Another day, another batch of holiday mail pledging the love and conveying the family news of people I’ve never heard of in my life.
I notice that the trend away from traditional folding cards with seasonal art on their covers and hand-written greetings inside and toward single sheet Shutterfly-generated picture postcards continues apace this year. (A quick count among those received at the Port Swiller household so far puts the ratio at about 5:2 in favor of the latter.) I’ve got no particular beef with this fashion, but it’s something I personally would not choose to do.
I also notice with some amusement the perils of what one might call automated holiday cheer: we received three different copies of exactly the same card and news letter from the same family on the same day. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to receive two cards from the same source may be regarded as a misfortune; to receive three looks like carelessness.
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December 17, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Diane
I’m a bit of a stickler about cards. While I enjoy getting a newsy family note, I don’t send them (I’d feel like I was bragging). The family picture type card bugs me, but only if they are not signed at all. Just recently I read a post someone put up regarding her intention to send all e-cards – ::shudder::
Mine? Paper, folding, with at least a personalized greeting inside. Addresses hand written. A gold-ink angel hand-stamped in the return address spot, along with a (clear) return address label. I do send more than one card to some families (I am friends with the parents, and also with the master’s degree age daughter), but send two different cards (that’s why you keep all the previous years’ leftovers), addressed to each party individually.
I *like* paper and pen, doggone it, and I won’t feel guilty about clinging to a last vestige of civility. The purpose of a card is to let people know you are thinking of them and wishing them well – slowing down to write them out allows me to actually do that. If you’re going to speed through them, what’s the point?
Er – off my soapbox now.
December 18, 2009 at 11:11 am
GroovyVic
Once again I lamented not having all those addresses printed on handy labels, but handwritten cards are nicer, I think. I also pondered the newsy note, but you’re all right, it does reek of bragging and when I sat down to write said letter, I felt kind of weird.
And thank you! I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who doesn’t like those preprinted photo cards!