I still do hand written cards, with a snapshot of my daughter inside for only close family. I do not mind the pic cards if the sender actually does write a few words but otherwise not a fan for they seem very selfishly lazy and although the pics of kids are cute I only save the ones I know well and always feel somewhat guilty throwing away someone's kid's photo:) I also dislike that they do not sand up well on a mantel. I guess I find the newsletters and preprinted cards which are not even signed to be impersonal and wonder what the point is anyway.

I'm with rorah, it seems wrong to throw away the pictures but I do. I prefer a handwritten note too but I still appreciate the thought and action.

We have gotten some great, hilarious newsletters in past years from friends who write well and have good humor. We have also gotten the "bragging" letters too; not as much fun. Oddly, we have gotten plenty of cards this year but no newsletters.

Here is my beef with holiday cards lately: people print the address labels using their computers, they order photo cards (which I do like) with their names pre-printed on them, with no handwritten ANYTHING anywhere in sight...so for all I know they employ secretaries to send their cards. There's nothing personalized about it. I do send photo cards with our names pre-printed on them, but I always add a little note or at least a "Merry Christmas!" or "xoxo" (for special friends ;)) and I address the envelopes by hand.

I feel bad throwing away the pictures too but I tape them all on the kitchen door as they arrive and display them for several weeks before I toss them.

The funny thing is we get a lot of photo cards from DH's coworkers and my kids are always asking "Who's that?"

Don't mind the photos, and I like the newsletters. For our own cards, I have wittled my list down to close friends and family, and to those I write a handwritten personal note. DH does the same for his family and friends.

About the newsletters; I don't get much bragging in them, but I understand where people want to stay positive and don't want to air their dirty laundry so to speak. Several years ago I got one where the writer went on about what a horrible year it was, listing events one by one. It was not pleasant to read, kinda in the TMI category.

And I really don't want to hear people's political rants. I don't need to hear how they think Obama is ruining the country. Actually, it is just one person who sends this but I will have to endure it for 4 more years now. I have strongly held political views too, but the farthest I venture into politics in cards is to wish for peace on earth.

This post was edited by barb5 on Thu, Dec 20, 12 at 14:21

We were just discussing this last night because we received a lovely card with newsletter enclosed from friends who have moved this year and it hit all the right notes with us. It was not overly long, there was no bragging, the updating was inclusive of the biggest events in their lives and left out the minutiae that can be meaningless unless you are living it. There was no mention of health issues - sorry I don't want to read about Uncle Albert's prostate issues! They mentioned the guestroom that is ready and waiting for friends which I thought was a nice touch and know it was said from the heart.

We stopped sending cards long ago so don't get the huge influx as in past years. And that's fine with us. Although I do love getting pictures, it's just as nice to get them in July or in an email in May.

I do enjoy seeing pictures, especially when they are regular snapshots of how the kids have grown, or a trip or experience the family has had that year. I don't enjoy the professional portrait/Christmas card all-in-one as much. I usually do a card that I have hand-signed with a picture of the kids included (and we know they get thrown away, and that is OKAY!) But sometimes I do wonder what others think of those. My pictures are very amateur, but then again our life is very imperfect too! It seems rare for younger people to do it that way anymore. They seem to lean toward the professional photography and the computer-signed card.

As far as newsletters go, I go back and forth on how I feel about it. We don't send one. I do enjoy reading some of them. I think writing a form letter that works for every person on your card list is hard. Our friends with their own kids probably do not want to hear how wonderful and talented our own kids are. However, our relatives love that kind of information. I prefer to just write a small note in the card with our signature, that is tailored to the recipient.

I generally like newsletters...we send one of our own, describing major events in our lives for that year, and sometimes they do include health issues, but I try to keep it light when and where I can. Given people's comments to me, they clearly read them. I use them as an excuse to contact people that I really only hear from once a year.

I'm getting more of them from others electronically, but to me that is less desirable, not only because it is less personal, and can't be put on the mantel, but also because the writers feel no need to edit themselves, so they go on for pages!

The one that always rubs me the wrong way is the one that not only goes on and on about all the things they've done but also lectures us because we don't live their lifestyle and ends every year with the equivalent of, aren't our lives wonderful and don't you wish you could be us! Not even one wish to the recipient for a happy new year! Yecch.

I love the photo cards! I have young children, so that's the type I send out. Most of my friends do the same. The ones I send are printed on card stock, not photo paper, but I still don't handwrite a message. I do address the envelopes by hand. We keep Christmas cards in a basket. Sometime in January, I go through them, and I keep the photographs from family and very close friends and pack them away with the Christmas decorations. I toss the rest. I assume most people will toss mine as well. I feel like Christmas letters are on the wane. I've never been a fan, so I don't see it as a great loss. I think since most people keep in touch on Facebook, they aren't as necessary. We usually get one or two, but we haven't gotten any newsletters yet this year.

We stopped sending out cards a few years ago when the bragging newsletters began to get to me. My kids are great but their achievements are personal to us and basically noones business. I'm not the least bit interested in people I only hear from once a year bragging about their kids, fancy trips, latest promotions. whatever.

sueb20 - I have the same beef as you with those very impersonal preprinted photocards. My DH has a cousin who lives across the country and every year he would send him a card with a little personal note in it. We never rec'd a card back so my DH stopped sending them. This year we got an impersonal preprinted card with absolutely nothing on it. I suspect he doesn't even know he sent it to us - his assistance probably did it. So, don't bother.

Seems like fewer and fewer people are sending holiday cards these days, so I enjoy whatever comes our way! We received one short "newsletter" this year that was just upbeat and informative, but didn't come across as braggadocio in the least.

I bought cards this year, but only sent out a few of them, citing "I'm too busy" as my excuse. I was humbled when I received a card from friends in England, and subsequently learned that he had been in hospital for quite some time following cancer-related surgery, and she had been working full-time and tending to him day in and day out. And still, she managed to send cards - and across the pond, at that.

In England "Christmas cards" are still very much the norm. I send and receive dozens every year. They are all hand written and addressed, with a greeting and sometimes details of interesting events that have befallen the sender during the previous year. I had not encountered newsletters until I arrived in the USA. An elderly neighbor sends us a newsletter every year. I so look forward to it as it always makes me cry with laughter. He has a self deprecating humor and definitely does not brag.
A nicely written card tells the recipient that the sender held them exclusively in their thoughts, if only for a few minutes, in the midst of their busy holiday schedule. I hope this happy little tradition does not die out completely. It certainly won't for us!

I love getting cards with pictures to see how all the kids have grown. I enjoy some newsletters, but DH and I decided a few years ago to toss the one from his sister in the trash unread. This is the same SIL mentioned in another thread. She always sends it out after New Year's, probably so it will get more attention. It is usually 2-3 pages long, and it is all bragging about her kids, the trips she got to take at her employer's expense, come see us and stay in the guesthouse on our property, blah, blah, blah. No thanks.

I have always sent Christmas cards - one of the things my mom always did that I guess I figured was just a tradition at Christmas. However, my immediate family was separated by our entire extended family on both sides. We saw them maybe once a year each. Back then, we didn't have the internet and had to pay for long distance calls, so it was a nice way to keep in touch with loved ones and old friends that lived away from us. She wrote long handwritten notes in each and every one.

Now that I'm married, I find myself in a similar situation. Dh's family is from the west coast, and the only immediate family nearby are my parents and brother's family. My sister moved away and my extended family is still spread out far from us. In addition, my husband was in the Navy for 9 years so we have many, many friends that we keep in touch with but never see as they are spread out around the world. I have about 110 families on our list. I used to write individual long notes on the cards (with photo of kids inserted), but now with Facebook and email, we communicate a little more regularly. I do photo cards now, but I always leave the back blank and handwrite at least a few lines on each card, longer notes to those we don't talk to often. I do have my addresses saved in label format on my computer, but I don't print on labels - I print it out on regular paper and use it as a guide for handwriting the addresses and then cross off once I've done the card.

We've gotten some funny newsletters over the years, but there are two people who send them that always drive me nuts - one tries to get really creative but just sounds stupid (one year, she wrote from the point of view of their dog, but it was really dumb, not cute) and the other is gushing and bragging about her family. But I don't mind them for the most part. I love getting the photos though - since most of my friends have kids at home, it's nice to see how they are growing up.

I'll be lucky if my cards get out in time this year. They got delayed and last time I checked, were somewhere in PA. I could probably have driven to the UPS facility and back faster than they'll get here. Bummer - I'm ready for Christmas otherwise, so it would be nice to use this time to be writing them!

I do photo cards for friends and family and regular Christmas cards to lots of folks at church. I always include a short note on the back of the photo. I did a newsletter once, it wasn't really my style. I enjoy most newsletters except from one far away friend. All she does is brag about how wonderful her children and life are. It doesn't seem real to me.
My computer crashed recently and I didn't back up my addresses. It was so nice to print them out. I don't know why people are against labels. I had to hand write them out this year and it was so time consuming to look up all of those addresses. I think that sometimes we need to be a little more understanding of each other. This is such a busy time of year and we are all doing so much with the decorating, shopping, baking, ect. on top of our other responsibilities. If someone doesn't do Christmas cards or doesn't sign them, or uses labels, who cares. We're all doing the best we can.

I generally like the letters. I like hearing what's been going on with people I don't see much. Only rarely are they obnoxiously boastful. I think it's good to send an upbeat holiday letter and if you talk about your travels, kid successes, etc I guess it can start to sound like bragging.

What most dismays me are the completely impersonal photo greeting cards people send that have not one letter of anything handwritten. Imprinted card and computer generated address label. Sometimes I wonder if they even know they sent me something.

All that said I don't like to send Christmas greetings unless I can come up with a letter or photo. And since we don't have any kids the photo thing seems a bit weird. I just can't bring myself to send a photo card of me, DH and the cats.

I dunno gibby, DH's cousin has no children and frequently sends photo cards with a picture of her cat...they are quite cute and always bring a smile to our faces.

I write and receive many holiday letters. I have never received a letter I felt was a "brag letter". Depending on the connection I have with the writer I am more or less interested in some of the details but after reading I always feel they reached out and touched my home from theirs. To me that is what all these passing cards/ letters is about. When I open a greeting card, or picture card and there is no news..I do not feel a connection. It makes me sad. We are such a busy world. I wish we could take the time to actually share our lives with each other. I can imagine a hand written note being more personal..but I do not have the time or penmanship for such and adventure so I am forgiving when I do not get any. I am not a participant or fan of Facebook/twitter but somehow there is a sort of sameness on a daily level to postings and the Christmas letter, but somehow I feel a voyeur not shared with friend. A curious thought. What I know is I get fewer holiday greetings each year. I miss the month of December when there was always a card or two in the mail each day. Something is being lost.