Why I think greetings cards still rule
I have an amazing collection of greetings cards sent to me over the last 40 odd years, and you can see a small selection of them in the photo above.
I do tend a keep things that most people probably wouldn’t, ticket stubs from concerts, travel tickets from holidays and much more because they have meaning to me, they bring back memories or with some of the greetings cards I have kept, they are a connection to meaningful people in my life that are no longer with me.
Today I wonder, do people send cards as much as they used to? Not just from a commercial aspect but from a personal, sentimental point of view as well. Social media channels such as Facebook are used so much now to send messages when in the past a card would have been sent. I guess we just have different relationships and connections these days.
Since I moved to France I also note that different cultures don’t send cards as much as us Brits do.
I appreciate it’s probably more environmentally friendly and cheaper to send a quick message on social media or by e-mail and it can be quite handy at very short notice to wish someone “happy birthday” this way, when you don’t have the money to buy a card and post it, (and I totally appreciate any messages I receive this way) and I too am guilty of sending the odd message, normally to those I don’t have postal addresses for, or in some circumstances where time or budget is of the essence, but you can’t put those messages into a memory box can you?
Are we gradually losing our long held tradition of sending a card? Not only for birthdays but to say “good luck”, “congratulations” or even for sadder occasions? And will my children ever have a collection of cards like mine, highlighting events and milestones in their lives?
I have many types of cards in my keepsake collection for all occasions in my life. They vary in style, from the shop bought variety (like the one from my gran after I passed my GCSE’s, and the one signed by all my former colleagues when I emigrated to France, with cute messages too) interesting arty ones from far flung countries like New Zealand, personalised ones from online retailers (think Moonpig & Funky Pigeon) to beautiful hand crafted cards (from my mum and sisters for almost any occasion!) and of course my favourite type of card – a homemade card from my children, nieces, nephews and other friends and relatives.
My keepsake collection of cards is a time capsule of many moments in my life some good, some not so good, and some just ordinary birthdays but I have a permanent record of the thoughts and feelings at that time and a never ending connection to the person(s) who gave me that card. One card which instantly springs to my mind, is from a close relative at the time I lost my first baby early in my pregnancy, it was an incredibly sad time but the words contained in that card were so heartfelt and well meaning and despite the heartbreaking reason for the card I have kept it all these years because it holds so much meaning in so many ways.
So in answer to my own question, will my children have a collection like this? Well……. they may have a different, modern take on their relationships with those they meet in life, and our families (spread across the globe) but I have already started on their memory boxes, with cards sent to celebrate their births, birthdays and christmas, and as we are a family who tend to follow the tradition of making and giving cards then maybe, just maybe they will have a stash of cards to rival mine, and I hope one day when I am gone they will add some of my most meaningful cards to their collection as a permanent link to me and my life.
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