Are Holiday Cards Dead?

It's that most wonderful time of the year again.  That time when we go crazy buying gifts, baking cookies, and having cups of cheer.  It's also that time of year when we send holiday cards to each other.  Or is it?

I don't know about you, but I'm seeing fewer and fewer Christmas cards in my mailbox, and by mailbox I mean the snail mail box rather than my email inbox.  Sure, everything has become more electronic these days with email, texts, and various social media outlets, but Christmas tended to be the one time of the year when people actually bought paper cards, sat down to write them, and stick stamps on envelopes.  However, I'm seeing that changing.  It now seems that even once a year is too much trouble for some people to send cards.

In case you were wondering, the tradition of sending Christmas cards began in the UK in 1843 when Sir Henry Cole, who was working in what was the newly established Post Office, thought of a new way for more people to use the mail service.  He and an artist friend, John Horsley, came up with the idea of making and selling cards to be sent at Christmas with holiday wishes.

I have to admit that I always look forward to checking my mailbox this time of year and finding cards from people I haven't heard from in a while.  I love seeing the festive pictures on the cards and reading the few words that the sender has penned by hand.  The Christmas cards I receive each year become part of my holiday decor, adorning a shelf near the Christmas tree.

Personally, it would sadden me if Christmas cards were to completely disappear.  Although I have nothing against electronic means of communication, I feel something would be lost without paper cards wishing Season's Greetings.  In the meantime, I will continue to send Christmas cards until stores no longer sell them or I stop receiving them in the mail, whichever comes first.

Wishing you Happy Holidays from the perch.