I have always been one of those people that sends Christmas cards to everyone I know. Maybe not everyone I know, but I good number of people in my life receive a Christmas card every holiday season. In many cases I think a Christmas card is a way of keeping in touch with old friends. There are several friends from college that I rarely talk to, but I receive a Christmas card from them every year with a photo, and a note letting me know how their year has progressed. To some extent it’s sad our friendship has been reduced to a holiday greeting, but I still enjoy them all the same.
With the rising price of stamps, and Christmas cards for that matter, sending cards to so many people has turned into a rather costly endeavor. This year I tried something a little different, holiday e-cards.
There are tons of different websites online that will allow you send free e-cards to friends and family through email. Some of the cards have games you can play, some contain music, and there are even some you can create yourself with personal photographs. For the most part, you can do everything with a digital e-card you can do with a traditional Christmas card…you just don’t have the actual card when your finished.
I’ve been thinking about switching to e-cards for quite some time. The cards are obviously cheaper, but I had reservations about straying away from my traditional card sending. I personally really like collecting all of the paper cards and hanging them on my wall and refrigerator, and assume most of my friends like to do the same.
This year I made 2 lists of “People getting Christmas Cards.” One list contained people who I knew would appreciate the paper card, another a list of people I might have not spoken to in a while, but I still wanted to send a greeting to. I also put people on this list whom I knew weren’t “Christmas Card People,” that way I was able to send them a greeting, without sending them unwanted mailbox filler.
Did any of you send holiday e-cards this year? Who did you send them to?