# Do you sign greeting cards "fondly" or "love" or neither?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [December 14, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858 "2004-12-14T21:23:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![kezami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eb8c5e/32.png) [@kezami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kezami)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858/1 "2004-12-14T21:23:31Z")

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My wife has a habit of signing all her greeting cards "Love,\_\_\_\_& \_\_\_\_\_\_

I really think that’s weird. Some of the recipients are merely acquaintances and others are good friends. I think you should make a distinction by signing each differently.

Should I feel uncomfortable about this? Am I alone in these feelings?

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### Author: ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2004, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858/2 "2004-12-14T21:29:55Z")

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I feel weird signing “Love” on every card, too. For me, how I sign the card largely depends on who it is. If it’s a family member or close friend, it’s “Love,” or if we have an inside thing (my best friend and I have a certain quirk about signing cards to each other), I’ll sign it that way. If it’s an acquaintance, it’s “Best wishes” or “Warm regards.” My husband usually signs “Cheers,” if it’s a male acquaintance. I do that sometimes, too, but it sounds a little odd coming from a woman, IMHO, of course. If it’s a business correspondence, it’s always “Sincerely,” or “Regards” or some other neutral close.

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### Author: ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858/3 "2004-12-14T21:31:23Z")

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P.S. - I’ve always found it weird that many lawyers sign their correspondence “Very truly yours.” That seems to indicate a far closer relationship than that of an attorney to client, yet all attorneys I’ve worked with sign letters that way.

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### Author: ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858/4 "2004-12-14T21:53:35Z")

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I write “Happy Holidays! Love, Misnomer” for family and close friends. Everyone else gets “Happy Holidays! --Misnomer.”

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### Author: ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858/5 "2004-12-14T22:17:07Z")

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Family or close friends - “Love.”  
Not-so-close friends - “Yours,” which sounds more personal than “Yours truly” but not so much that it feels weird.

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### Author: ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858/6 "2004-12-14T22:20:09Z")

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People I love – “Love.”

Everyone else – either “Regards” or nothing, depending on how much of a hand-written message there is. (I always write at least “Hope it’s happy!” or somesuch on a birthday card.)

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### Author: ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2004, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858/7 "2004-12-14T22:57:03Z")

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I sign mine "Muchas smootches, " if it’s family or friends. Just ‘Happy Holidays’ or whatever for everyone else. Regards or yours truly sound so stiff and/or old fashioned to me (which is charming in the right situation). My rule is don’t sign what you wouldn’t say in person. And I’m a Muchas Smootches kind of person.

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### Author: ![midget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@midget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/midget)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2004, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858/8 "2004-12-14T23:48:47Z")

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“- \<name\>”

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### Author: ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858/9 "2004-12-15T02:00:46Z")

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“Love” - female Friends and Family  
“Cheers,” “Best Wishes” or “Regards” - everyone else

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### Author: ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-sign-greeting-cards-fondly-or-love-or-neither/279858/10 "2004-12-15T02:21:25Z")

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I sign love only if it’s family or a friend I feel especially close to. Everyone else just gets a couple sentences\* and my signature. No “love” or “regards” or anything.

\*Is anyone else slightly annoyed by people that send cards with no message in them or just a generic “Happy Birthday!” or “Merry Christmas!”? If it’s just a colleague or acquaintance, I can understand but with friends and family, you should, in my mind, personalize it with at least a few short sentences.
