Years ago my college pastor pointed out the "Hallmark" holidays and how they do much to fill the coffers of huge companies and little to make the receiver feel loved. How much more meaningful would a blank card be that you yourself wrote your truest feelings in? Add a picture or two and you have a gift worth spending $.50 to mail. The WORST of the WORST are the cards I receive with no personal message, not even a greeting, just a signature....I really do not know why anyone bothered. It works for the card companies..

I agree that cards are part of the marketing of our culture, and there seems to be no 'day' that doesn't have a card you can purchase.

OTOH in our electronic world, sending a card does mean that you took the extra time to choose something, hopefully write a message or at least 'Love, [name]' and then mail or give it to the recipient. That counts for something, in comparison with sending an e-card, an email, a text or...sending nothing.

Older people especially appreciate cards, I think, particularly if/when they might be some of the only personal mail they get.

I buy my cards in bulk at the dollar store. Best deal around; mostly they are 2/$1 and are identical to those sold at full price other places. I keep them in an accordion folder with marked sections (family birthday/birthday/sympathy/get well/etc) and I stock up once or twice annually. That way I've always got a card if/when I need one. And at .50 a card it's not a huge expenditure.

Ann

I dread buying cards. I think cards serve a good purpose but I have a horrible time trying to find cards that I like.

I think sympathy cards are especially appreciated and I keep a package handy.

I've always felt that way about cards. However, my dh's family believe cards are essential. I've always found it interesting how they read the prewritten messages as if the sender had spent hours coming up with the sentiment themselves. It really means something to them. Go figure.

My dh and I usually look in book stores or other small gift shops for cards that are either beautifully made or have more interesting (usually funny) messages. I still remember when we were newly married giving him a card with 2 apes on the cover commenting on each others feet, "you have monkey toes!, No, you have monkey toes!" Don't know why, but we were in tears laughing so hard over this. Now our faves are the New Yorker cartoon cards. The wife saying to the husband, "If you leave me, I'm coming with you" has been an in joke with us for years.

One word, Papyrus. The cards in this store are expensive but they beautiful. I joined one year even though I never join things with a membership fee, no matter how small. It wasn't worth being a member for me because I really didn't buy things other than cards. The deal with the cards for everyone is buy three and a fourth free.

People always comment about how beautiful the cards are. I feel that if I am only sending or giving best wishes , why not with a handcrafted looking card?

Along these lines, how do feel when you are sent cards that were obviously given to the sender soliciting a donation? They are usually cheap looking cards with very generic messages.

E cards are okay sometimes, but I also feel that the person took the easy way out. I was given a membership to company but I kept forgetting to use it!
The animated ones can be fun though, especially the interactive ones.

DH and I gave up on new cards years ago. We've recycled them now for years. They have become old familiar friends and we smile and appreciate the fact that, even after all these years, we share not only the same special days, but with the same sentiment and love.

I still create my own xmas cards though I find every year I receive fewer of them. I enjoy that as it is the one way I keep in touch with friends and family from long ago who are far away.

So we are exceptionally cheap, and the thought of paying $3 and up for a card feels like such a waste for an impersonal, mass produced item. Sometimes you have to, of course, and that is what dollar store cards are for, gotta love the two for a dollar cards, but we still don't send a lot, the grandparents and our sibs and nieces/nephews til HS graduation on birthdays, that is about it. However, for cards exchanged between the mister, me and our kid, it's exclusively hand made all the way. We started when the kid could barely hold a pen and have kept going, we used to "interview" her before she could write, asking questions like "what do you love about mama?" Or "why is daddy fun?", some answers were poignant, some nonsensical and some just plain endearing. Sometimes we write silly poems, serious sentiments or a (poorly rendered) drawing (not artists, we), but all are so fun to go back and reread, plus, after we are long dead, maybe they will be a treasure trove of outsider art for future generations.

sandyponder

I like sending cards. I agree with what you posted, particularly that we should show our love/affection, etc. EVERY day and in other ways. But, I don't think that means we can't send cards too. We have a shop in the city where I work that has discounted cards. Nice discounted cards. Also, the grocery store I go to has 40% off cards, so it's rare I ever pay full price for cards. I like sending cards to those who are sick, getting over an illness/surgery, etc. Our church has a weekly list of those with illnesses, deaths, or other circumstances and I try to pay particular attention to our seniors, many who are alone. To me a card is a way to say "I'm thinking of you", even though there are many other ways we can do this. Most people enjoy RECEIVING a card, letter, etc.

A friend of mine started a crafty card club. They meet monthly and a member will share a card to make. All cards I have received from this friend in the last several years have been handmade. I love that!

Also, if it helps how you feel about cards any, you can recycle. I like to take cards (sometimes just the front of the card) for kids' classes to use in making cards or other crafts.

tina

I send cards also but on the blank part of it I always write some personal feelings. Today I received a mothers day card in the mail from my niece, she and I are very close. It was a card she made with a photo of me and my children playing in the ocean from 45 years ago printed on the front page and a beautiful sentiment she wrote. That means more to me than any ordinary card. I'm going to copy to make my own online now with photos of memories the receiver and I shared.

I hate buying cards because 1) they're frickin' expensive! and 2) they're frickin' stupid!

Sometimes I need a card, but the sentiments are all so saccharine. I always wish there were more pretty BLANK cards.

My kids convinced me years go that cards are a waste of $ and bad for the environment. I still do send them....mostly sympathy and get well and bday cards to old friends in other states. Christmas list dwindles each year.

I have purchased boxes of all occasion cards from Costco that I am using now, but in the future will go the dollar store route for sure.

Yes, the dollar store. I have found really nice cards there in the past. I've also ran into a few occasions where there wasn't much to pick from and another time when I remember the birthday card, while nice, was the same one I bought the previous year for this person so I passed. I thought about going there yesterday, but if it was a fail I would've had to stop somewhere else and I needed to head home soon.

I really think it's the price that grates on me the most. $8 is just beyond ridiculous to me. It wasn't some special handmade card. I think most are just mediocre in appearance.

Thinking more on this today, I guess it really does depend what the card is for. Sometimes I do actually enjoy sending them.

"Along these lines, how do feel when you are sent cards that were obviously given to the sender soliciting a donation? They are usually cheap looking cards with very generic messages."
Lots of times, that they wasted money on the card and postage.

Cards can be expensive, but I think they are a good way to let people know you are thinking about them. I have a ton of aunts and uncles that I see only once a year. I'm not particularly close to any of them, but I know that they appreciate receiving a card now and again even if all I do is say hello and talk about the weather.

I also like to send cards to my friends. They tell me that they enjoy getting something positive in the mail amongst the bills and clutter mail.

I tried using e-cards because it was cheaper and more environmentally friendly, but too many people were afraid to open them because of the chance of getting a virus, so I went back to snail mail cards.

I never give cards unless I have to like at a wedding. My DDs birthday was recently and no card. My mother will get no mothers day card. Unless I find a card that really is expressive (usually funny) I don't give them.

Yesterday my DD gave me a mother day card. She will see me sunday but thought the card was so perfect she couldn't wait. It was one of those cards were you press a button to hear the message. It was a little child repeatedly calling momma and then finally says I love you. My daughter used to do this all the time when she was little. So that card had meaning I will probably always keep it.

I agree with Violet -- expensive and stupid. I spent 20 minutes choosing a card for my mother. In her case it is worth finding just the right one because she does appreciate it. As for my grand nieces and nephews, all they do is look for the enclosed money (same as me as a id).

The Papyrus ones may be beautiful but the cost is outrageous. Give me $8 instead of a card and I will buy something with it.

I read the price before I read the card. If I can remember, I stock up at BJs where they are 2 for $1., at least the ones for the kids birthdays.

I always put them on the mantel for a week and then they go in the recycling.

I think fun2bhere has some good points--there are occasions when a card is much appreciated.

I just object to the overly commercial ones readily available. Probably a better, and cheaper option is to purchase plain cards with a simple decoration--all purpose and you can add your own sentiment. Even a monogram, or a simple DIY stamp can jazz them up.

that's what I try to do-- the exception for me is sympathy cards, where a printed sentiment can be less awkward than anything I could say!

For those who want something home made but attractive and blank, you should take a look at what waterlogue does to regular photographs....it can be quite stunning. You can then have them printed at shutterfly or somewhere else and you will have your own, custom cards to send. Or you could print them out at home as needed.

You can see some samples of what some gardenwebbies have come up with....

Here is a link that might be useful: Waterlogue

My DH and I stopped giving each other cards after we gave each other the same card one Valentine's Day!

You can buy Papyrus cards at Target and Bed,Bath and Beyond. Target has a decent selection, BB&B has fewer but you can use your ubiquitous 20% off coupons.

I don't like giving or receiving cards. Such a waste of money for the giver, and I feel really guilty receiving a $4 card, looking at it for 5 seconds and throwing it in the trash.

I usually don't give out cards anymore except for weddings and maybe when I see an ultra special card at Papyrus that is so well suited to someone I love.

Some of the cards at Papyrus are so special they could be framed.

Okay, here is why I love home made cards. For mother's day, my two adorable girls each made me a card. My 9 year old wrote in hers: Mom, you are always there for us. Even when we don't want you, you are always there. My 15 year old wrote in hers: You are the greatest mom ever. You may not wear pearls or have perky little boobies, but you are the best. I was laughing so hard, I almost choked on my mother's day breakfast.

daisy, that's so sweet, and funny.

LOL, Daisy.

I love to buy cards. I have a large cache of them. I like "artisanal cards", usually blank and never from Hallmark etc. I have many I have bought in other countries.

Many years ago i gave my Mom a birthday card that said (printed) "...to the greatest Mom there ever was, for everything she is and does". I buy blank cards now and always write that sentiment in

I stopped buying cards (for the most part) years ago when my sister got married and added up the cost of the cards given: $500.

My kids made me cards for Mother's Day . . .but my oldest daughter emailed me this instead:

She is the only 12 year old I know who has a favorite New Yorker cartoonist.

I already love your 12-year-old, anele. She might be related to me. So funny!!

For the most part, I think store bought cards are a waste of money . . . and too expensive!

When they were young, I always encouraged my kids to make me one instead. Loved them! DH & I don't exchange cards, although we do buy each other gifts and make holidays special for one another. But, because the rest of our entire very large clan lives in other parts of the country, I do like to keep in touch. I send Facebook birthday and anniversary messages with a photo to most of them. In addition, I also call my sibs and parents . . . and, I joined Treat about two years ago. Now I create very special one-of-a-kind cards for very special occasions, such as a card to my mom for Mother's Day, to my dad, to my parents for their anniversaries. There are dozens of design options that I can then personalize myself by changing the wording and adding my own photos that I upload. They LOVE them, as I use childhood pics, pics from our times together over the years, etc. DD goes to college out of state now and DS is working in Arizona. I love being able to send them special cards.

Through their affiliated site, Shutterfly, I've created beautifully bound books of photos from our family reunions for my parents, as well as other gift books for friends.
From another of their sites, TinyPrints, DD and I designed a very special graduation announcements when she graduated from high school. We got rave reviews on those and they were much less expensive and much more personal that the generic ones the schools try to sell you.

Anyhoo, I've been very happy with each company, the prices, card quality, delivery time, etc.
Lynn

anele, those are great! Especially the "you did the best with the skills you had...", because it's so true! We all try to do the best that we can, but I'm sure that we all come up short in one area or another.

I don't mind, and sometimes enjoy buying cards for friends, but have a much harder time with family. How can anyone be that perfect person described in the typical Hallmark card? So I usually go for funny. I had a hard time with an anniversary card for my husband this year, but finally found one. When he opened it he told me that I picked the same card last year!

I've 'experimented' in making cards w/scrapbook supplies, and can really get carried away! It's one of those things you need to make time for, since there's a lot of gluing, cutting, and because I'm an anal retentive, type A personality, with OCD tendencies, decision making is a real issue. But I DO love it!

I hate spending money on cards but do so only at the dollar tree. This thread has me thinking. I think I will save and cut out images from received cards and give them new life. I think I will glue them onto colored card stock and just make my own. A little sticker or glitter will make it unique. I usually just write in blank ones for any occasion anyway. ~ My daughter gave me the best mother's day present ever: she wrote me a letter. It was sweet and personal and I will treasure it forever.