The case for not snail-mailing your holiday cards
The holiday greeting card industry is still huge and you’d have to be blind (or not read any blogs) to notice that snail mail cards are having somewhat of a comeback among an age group that typically sends evites and tries to communicate as much as possible through Facebook, Twitter and text.
Why is that? Is it because our generation receives almost nothing but bad news (bills, advertisements) through snail mail? Do we wish that we could open our box and find a genuine message from a friend instead of an itemized bank statement? Whatever the case may be, there is a resurgence among a younger generation to send holiday cards—and not just any holiday cards! These are customized, beautiful, typographically stunning holiday cards.
But for the cash-strapped or the bad of handwriting or the eco-conscious, there IS another option besides spending $50 (or more) on stamps and over $100 on cards that people will simply throw away after a cursory glance. (Depressing, isn’t it?)
That option is to email your holiday cards. Before you come after me with pitchforks for violating such a sacred tradition, please note that even Emily Post’s people agree that emailing holiday cards is a viable alternative.
About two weeks ago, I had my hand poised over the check-out button on a popular greeting card website and I was moments away from purchasing our paper greeting cards when I realized that I thought it was such a waste. A waste of my time (hand-writing all of those envelopes and cards), a waste of my money (on postage and on the $1.50/per card) and a waste of resources (I try to conserve paper elsewhere, why not in this case?).
So, I looked for alternatives. I was concerned that emailing holiday greetings was a major faux pas (see: Emily Post; it’s not) or that it wouldn’t have the same paper-in-hand appeal that a real greeting card has. That still may be the case, but I think the pros of emailing outweigh the cons. For example, do you have home addresses for everyone you’d like to send a holiday card to? Probably not. In my case, I have more email addresses than I do mailing addresses. Also, a large percentage of my family lives in Canada and it’s much easier to send something via email than snail mail to them.
If you’d like to take the plunge with me this year and venture into the world of online holiday cards, here are the best options I’ve found. (And most are free!)
Red Stamp (for iPhone/iPad) - FREE
PurpleTrail - Print or Send Online
cocodot - Print or Send Online Free
Paperless Post - Send Online, Track Clicks (Prices Vary)
Will you be sending holiday cards this year? What do you think of sending cards via email?
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