Christmas Cards: Do You Still Send Them?

There’s been a lot of exposure in the media on how to save our environment. The young Swedish girl, Greta Thunberg, has gained universal recognition with her environmental campaign on global warning. She first heard about the effects of global warning when she was eight and wondered why so little was done about it. That is a good question!

Sixteen year old Greta and her campaign has brought the saving of our planet to the forefront again, making us conscious of what can be done to save it for future generations.

I like to start with cutting down on paper and packaging we use for Christmas. Reusable Christmas bags are a great way to wrap presents and I save the ones I get to use again the next year.

The Christmas Cards I receive have been minimized from about 40 or so down to 6 this year. I am attempting to stop sending them out.

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I think I will save these cards for decoration in case there will be none in the mail next year.

When I look back on my childhood I am astonished at the waste each household has now. My mother was frugal and not much was wasted. There would be no excess running of water when you brushed your teeth. You were told to fill a glass and use that water, not let the water run continually from the tap while you fiddled around with your teeth. There was no such thing as a ten- minute shower. That would be wasting water and also drain the hot water tank.

Of course there wasn’t the money to buy excess purchases and all our food was homemade. No takeout containers to dispose of. No closet full of clothes, either. One was lucky to have a couple outfits to wear. One gift was what you were happy to receive from your parents at Christmas.

Even with only my husband and myself in the household, we accumulate more waste than I would like to see. No food ever gets wasted as I give most left-overs to the outside wildlife. We only get a weekly newspaper and flyers but somehow at the end of the month, even with using papers to start the wood fire, there is a full bag of papers and cardboard to be set out to the road for pickup.

My cousin informed me last year that his wife had decided not to send Christmas Cards. I thought that was a great idea. Why send cards to people seen over the holidays or ones you can email or message, “Thinking of you at Christmas?”

I’ve started to slim out my Christmas Card List and only send cards to the six who send them to me. I know- I felt guilty and send one back! Everyone else will receive a Christmas message in person, phone, on messenger or email.

I took a photo of a couple Christmas cards and edited them to use as messages to send on computer.

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My wildlife photo of the red fox that I edited for Christmas and added a caption.

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To my dear friends here on the blockchain,

“In case you don’t receive a Christmas card from me, I am thinking of you with love and wishing you the best the season has to offer.”💕

The Blue Jays agree!

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#thealliance




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44 comments
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I love your photos Jo!! Especially the one with the red covered bridge as it reminds me of the bridge here that I posted about a while ago. Sorry, but I will keep my mouth shut and opinions to myself on Greta T. I didn't send Christmas cards out for years for different reasons. This will be the second year that I will be sending out exactly four Christmas cards to some cousins who are the only ones left on my dads side. I only wish I could find more religious ones. I put it off too long to buy some religious ones online or make a special trip for some. I went to three stores near me and could not find any but did find a couple that will work instead. I'm considering making my own next Christmas. 😉 💖

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Hi Dee! There’s always a few people you like to send a card too.

I thought that bridge looked familiar. 😂

Here a copy of a card I had in my photos. Perhaps you could make a copy and send a note with it for a Christmas card.

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The bridge is a very close resemblance and just as lovely. That is a really beautiful card and I know they would love it. I do appreciate your thoughtful gesture. Perhaps, I should not wait till the last minute to shop for cards..lol. 🤨 🙂 💞

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Coming from a very similar background, we did not have elaborate spending habits nor wasteful throwing anything away.

Life has come full circle with many things, especially waste, filling up dump sites now filling up the seas with trash. Time to stop and think.

I believeit is simply common sense, with new technology, our postal service I asked people to no longer send cards being lucky if they arrived at all.

Yes you do miss the lovely cards arriving with good wishes, this year I have not received any, but had some lovely lengthy emails from overseas friends and family, now a new trend actually stopping to write to each other once a year.

!tipu curate

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Hi Joan @joanstewart. Trash and wastefulness has become a real problem in this modern world. It’s certainly a throw away society compared to when we were growing up. 💗

I also have a cousin or two overseas that I send emails at Christmas. It seems the only time we communicate but at least they know I am still kicking. 😂

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Growing up cards were recycled, taken to pensioners who used to prepare them for resale, sending proceeds to SPCA or similar organizations. Toys were refurbished for distribution by the elderly folk looking for something to keep themselves busy during the year. Today people arranging toy distribution to orphanages expect brand spanking new toys, yes we are a throw away society.

If we don't get to chat again before Christmas have a wonderful one with family and friends.

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We don't send cards for a few years now my friend.
Internet is cardless Lol.
Great that you are taking care of the planet!
Blessings!

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Sir Stephen, I think many people have stopped the paper cards and I imagine the post office is happy not to have so much mail to sort this time of year.

Haha, I have good intentions to keep the planet healthy, my friend.

Blessings to you, Marion and all the wonderful critters around your cottage. 💗

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Thank you for your kindness Lady Jo!
Sadly we call our post office by a new name, the thieving office.
Post or wait for something valuable here and it simply disappears!
Blessings and thank you!

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That is unfortunate Sir Stephen. It’s been known to happen.

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Yes, we need to conserve the planet but paper cards are so beautiful...

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(Edited)

Many folks like to hold a card or newspaper in their hand rather than read it’s contents on the computer. I must agree @organduo, getting a few lovely Christmas cards is nice. 😊

Blessings to you and Ausra. Have a wonderful holiday season🎄

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I hope you will spot lots of feathered friends between now and New Year's Eve!

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I hope you will spot
Lots of feathered friends between
Now and New Year's Eve!

                 - organduo


I'm a bot. I detect haiku.

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I have to admit that it is quite a while, maybe three years or so, since I was sending my last christmas cards .. thanks to you I will reconsider it and maybe send a few out this year ^^

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By the way , I was putting you in the amazing nature autovote ^^ .. You are constantly supporting #amazingnature, you have a wonderful nature related blog and they are even cats in there (I loooove cats) !! .. I really like your great posts, at least those that I am lucky to find in my feed that I too often have not the time to browse through properly ;)

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Thanks so much @adalger. I appreciate your generosity and kind comments on my blog. 😊

All the best to you and yours at this magical time of year. 🎄

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Wow, great message. Each household and each person needs to think about how we live and the footprint we leave behind.

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Hi Christopher. Yes, if we all do our part it will make a big difference in what we leave for the next generation.

🎅 Seasons greeting to you and your family. 🎄

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Hi Jo, only a few now to friends and family who send to us. Electronic cards are so much quicker to do and to deliver, lol. While I don't do cards as I used to I like a few up in the house. They add to the Christmassy atmosphere. Nice photos as always.

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Thanks Angie. 💕 I do the same and also like to see a few cards on my card tree.

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I love the creative card arrangement on your door. Our 7 cards are strung across our little box kitchen.

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Thanks! I bought the card holder at a local store and dig it out every year for the christmas cards. It fits over any door.

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I still send out cards; but I rarely receive any back. It seems as though posting on a social media platform and using a generic greeting is sufficient for most anymore.

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I’m sure your cards are appreciated, @goldendawne. 💗 It’s always lovely to receive a card in the mail but it is slowly becoming a past tradition with everyone communicating so fast by texting or email.

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I stopped sendig cards for very long time. Let's face it, the convenience of the e-cards is great. Like you, I keep old post cards and use them each year for decoration. It is a brilliant idea to photograph and edit them and to personalise them. Something I am going to do this weekend. Thanks Jo, for this idea.

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Welcome Neli. I’ve got some e-cards already and send a few out.

Blessings of the season. 💞

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The past couple of years we have only gotten 3 or 4. It's kind of nice to see that someone out there remembers you even if you're just on the xmas card list. I admit we stopped sending cards out about 5 years ago. It wasn't due to an eco- conscious effort. It was due to finances. Things have been very tight for the past few years and last year was the worst. 'Frivolous' was removed.

I do miss having them to hang up. I know that's silly but when you start to get creative with them it was neat.

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I think a lot of people have quit sending the cards because of the cost of postage. it’s $1.05 for one letter in Canada and more money to send out of country.

Hopefully in 2020 things will turn around and it will be a better 💰 year for you.

Blessings of the season. ♥️

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More of a picture collage that gets sent out now. But still kind of a card I suppose. Did pick up one of those singing jump around ones for my son tho.

!SHADE 3
!COFFEEA 3

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Thanks Captain for stopping by with shade and coffee. I’ve got the egg nog. 😊 💗

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Howdy redheadpei! That's a great idea to use Christmas cards and edit photos of them to email people! I haven't sent a Christmas card for years.

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Thanks Cowboy! I’ve only received a few cards this year and mailed one out to whoever send me one. It’s becoming a thing of the past and email or messaging is the way of the times.

🎅 Wishing you and the Missus a Happy Christmas! 🎄

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I really like Christmas cards but I didn't think about people cutting back on them to save lumber, that's a good reason not to use them!

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Since the mail system in Asia is so unpredictable, I have not sent X-mas cards since 2004. But I still remember the joy of doing so.

In Lak'ech, JaiChai

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