Janepie33 Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 in Christmas cards................................ Good or Bad ??!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Tricky one ! When I first received one many years ago, I felt quite offended that my vairly close friend had simply sent me a news bulletin ignoring what I actually already knew about her year, so I stayed clear for a very long time. However, since my Mum became unable to continue a correspondence (Alzheimers) I inherited quite a few older family and friends who I felt I should keep in touch with, but didn't know very well and my standard letters (with a few photos and trying to avoid "showing off") went down very well. I would say not to send them to close friends and to avoid the "my doughter/dog/husband is the best in the world at blah blah and got a huge bonus/school prize etc " types of comment (I still get these and have been quite put off a few people by them) and to always add a few personal lines at the end. Hope this helps, I'll be interested in what others think about this.... Good Topic ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 not sure, we get one every year from OH friend & its hillarious, but Im sure if it was just a general indulgent 'what we have been up to' Id be pretty bored with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Most are really boring I think, especially those that include photos of their skiing holiday We sent a spoof one a few years ago to liven things up a bit, other than that we haven't ever sent one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Hate them . If I know someone well enough to be interested in their kids/holidays/etc I would probably know all about it already. If not, I'd probably find their ramblings so boring I wouldn't even reach the end before 'filing' it . I particularly hate the boastful ones . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhapsody Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/dec/11/society1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlo Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 It is an interesting debate. I have given up sending Christmas Cards as I find the whole, "To X. Happy Christmas. Love from A,B,C and D x" to have not much thought. One ex colleague simply sticks a label on each card, "Happy Christmas from Janet and John* and I really don't see the point of that. At work, we give the money that we would have spent on cards to a charity that is close to one of my colleagues hearts. So many of my distant friends are now on Facebook that it would be pointless sending them a letter with any news in it as they have probably seen a lot of what I have been up to. However, I do send a few letters to friends and relatives at this time of year and I enjoy receiving ones back with news of people that I haven't met up with for a while. I confess that I do the letters on the computer so a lot of the information in each one is the same. However, each one is personalised and I do say that I won't be offended if they bin them because I can understand that "Round Robins" can be despised. So - I still don't know if I think that they are good and bad - sorry!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Hate them . If I know someone well enough to be interested in their kids/holidays/etc I would probably know all about it already. If not, I'd probably find their ramblings so boring I wouldn't even reach the end before 'filing' it . I particularly hate the boastful ones . Absolutely agree with you ANH! I'd rather have a few scribbled words in the card than a standard boasting letter. Funny how those 'Round Robins' never say 'I've put on 2 stone, DS failed his exams and DH and I have fallen out over his mother again ...' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I hate them. We are usually on the receiving end of a couple of dire ones full of fanciful boasting about children, good works and what a character 'mum' is ... still going strong at 93 etc. There were some very funny threads about this subject a couple of years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I hate em too and always get some - got 2 already ... boring all the same to everyone - I either write a letter and enclose it or I write a few lines ina card. I also sponsor a charity for delivering a baby in an underdeveloped country - not a lot but every little helps - decided to do this after my daughter was pregnant and all the help thats available here so have cut back on the cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 'Fraid I went down the one upmanship route, and started a blog, after getting Round Robin letters from a cousin in Australia (which are actually quite interesting). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 No,hate them. I get one particularly verbose and boasting one every year by email Send a card with or without a message. I like cards, I like to hang them on the wall as christmas decorations. I have never seen the reasoning behind blogs either. Is it exhibitionism or am I just old and unable to understand that young people like to live their lives shared among the wider community?...I don't know. I have kept a diary for many years and I do prefer to write it and stick in things like stamps,news cuttings,maps and even a chicken feather. But it is private and I never felt the need for anybody else telling me how wonderful/lucky/clever/sad etc I was. I like to think my daughter might like to keep it when I am dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlo Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I must say I am feeling a bit outnumbered here and am quite surprised by the really strong views being expressed. In "the old days" people would write letters to friends on a fairly regular basis. I think that it is a dying tradition in these days where it is so much easier to pen a few lines on an email or on Facebook etc. I confess that I don't write "proper letters" very much at all. Certainly I don't put pen to paper and I accept that I am a poorer person for my apathy. At Christmas time, it gives me the excuse to write to people that I should have written to during the course of the year. I hate "showing off" and am just as likely to write in there that I have put on weight (although I wouldn't want to bore anyone with any arguments that OH and I may have had!) Yes - I do mention some of the childrens' activities but no more than we often do on here. I am now wondering whether my friends and relations will be opening my letters and being really negative about me now!! Is it just the Standard Christmas "Boast Fests" that annoys people so much ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janepie33 Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 Thanks for the link Rhapsody - very funny. James O'Brein on LBC also hates them and gets people to send them to him so that he can read them out on the radio. I feel a bit sorry for the author though - hope they are not listening. I have to confess I LOVE THEM! I don't get very many, but always enjoy reading about what people are up to. I also get a few lines inside a card, which I really appreciate. I was writing my Christmas cards this evening and realised that the only contact I have with some people is the once a year card and I thought I'd like to send a letter with them. Unfortunately, the cards are all black with a tiny space in white to write in , so no room for anything personal. Rest assured, I will not impose a round robin on the forum members! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyhenSG Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I dont like them either! We get one from my inlaws every Christmas and it never includes anything we dont already know. MIL is also a prolific letter writer so I fail to see the point. I was livid with one they sent a few years ago, announcing our first pregnancy (which sadly ended at 12 weeks) - firstly it was our news to tell, not theirs, and secondly, when I miscarried, we had a lot of people to tell, who wouldnt have known about the pregnancy until much later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Whilst I laugh of some of them I secretly like getting them I don't like the boastful variety but appreciate it would be hard to write one without it sounding boastful as you're really not going to put in the 'I keep getting fatter' type of comments and most of us are really proud of our kids accomplishments. If I did one I'd totally tell everyone about their many great performances and miss out the 'they are so rubbish at sports that when one got a good grade for effort we assumed some mistake' (effort not attainment - then we'd really know it was wrong ) So that's why I don't do one myself, but I have family and friends that I don't have time to see as much of as I'd like so I like to hear what they have been up to. You need to be careful whose card they go in. My OH was disconcerted to get one in his card from his father one year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyhunnypie Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Horrid, ghastly things full of I am ..I am....I'm doing..he's done...she's done blah blah! I prefer the personal touch of beautiful, thoughtful well wishes. Emma.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 I have 3 friends that only keep in touch via a christmas card with news of their families in. Two of them are the same as me and write actually on the card so that we know its personal for each other. The other friend, one year, sent me a letter written on the computer and had just written my name at the top so it was obviously sent out to lots of friends and family. I have to admit to being upset when I received this one. Thankfully she went back to writing a personal note the next time. I have no problem with having slightly boastful letters, I just like catching up with whats been going on in their lives. I think its natural in life not to want to put down that your life is in tatters and your children are horrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 Thought I'd send you mine and very intersting it is too Dear friends (cant be bothered to name you all so friends will do) Just to update you on our exciting lives here in NW LOndon A - (15) is a typical teen 15 going on 25 - g/f ditched him cos of family probs (her story) and he now spends time txting a girl in the year above who obviusly likes toyboys. L - (9) is also having probs on the girl front as the class have paired him off with a girl who is taller than him. Dont they start young these days. Me - well I'm just the same big and bad and middleaged - hormones play havoc with my memory but you dont want to know about womens problems. OH - is planning Christmas menu and takes charge at this time of yr - he says its to help me but I reckon hes a control freak - get out my kitchen!!! sound of scuffles Cats - sleep, eat, more sleep - occ deep frozen mouse left for me to walk on in garden Bunny - cuddly and needs a female mate - anyone got an elderly female to pair him off with Hens - oh my girls - still laying (boo hiss from Omleters) and pooing - eating and pooing etc catch my drift well thats us as you can see 2010 has been very exciting for us Let us know your news Merry Christmas Love Alis girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 Ah now, a round robin like that I wouldn't mind getting. Made me chuckle Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 Yup deadly boring arent they? please note didnt post any pics of us skiing - cos we havent been mwah mwah - sound of manical laughter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&T Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 I hate them. A personal letter from someone tucked in a card - no problem. A similar version could even be sent to several people, as long as some effort has been made to personalise some of the letter. But generic Round Robins - yuck. They rarely if ever show any interest in the recipient - it's me me me. I received one this year from someone I have not spoken to for several years. All about how great she is, her OH is, and her children are. There wasn't even a card - just a sheet of typed generic A4 rubbish. It's been binned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 Being in the fortunate/unfortunate (depends which way you look at it) position of being able to count all of my family & friends on my fingers and still have fingers left to spare, I am not inflicted/blessed with any round robin type cards I manage to keep up with them all just fine throughout the year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 well I hate the boastful ones too, and we get one from a particular set of the inlaws' friends that makes us howl with laughter every year.... but as we have got older, and friends and family have got older/more spread out, I started doing one about 4 or 5 years ago, and am told that people enjoy it and actually look forward to it. hope that doesnt sound boastful! I dont send it to 'real' friends, but to people like my godmother who I never see, friends/rellies of inlaws that came to our wedding etc. I dont 'think' mine is boastful, its just an update on what we have been doing etc, usually refers to the falling down state of the house and rubbishness of the garden, plus work for both of us and what the kids are up to. as neither is a high achiever, it usually says things like "thank goodness R has given up the trombone, it was painful for all of us", or "T still talks the hindlegs off a donkey and argues like mad (just like her father)". I always top and tail with handwritten notes, its rude otherwise I think. I love getting them too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miffy Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 Interesting discussion. I do one some years, but only send it too people I've not seen for a couple of years such as the girls I did my nurse training with back in the 1970's. I LOVE getting the letters even if they are round robins in the main, guess I'm just nosey I like to hear what folk have been doing, and where they have been. I do not enjoy hearing about how talented/beautiful/acaemic/sporty offspring are every year, (it seems to be an essential part of modern parenting), but I guess generally, its about how personal the letter is and the tone of the letter. As most people rarely write letters they no longer develop the art of a writing style to entertain as well as inform. I will now get off my soapbox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
