This time of year I start thinking about sending out my Christmas cards. I was curious if other people send cards, and how they do it.
I think it's a minority hobby now--people just don't send a lot of physical cards out for anything. I like getting them, though, so I usually send some out each year. But, I'm also extremely lazy, so it really varies each year how many I send. I start by writing out my list of all my family members, like Mom's side: Grandma, Aunt & Uncle 1, their two adult kids, Aunt & Uncle 2, their adult kid... etc.. Then I think of family members who are farther afield that I want to add on, like the second cousin I correspond with about genealogy. Then I think about any non-relatives, like friends, I want to send a card to. Friends are definitely a minor part of the list and get smaller each year. That would be my maximum list of card recipients. It's not huge, maybe around 50 households.
If I don't feel like doing that many, I try to find ways to pare it down, like by only sending cards to the people who sent me one last year. I do keep track--it's easy because I have a list of my own recipients, so I just put a mark by them if I get a card from one of them. Then I keep that list and consult it the next year. It's not in any way a judgmental or tit-for-tat thing, I never think about it the rest of the year, it's just part of the organization.
Emotionally, I find I enjoy spending a few moments to think about each household. Our family isn't very close anymore, so it might literally be the only time of the year I stop and consider Cousin Ann, her second husband Andy, and her kids from her first marriage, Allie and Adam. I like to write everyone's name on the card. There's a pleasant sort of "keeping track" that goes on--sometimes I have to contact people to check on their address, or if the kids might have their own houses now so I should send them a separate card, or if someone had a new baby since last year that's a new name to put on the card.
As for the actual cards, I like to get them from cheap places, like resale shops or outlets, as they often have beautiful designs that are much less expensive than brand-new cards. I have several different designs and I make some decision about who gets which card--like for Aunt and her two adult kids, I might send each a different design, with the idea that if they compare them, they will all be different. Also, most of my family is Christian so they are okay with cards with a religious message, but if I'm unsure about someone I also have non-religious winter/secular Christmas options, which are generally my default cards anyway. I try to match the pre-printed address label (I get tons from charities) and the sticker to seal the envelope with the card. I get holiday stamps.
I don't write much in the card. I list the names of everyone in the household above whatever generic message is printed in the card, and then sign my name at the bottom. If it's a blank card I'll write something like, "Hope you have a great holiday season!" I honestly have no idea what I would write if I had to write more, because I'm not really in conversation with most of the recipients.
It's almost a craft project for me, really, and I enjoy doing it. I hope the cards don't actively irritate anyone, of course, but I don't expect them to be cherished forever, either. What I hope is that they receive the card and spare a kind thought for me, about the same level of kind thought I spared for them when I sent it.
As for cards I receive, if I can I scan them into my computer and then usually discard them, unless they are super-important to me. This is where 3-D and glittery cards are difficult, because they are much harder to digitize! I don't want to get glitter all over my scanner. Sometimes I just have to take a photo of them instead. I would probably keep the actual cards, but they start to take up too much room in my tiny apartment. I'm really into digitizing as much stuff as possible and getting rid of the physical part.
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