Christmas cards

[Stormy]

Does anyone ever receive Christmas cards anymore?   I don’t miss the bragging letters enclosed in some of the cards but I just receive so few of them 

Are these cards a thing of the past? 

[samhexum]

Who has money to throw away on something that is thrown away 2 seconds after it fulfills its purpose and just creates that much more crap to clean up?

I don't even bother with wrapping paper anymore- I just keep some of the smaller boxes I get from Amazon or other places during the year and then kill 2 birds with one stone by putting presents in them so I get them out of the house and I don't even tape them closed anymore- I just do the thing where you fold the cover flaps in the way that keeps them closed.

The older, poorer, and less mobile I have gotten over the years has made me realize that Christmas should be as cheap and effortless as possible.  Nobody really gives a damn about cards and presents, and if they do, I don't give a damn about them.

JOY TO THE WORLD!

 

[Johnrom]

I like to send about twenty cards each holiday. I do write a personal note inside and include a genuine wish for the New Year. My friends and family say they appreciate  the time I take to send them. In this age of social media, being a little old school goes a long way for a lot of people.  I def get very few mailed cards anymore, except for the ones with kids photo pics on them. 

[BuffaloKyle]

9 minutes ago, Johnrom said:

I like to send about twenty cards each holiday.

It's one thing for the cost of the cards but with stamp prices going up and up soon it'll cost you $20 alone just to mail the cards.

[BuffaloKyle]

But if you do enjoy sending cards here is a great site to buy from. They just started an after Christmas sale so you can get some cards for next year right away if you want. Here's the link to the boxed Christmas cards but they sell every holiday and regular cards too and everything is on a big sale.

Boxed Christmas Cards | Brand Name Cards | PaperCards.com

PAPERCARDS.COM

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Shop for boxed Christmas cards on PaperCards.com. Our huge assortment of boxed Christmas cards includes traditional and funny cards with an incredible range of...

 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

5 hours ago, Stormy said:

Does anyone ever receive Christmas cards anymore?   I don’t miss the bragging letters enclosed in some of the cards but I just receive so few of them 

Are these cards a thing of the past? 

Yes, I do.  And I keep the ones that include a personal message, like the Christmas cards I mail to others.

[+ Pensant]

I always send cards to friends and family and they reciprocate. I like to watch my nephews and nieces growing up in the picture cards. I think some of the older traditions may be returning. Merry Christmas!

[CuriousByNature]

I send out cards most years. But this year Canada had a postal strike that interrupted pre-Christmas deliveries, so I didn't bother.  It started November 15 and the staff were ordered back to work on December 17, so there's quite a bit of backlog to get through first.

[+ Lucky]

I didn't send out any cards this year, so don't think that I forgot you!

[MikeBiDude]

I send about 70, it’s a postcard, no envelope, but with a pic on one side and a very short story on the text side reviewing the year. Very short!

I receive about 50 cards.

[Vin Marco]

Sadly, I no longer send out Christmas greetings/cards. I still do receive quite a bit of cards in the mail and I'm always happy to read them. These days I'm equally pleased just with people thinking of me during the holiday season and waking up to close to hundreds of merry Christmas text messages. Years ago, I would've thought it was rather impersonal now, I'm just happy people think of me on Christmas and Thanksgiving... as much as I don't like to talk on the phone , if I see someone calling me on Christmas morning, I'm happy to take the call, even though the old-fashioned phone call seems to be a thing of the past is as well 😁

[Ali Gator]

I owned a gift shop for many years, and was known for the greeting cards I sold (from the risque to the museum cards).  From 1987- 2000 I made a ton of money selling cards year round. Then 2001 happened and the 'anthrax' scare that went along with it, and my sales dropped like a rock. At the same time, something called 'e-mail' and 'e-cards' came along, which was much safer. By 2004, I had gotten rid of all my cards and stationery and devoted my space to other categories which made me money. Cards were over and done with.

Today, I try to buy cards for Christmas and Birthdays for a few close friends and relatives. Every year the selection has gotten worse. I'm not sure if the companies I used to deal with are even in business any more - they have a 'shadow presence' on the internet, if any presence at all. None of the stores in my area carry those cards if they carry cards at all - most are crappy.  And over the years, others have stopped sending me cards - now I get text messages on my Birthday and on Christmas, or Facebook postings. I was speaking to a few friends of mine about this over the past few weeks, and the consensus is that just about everyone has eliminated cards in the past 20 years or so.

[samhexum]

2 hours ago, Ali Gator said:

I owned a gift shop for many years, and was known for the greeting cards I sold (from the risque to the museum cards). 

I have a bunch of greeting cards with gay porn stars from back then that I collected that have been sitting in a trunk in a closet for a couple of decades.  I sent one with a self-addressed, stamped manila envelope to Jeff Stryker, explaining we were born on the same day, and asked him to sign it and send it back (along with a recently- worn jockstrap).

He sent back the signed card.

[Johnrom]

Trader Joe’s actually makes their own cards. Very high quality and nice. They only cost a buck each.   Good place to find decent cards. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I don't do xmas cards anymore, but I still have several good boxes of custom stationary.

It's old school, but I love it.

[+ FreshFluff]

My best friend always sends one with a sweet personal note. I send some out every few years. 

[+ BobPS]

I sent about 25 Christmas cards this year. They were sent primarily to people living on the East Coast who I don’t see very often if at all since I moved to the West Coast. I enjoy writing them and I hope they enjoy receiving them. I received a text from an old friend this morning. thanking me for my “beautiful card “and telling me that she misses me, but she knows I’m  where I need to be and want to be.  I received very few old-fashioned Christmas cards this year, I have received a couple e-card, which are nice and better than nothing but nothing compares with a Christmas card you took the time to sign, put a personal note on and mail in my not so humble opinion.

[mike carey]

I can remember cards being displayed on mantel piece, hanging from a string from one end of it to the other (no concerns about them accidentally falling into the fire, of course) or slotted into venetian blinds. You can't do that with an e-mail. Still, I neither sent nor received any this year. Not so far, anyway.

[ICTJOCK]

Most cards are a thing of the past.     I send out 100 imprinted cards,  but personally sign them all  in connection with  a separate career than my work as a provider.   I do about 25 personal Christmas cards.     Many people just don't do them anymore with postage costs and the price of a good quality Christmas card.     I do it because it makes me feel good and I always go the extra mile....... and it's Christmas.

[TonyDown]

I receive fewer.

I send some, but I stopped trying to catch people up on my life.

[Ali Gator]

6 hours ago, samhexum said:

I have a bunch of greeting cards with gay porn stars from back then that I collected that have been sitting in a trunk in a closet for a couple of decades.  I sent one with a self-addressed, stamped manila envelope to Jeff Stryker, explaining we were born on the same day, and asked him to sign it and send it back (along with a recently- worn jockstrap).

He sent back the signed card.

When I used to go to trade shows at the NY Javitz Center, these card companies would always be there selling their everyday cards, seasonal cards and calendars featuring 'porn stars'.  I met Stryker one year (he autographed a calendar for me to display in my store) and many other guys selling their 'stuff' (including many Playgirl models, as one of the companies I bought from was the wholesaler of Playgirl merchandise back then. I remember he was shorter than I expected in person, but a nice enough guy.

Most of these porn actors / Playgirl models knew how to flirt with the men visiting the booth- the more they flirted (they would be wearing just a bikini and be all oiled up) the more we gay buyers would buy their stuff for the store. Once, one of the models was talking to me (I remembered him from the magazine and his centerfold spread) and we found out we were staying in the same hotel. He suggested we 'meet up' at his hotel room that night. He wrote down his phone number (no cell phones back then) and told me to call him. I was nervous, but I did - and during the phone call he mentioned he charged an hourly rate for these meet-ups (I think it was $300, and additional money to have sex with him).  I was naive and stupid thinking he was interested in me (not knowing he was an escort making extra cash) so I told him no. 

[+ leo2510]

I did about two dozen this holiday season, mostly elder relatives and friends across the country. Usually I'll include a short half-page wrap-up of the year`s goings-on, just so these folks know that I'm thinking of them. I get return cards from mebbe 2/3ds or so, happy with that.