Christmas in a cost of living crisis continues to be a very different. We all want to know how to save money this Christmas. Everybody wants to know different ways to save. How about not sending Christmas Cards this year?
How many Christmas cards do you write? All those family member, friends, work colleagues, friends of your children. It probably adds up to a lot. Maybe 100 cards, maybe more?
Let’s look at the time taken to write those cards, a personalised message and the digging out of addresses. Maybe three to four hours of time. And then add on the cost. You have the cost of the cards plus the 75p per second class stamp it costs to post out the cards. If you posted JUST 30 cards it’s a cost of £25 for cards and stamps. 50 cards is more like £45.
Why send Christmas Cards?
But why? All that time and money spent sending a card with a note saying Happy Christmas, love from Lynn, the boys and Trev cat. I say STOP. Don’t waste the time, instead pop a little note onto social media to say you won’t be sending cards this year and instead give a donation to charity.
Just imagine the impact if we as a nation stopped writing Christmas cards and gave that money to charity instead. The impact would be huge, there would such an influx of money going to charity, rather than the post office.
I stopped sending cards in 2012, coinciding with the birth of my third child and having no time at all. Every year I have given £20 to charity and tell my social media friends and family I am doing this. It feels ever so good to give that money, and I have saved myself a load of time and money not writing Christmas cards.
Of course, it means every year we receive fewer cards, but this is fine! I am really not sentimental about cards, they clutter up the house and will just end up in the bin!
You might be crying bah-humbug. But I think the gift of money to charity is far better than the act of writing 100+ Christmas cards! P.S I do send a card to my elderly step mum who I know loves a Christmas card, however I know she would rather be sent a picture of the boys and a phonecall/visit.
Here are some of the charities that I have given money to.
Grief Encounter
A wonderful charity who offers counselling and care to children who have been bereaved. This is a charity that I have regularly supported for many years and wish something like this had been around when I lost my parents. They offer such an important service that makes such a difference to young peoples lives. I love what they do.
Blue Cross
We are a family of animal lovers and I have always had cats. My cats always come from the rescue home. We got Trev from from the Blue Cross as a kitten in 2017. They are a charity of wonderful volunteers who would love an extra donation.
Macmillan Cancer Support
We have all been affected by cancer in some way, be that with family or friends. The Macmillan nurses do such a caring, amazing job that I have always felt inclined to give money to this charity.
I hope reading this encourages you to do the same, lets make a huge difference together. Let me know your charity of choice.
14 Responses
I support the AH&S Assoc.because it is near and dear to my heart. I lost my son in his 30s to a stroke. I also volunteer with them. You have made some excellent suggestions instead of sending Christmas cards. I also volunteer at the American Red Cross and posted your suggestions all over the office. Knowledge is power. I also posted all over Facebook. I am trying to get the word out.
Thank you for your many suggestions. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Eileen Beck
Thank you Eileen.Volunteering is such a great thing to do.
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I completely agree with you, thank you for bringing up such an important topic. It’s very important to wish it from the heart and consciously, and no matter how much it’s, everything starts with small. I recently wrote a paper on this topic using a service I found on this source https://www.writingjudge.com/ Charity is great and I’m convinced of the importance of sharing this topic so that more people know about it and I’m sure that many will want to join this common cause.
I note that this post is filed under ‘money saving’ as opposed to ‘giving’.
I send over 80 Christmas cards a year. Cards I buy directly from various charities to support them. In each card I write a little note. It means so much when we hear from people we have not seen – especially this year when we have been so restricted.
The postage is high yes, but I think not in the big scheme of staying in touch. Surely the point of cards?
I also give to charity at this time of year – so no-one loses. I just might not save as much money.
It does seem to me that those who post on facebook that they are giving money to charity instead of sending cards are those who never liked writing cards anyway.
Hear hear! Pack of 12 recyclable Christmas cards in Tesco this year are 75p. I do about 20 cards, so that’s £1.50 (obv. not inc. postage) otherwise I make homemade cards with my children. Why can’t we send Christmas cards and donate to charity? If everyone stopped writing cards then we are erasing a Christmas tradition & for me, that’s sad.
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I really don’t have a problem with people giving money to charity instead of writing Christmas Cards, but surely you could give more than £20, when your post openly says that the cost of the cards and stamps for 50 Cards is £40, and you mention sending 100. I reckon that including my time the true cost of sending 100 cards is £200, so £20 really does seem a bit low?
Absolutely agreed. £ 20 seems very miserly indeed. We used to talk of “tithing” to support charities – back in the day, that was generally understood as the rule of thumb. One tenth of our earnings: now THAT would be tougher to oblige with than in Biblical times. For ourselves, we make two major donations to the two international charities we feel can do most good in a war torn world. So UNICEF and Medecins Sans Fontieres this year. £1000 to each – a drop in the ocean of what’s needed.
And the cards still get written and sent – each of our friends, here and abroad, is worth more to us than the cost of one 2nd class stamp a year and an inexpensively produced Charity card from the British Red Cross, for example.
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I give to charity throughout the year. However, l love to receive Christmas cards. It’s the first part of Christmas.
Therefore, l am not going to stop sending cards. It’s about people and families. You can give to charity at any time. If you give to a charity instead of sending a card, don’t expect a card in return.