Thursday, December 9, 2010

Bah Humbug!

 

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Hello all! Just popping by to say “hi” and get some opinions!

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If you know me, hang around me, have seen my subscriptions—you know I’m obsessed with magazines. Not just cooking, but others as well. I suppose it comes as no surprise that I want to work for a magazine one day too? But that’s besides the point. Anyways, I was flipping through the December issue of Real Simple (great gift ideas in there!) and I came across an article talking about the fading fashion of writing good, old-fashioned Christmas cards, and that it’s a waste of time. I immediately thought of the author as being described in 2 words—“Bah Humbug!” But in the end, she concluded that writing a meaningful card is worthwhile, which I totally agree. Here’s a little piece of the article in the author’s words…

Q: In a world with constant Facebook updates, isn’t the ritual of sending holiday cards obsolete?
A:
Not to sound Scroogey, but let’s be objective about the situation. Once you buy cards, sign them, address the envelopes, affix 44-cent stamps, and trudge to the post office with your stack, you will have spent $100 or more to mail the same photo of your children and dog that everyone saw months ago when you uploaded it to an online album called “Summer Vacation 2010.” Given the bad economy, this money might be better spent on presents, helping you stay within your gift-buying budget (imagine that). Or you could donate the sum to charity. Or you could go crazy and treat yourself to, say, a new pair of boots.

You can read the rest of the article here.

I was actually kind of surprised at the author’s response, being that she is in an older generation and they didn’t grow up with social media and the internet like my generation, and that being said, I still have completely opposite views on this subject. I am all about sending good old-fashioned snail mail. I love getting it, and I know other people do too! Plus some of my relatives don’t have Facebook or even the internet for that matter, so I will always find charm in writing a Christmas card/letter. And yes, I do leave room in my holiday budget for the measly $0.44 cent stamp, even if that means forgoing my usual peppermint latte.

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VERDICT: I will never cut writing Christmas cards/letters out of my holiday agenda!

Where do you stand on this issue? Are you all for snail-mail or do you opt out and why?

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Christmas Cookie Countdown—week 11!

 

15 comments:

Pretty Zesty said...

I love sending holiday cards...and she has a point about facebook and the photo already being posted... but then again I despise those cards regardless so I guess I'm a scrooge in that department.

Cards are on my list this weekend. I normally make them but haven't designed anything yet... oops!

hbobier said...

You read my mind, girl! I'm signing Christmas cards at this very moment...haha. My work is really into cards, so I have some 300 to sign today.

Since I'm not quite an "adult" yet, I still get included on my parents' holiday cards. Which I enjoy. :)

Kim said...

I have to say that I did think about whether or not to send Christmas cards this year. Most of the people I send them to are on facebook and do see all the pictures I upload. The only exceptions are the grandparents, who are not on fb. I decided to go ahead and send them this year, but might not in the years to come. Maybe if I had more folks that weren't on fb? Not sure. I do agree though, Christmas cards are going to become considered old-fashioned and it is sad :(

Kylie @ A Hungry Spoon said...

I couldn't agree with you more! I absolutely love writing my Christmas cards out, and I have lots of fun creating holiday packages to mail to my friends (we're spread out across several states!). I may enjoy my Facebook account, but it's certainly no substitute for a good old-fashioned Christmas card :)

Low Impact Fashionista said...

I love love love Real Simple! But I am definitely a fan of hand-written cards...evidenced by the large tub of scrapbooking materials that currently resides under my bed. I wish more people felt the same way, I love getting cards in the mail!

Unknown said...

I LOVE MAIL! I like receiving better than sending though :) haha. But... if I was going to give someone a holiday card, I would definitely go snail mail and make my own! E-Cards just aren't very personable.

Mandi said...

I completely agree with sending Christmas cards. I'm sorry, but nothing will ever replace it! I think what the real question is is who you send your cards to? Are you sending cards to people who you've never said more than 2 words to or sending them to people just because you feel obligated? We send cards every year to our close friends and family - to those people who I know will put our picture or card right up on their fridge =) And I LOVE getting them in the mail too!

sophia said...

I love emails, but god bless good old letters and cards. there's nothing quite like it, retrieving them from the mail box and breaking it open!

Erica said...

Thats crap! I always send Christmas cards and LOVE receiving them! Hope you're doing well :)

Mimi said...

My family's traditional Christmas cards are one of the parts of the season that I most look forward to. That is a tradition that I will definitely carry on to my family regardless of how widespread social media is!

P.S. Enjoy your time at home!

Jessica@tastyandtrim said...

I love sending and receiving Christmas cards! I definitely think it is worth it - my mom saved all of the cards from when my sisters and I were little. It's so fun to go back and look at them, and I also love seeing the holiday card pictures that family and friends send out!

Kelly said...

I love getting mail, but so many of those holiday letters/cards are just generic things sent around to zillions of people. To me if I'm going to send an old fashioned letter it's usually written just to one person. That said, I'll take emails over no communication anyday.

Krista said...

I've cut back on sending cards via mail to people I see all the time. Instead, I attach their card to their Christmas gift. For friends and family out of town I always send a card with the kids school picture's inside.

Christina said...

Yay, I'm all for snail mail too! We send out Christmas cards every year with a much anticipated photoshopped pic of us and the pets. It's an annual tradition everybody looks forward to and it's fun to see our picture on people's fridges when we visit.

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