Christmas Cards !

I HATE HATE HATE SENDING OUT CHRISTMAS CARDS.

My in-laws are card nazis, heaven forbid I sent them all the same cards. I have to go to the Hallmark store and pick out separate cards for all of them, I can’t get them from a box of cards, they actually check to see how much money I spend on the cards. I’ve had them call to bitch at me for not spending enough.

Then we have the cards I send to my scattered family members. Half of them don’t know me and don’t want to. I never talk to them, they never call me, but my Grandmother will call and yell at me if I don’t send cards to her precious children.

The other half of the family makes a habit of moving around many times a year, so their address in never current and a few days after the holiday I get 5 cards back at me, no known address.

Then we have the people who would not send me cards if I didn’t send them one first. They can’t remember to put me on the list, so I always get their cards a week after Christmas.

We also have the weird one. I get cards from people I don’t know. I asked my husband if he knows the people, he doesn’t, so we start calling the family to see if they know who sent it. It turns out to be from the high school friend of my long dead mother-in-law. Why the hell is this person sending me a card ?

On a side note, my mailman is a fucking psyco. He actually yelled at me yesterday for having to deliver packages to my house, which he doesn’t even do. He ties them to the mailbox, by the road, with a rubber band.

Personally, I’d tell the card Nazis to stuff their tinsel where the sun don’t shine. The inlaws, Grandma, all of them. The beautiful thing about never sending out Christmas cards is, no one ever bitches because so-and-so got one but they didn’t.

Did I mention I found our mailman screaming at Hamish the other day because our landlord had installed the mailbox incorrectly? Don’t ask me what he thought Hamish should do about it. He threatened not to deliver the building’s mail until it was fixed. I told him where to get off and called Canada Post to complain. folds arms defiantly

I give you a 9.9

Great rant.

But Holy Mistletoe! Sounds like you have your hands full.

(they actually check the prices…wow)

Since we’re on the subject of Christmas cards…

I don’t send them out. But I get a couple from some family members.

I got a card yesterday from my Uncle and his wife. He addressed the card to me (thankfully, as you’ll see). On the inside of the card he wrote “Dear scout & Mark,”

My boyfriend’s name is not Mark. But my ex-husband’s is!!

I threw the card away quickly and didn’t mention receiving it. No need to create an uncomfortable situation, right?

Wow, dragongirl, why do you bother? If someone called me to complain that I hadn’t spent enough money on them, I’d explode. How goddam rude can you possibly get? Why do you let them treat you like this? Do they also check to see that you’ve spent the correct amount on their Christmas gifts as well? Do they ask that you send them the receipt?

I’m sure someone else will point this out. Perhaps you should let those people know as well: CHRISTMAS ISN’T SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY YOU SPENT!!! Jeesh!

Just quit sending them. Feeling obligated to or sending them because someone’s forcing you to is counter to the spirit in which they’re supposed to be sent.

Your in-laws are assholes, and it’d be great if you could tell them that to their faces. Any chance for your husband to back you up on this? Or even just stand up for you? There is no reason you should have to take that kind of treatment.

Forget about family members you don’t talk to. You don’t know them, so what’s the point? You may as well pick addresses out of the phone book and mail those people cards. Tell Grandma that you aren’t 10 years old anymore, and you can correspond with whom you please, and that she has no right to tell you what to do.

Forget about family members you can’t keep track of. If they don’t bother passing their new addresses on, then communicating with family isn’t that important to them. If they’re just scatterbrained, then maybe it’ll take missing correspondence for them to straighten up.

Forget about the people who don’t consider you important enough to send you cards before Christmas. You’re obviously not high on their prioirites list, and it’s not worth your time, effort, or money to keep sending them cards.

Next year, buy yourself some nice cards. Ones you really like. Then, pick people you also really like and send the cards to them and only them. If anyone complains, wish them a Merry Christmas and walk away/hang up.

The only reason I put up with my in-laws is for my husband. He does try to get along with them and this is something I can do without really having to deal too closely with them.

I kid you not, once, I sent a birthday card to my FIL he called my husband to complain that it looked cheap and ugly (I didn’t think so) so I had to sent him another one.

I freed myself from the tyranny that is Christmas cards years ago. The people I want to stay in touch with, I stay in touch with all year long, and send holiday greetings to in the course of my normal correspondence.

Holy crap. If I had family like that they’d get the sickly-looking free cards that charities send out to try to guilt you into giving them money. If they complained about it I’d tell them “I sent you those cards on flimsy cardstock because I thought they’d be easier to SHOVE UP YOUR ASS!”

I’m pretty sure everyone is with me when I say: NO, you did not have to send him another one. You didn’t even have to send him the first one. If your husband wants to send his dad a card then make him do it himself!

I buy the most inappropriate ones I can find every year. Basically because I don’t really give a rat’s ass. I suggest doing the same thing. Passive Agressive warfare is great.

This year’s selection feature’s either a cat playing rodeo with the X-mas tree (for the nice) or one featuring an elf with a farting problem (no not me smarty-pants).

My all time favotire was the “Buster” cards. It featured a cat with a red X-mas hat on sweetly listening to three mice on the cover.

Underneath it said: “Buster patiently listened to what the mice wanted for Christmas”

Opening the card reveals: “And then he ate them.”

:smiley:

God I loved that card!!

:cool:

I hate Christmas Cards.

There’s nothing more perfunctory or degrading than a mass produced piece of cardboard that somebody else wrote on dropped in the mail. If you want to wish someone Merry Christmas (or what-have-you) take the time to write a fucking letter. Or give them a phone call. Or email. Or something that indicates you spent more than 30 seconds and a buck at a card store and actually put some goddamn thought and love into it.

Ya know?

That’s so obnoxious, I can’t believe they’re that pathetic.

If it matters at all, Miss Manners (in her Guide for the Turn-of-the-Millenium) defended someone who was very wealthy, but who reused envelopes (putting new labels over the old addresses) and sent out a holiday greetings that was a picture that his daughter had drawn, photocopied and then signed. In fact, she was very scathing to the letter writer who was complaining about this man. If your in-laws fuss again, consider enclosing a photocopy of her response in with your next missive.

I can understand the need to smooth things over with your inlaws at times, but if they get too demanding, you need to be sure that your husband will stand up for you as well. (I can sympathize - some family gathering preparations will involve me saying to Mr. Herder what things may lead to me blowing up at one inlaw or another.)