When deciding who to send Christmas cards to, prioritize family and friends who celebrate Christmas. For new acquaintances, consider sending a New Year’s card instead of a religious one. Avoid religious references for those who may not appreciate them. Keep holiday newsletters light-hearted and omit them for business associates. Avoid bragging about wealth or multiple vacations. Ultimately, it’s up to the individual, but reciprocating gestures is polite and may increase the likelihood of receiving cards.
Deciding who should receive Christmas cards can be a difficult process. Should you send a postcard to a new business partner or neighbor, for example? In general, Christmas cards should be sent first and foremost to family and friends who celebrate Christmas. Friends who don’t celebrate Christmas may not overly enjoy receiving Christmas cards.
You can certainly send more general greeting cards to friends and co-workers. Especially if you’re sending a card to a relatively new acquaintance, it might be better to send a New Year’s card rather than an overtly religious card, so as not to offend new acquaintances who may practice a different religion.
There are numerous Christmas cards that avoid overt references to religion, and these may be a good choice for those with whom you are only briefly acquainted. Also, these types of Christmas cards are good choices with those who are definitely not Christian and would not appreciate the Christian sentiment. A Jewish or Muslim friend, for example, might not appreciate the biblical references in the New Testament. However, the Islamic friend is less likely to be offended, as Jesus is considered an important prophet in the Muslim religion.
When creating a card list, it’s a good idea to reference cards received in the past. In fact, when you get Christmas cards from the previous year, write down the names and addresses of the people who sent a card. This way, you can add them to your Christmas card list for next year.
Also, if you receive a card early in the season from an unexpected source, consider adding that person to your roster for the same year and quickly submit a card. Most people who send Christmas cards generally expect to receive a card in return. So it is considered polite to observe this custom.
Many couples send a holiday newsletter along with Christmas cards. This may be fine for close acquaintances and family, but should be omitted in the cards for business associates and new acquaintances. The holiday newsletter is a great way for friends and family to catch up on past major events of the year, but a business associate probably doesn’t want to know, or worries that the wife spent 25 man hours producing a new son.
Even a family member may not want to know, so keep this news light-hearted and not specifically detailed. A statement such as “We were delighted to welcome the birth of our new baby, Jeremy, on July 25th,” is considered more polite than a lengthy account of a woman’s labor.
Additionally, many etiquette pundits frown upon including statements about multiple vacations or the acquisition of luxury items that would demonstrate wealthy status, since not everyone is in similar circumstances. One important holiday could be mentioned. Consider “After many years of planning, we finally got to visit Rome,” rather than “We were able to visit Rome in June, and then spent three weeks in September touring Wine Country in our new Mercedes Benz.”
Ultimately, the decision about who should get Christmas cards is up to the individual. Some people send cards to a large number of family and friends, while others keep cards for a few friends or family members they won’t see during the Christmas season. It’s polite to reciprocate each other’s gestures by sending a card. Also, if you enjoy receiving Christmas cards, consider sending them. Those who do not send Christmas cards risk receiving very few.
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