Christmas cards to/from neighbours....yes/no ??

[Mrs M]

We post cards to neighbours that speak to us and we like 🤣

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Don't do cards, years ago we let everyone we knew that we were stopping them and substituting with a charity donation instead.

Yeah I did that years ago and instead donate to Crisis.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I used to try and talk MrsD OUT of the cycle but to no avail.
You know the way it goes.....a neighbour posts one through your door so you are obliged** to reciprocate.
**I tried to convince MrsD to kill it dead as, once you reciprocate that's it.....no way back.
Being on my own this year I have a decision to make.
As an eg I got a card yesterday. It has their names and house No and (as they obviously know my new situation) a nice message BUT I do not know them and cannot put faces to it.
Decisions decisions

Since it’s a nice message pop round to thank them for the kind words, have a chat, but don’t do the card thing.

 

[Punkawallah]

Gave up on cards years ago. If you can’t be arsed to go and see them, why send a card? Fair enough, if they are miles away, but neighbours? I’d rather donate to British Heart Foundation. Ironic, as my wife says I don’t have one.

 

[All uphill]

We don't do any of the seasonal stuff, except for cards to the neighbours.

There's a good feeling along this street; we all will help each other if needed. Its very understated, but it's there.

We do the cards as one way to say we are here for them and value their neighbourliness.

 

[dicko]

We have a very multicultural close with 13 homes. We all get on very well with each other all on first name terms and we all help each other out. We all send cards to each other, tiz the season of good will.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Cards are really for people you don’t see that often, who live far away. Just a reminder you do sometimes remember them! They aren’t intended for those in your day to day environment

 

[DaveReading]

Though if you apply in advance to the Christmas Card Police, they will allow you to give/send them to anyone who otherwise might think that you take them for granted.

 

[BoldonLad]

We live in a small cut-de-sac, or, from the street name a "close".

There are 11 houses, including ours.

As is the case in this era, there is little "social exchange" between those living here.

Most people only arrive/depart in their car.

We make a point of speaking to any neighbours we see, on foot,in the street, nothing extensive, a friendly "good morning" or whatever.

We send a (Christmas) card to each house.

Not totally sure if others reciprocate, that is not the objective, on our part.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Out of the sixteen flats round here I only send a card to one flat and that's because the occupant sends me one. It's a bit awkward as we seem to have developed a pattern where the sender gets a card back from me, then the following year I send one then get one back from the tenant. The thing is I've lost track and can't remember who sent one first last year! My thoughts are that if it was the other tenant then I'll have sent her one back, but If I just throw caution to the wind this year and send her a card before she sends one to me she might take offence, thinking "why's he sent me one, before I've sent him one"?! Then she might not send one in return. This is very awkward and it could lead to her not speaking to me for the whole of next year! The etiquette of card sending is a serious business and getting it wrong can lead to a whole lot of trouble!!!

 

[All uphill]

Out of the sixteen flats round here I only send a card to one flat and that's because the occupant sends me one. It's a bit awkward as we seem to have developed a pattern where the sender gets a card back from me, then the following year I send one then get one back from the tenant. The thing is I've lost track and can't remember who sent one first last year! My thoughts are that if it was the other tenant then I'll have sent her one back, but If I just throw caution to the wind this year and send her a card before she sends one to me she might take offence, thinking "why's he sent me one, before I've sent him one"?! Then she might not send one in return. This is very awkward and it could lead to her not speaking to me for the whole of next year! The etiquette of card sending is a serious business and getting it wrong can lead to a whole lot of trouble!!!

I'm glad to see there's no danger of you underthinking things, Accy.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Then we have the problem of the time in between cards being received and cards being sent! If one sends one immediately after receiving one it looks like the receiver has just thrown a card in an envelope and chucked it through the sender's door without much thought and giving the impression that they were waiting to receive one, before sending one back. Yet if one doesn't send a card in reply to a received card in good time then the one expecting a card in reply to their own could think "Is this idiot going to reply to my card or not"?!🤔

 

[Accy cyclist]

I'm glad to see there's no danger of you underthinking things, Accy.

I just knew this card stuff would bring on my......
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/analysisparalysis.asp#:~:text=Analysis paralysis is an inability,a

 

[Accy cyclist]

Then we have the problem of those we don't send cards to thinking they've done something wrong to offend the person who hasn't sent them a card. Or, on the other end of the spectrum a receiver of one of your cards who you don't usually send a card to might think "Why's he sent me a card when we hardly, if ever speak"?! Why would you send a card to someone you hardly speak to though?🤔 And, if you do send a card to someone you hardly speak to and they don't send one back, then that ice you attempted to break could end up a whole lot thicker!!🤔

 

[Bazzer]

Mrs B gives them to the neighbours on either side of us. Personally I wouldn't bother, but she has a much sunnier outlook on life generally and she particularly enjoys Christmas since she left her parental home.