write thank-you notes and letters too.

I handwrite all of our cards and addresses. I just prefer a personal touch.

I also include a page which is a collage of pictures throughout the year of daughter and our activities.

I do not do the family letter and I am not crazy about getting the mass family letter and cards preprinted with preprinted labels. I know that is how things roll now and the handwriting is going out the window and I do appreciate any card I get but when I receive a handwritten card, I know someone specifically was thinking obout me and my family at the time.

I like the personal touch of handwriting. Now, if someone's handwriting is chicken scratch and you can't read it.... go with the labels and preprinting.

For thank you cards, I write them myself...
For Christmas cards, I do pictures of our family throughout the year on a holiday photo card. I do all that online... I personally, LOVE getting "personalized picture" holiday cards. The plan ole' cards with Santa Claus on them are boring to me.. I want to see people's pictures on their holiday cards.

I sign all my cards and hand address them (no computer labels here.) I used to write all the "news" individually too, but the As and Bs were getting these really long letters and by the time I got to the Ms they were getting "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year." So I started doing a Christmas letter on the computer. I add a personal note to each one. But I do 100+ cards ( we move a lot) and it was just too much. Oh - did I mention that I make my own cards every year?

As far as what I like to receive... I'm not so picky. I just like hearing from people. But I will say that I get all bummed out when I get a card from someone I only hear from @ Christmas and it is just signed (or printed) with no information about the family at all. I want to hear what everyone's been up to! I do love photos, too.

I hand write a short note and include a Christmas letter. I send the christmas letters because I LOVE receiving them and finding out what people are up to. I hate a blank card with just a signature. The best part about writing a Christmas letter is that my kids will have this neat, once a year, log of what our family did. What a great keepsake!

I handwrote all our Xmas cards until last year. I resisted the photo card thing for a long time. But I decided to try it last year and loved it! It was so easy, fun and, to my surprise, pretty cheap. I may handwrite the signature, but I am definitely sticking with the photo cards from now on. With adorable small children in the family, it's a no-brainer.

I hand write all our Christmas cards, and sometimes I send the picture of our family, but I do not send the letter that tells the world what the kids have been doing the past year or our achievements.

I hand write them and usually make them homemade. I make a homemade card then make copies, so I'm not sure if that counts...LOL I usually send out over 100 but this year I haven't done anything so I'm thinking about skipping it or just doing family. Or maybe I'll wait until after Christmas which is a possibility too. =) I'm like you! I wrote a couple of "Thinking of you" cards this year instead of sending emails or FB messages and I got a couple of them back. I love it!!!

We do Shutterfly photo cards each year w/ a short message of our choice already printed. I hand write the addresses on the envelopes; that's about as much as I can do these days. I haven't gone the route of printed address labels for the addressees at this point. That would indicate no effort at all, IMO, and I'm not ready for that quite yet!! ;)

Every year I send a pre-printed Christmas card with a picture of the family. And I use labels because I have to send about 100. This is a huge time-saver for me and pretty much the only way I will get them out! And I really don't understand why address labels are such a faux-pas! Does it make it that much more special to see that I handwrote your address? Silly!

But I love seeing the photos of how everyone's families have changed over the last year!

However, I really like your idea of writing a personal note on each. I think next year I will buy a photo pen and do just that!

I'm a customer of Send Out Cards (I don't sell them!!) and I use their tri-fold card that allows me to download up to 10 pics of us throughout the year and there is still space for a decent letter about what we did all year. All our family addresses are online and the cards are sent out automatically with a real stamp so it "looks" like I mailed them. They have tons you can choose from and have the option of adding your own pictures or not. My husband and I are insurance agents and also use them for our client mailings. AND you can even add gifts...last year we sent xmas cards to his mom and sisters and added a box of brownies...SO EASY!!!! I love getting cards with pictures and/or letters. I don't care if they are handwritten or typed but I really HATE getting just a card with a signature on it. That is the worse for some reason, I feel like, why bother? Here is the link to the SOC if you want to check them out: http://www.sendoutcards.com/35398