Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - December 2 - Christmas Cards

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Thomas MacEntee from Geneabloggers says:
Do you still send Christmas cards or has electronic communication taken the place of this tradition? Do you remember sending Christmas cards as a child – making a list, sending out your family’s cards and then checking the mailbox for cards sent to your family? How did your family display the cards?

I just love Christmas cards.  I know they're not environmentally friendly and I shouldn't still be sending them but I enjoy choosing a design as well as sending and receiving them.  I try to choose cards that support charities - UNICEF used to be a favourite, for example.  This year I am supporting a mix of Kids Helpline, Children's Hospital Foundations Australia and the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists.

 Every year I curse myself for the "trouble" and wonder why on earth I do it.  I send out about 50 and my hand gets very tired from all the writing.  

 In the past few years I've included a newsletter bulletin too with some highlights from the year. I was worried that it was boring but I got into trouble one year with Great Aunt Alice when I didn't send it out.  She missed catching up on all the news, bless her.

Last year I created my own cards online using Mixbook which was a lot of fun and highly successful.  Having said that, the cards weren't standard post office size so ended up costing a fortune to post. Grrrr.  I'm a bit wiser this year and checked the packet to make sure that it conforms to restrictions.

Great Uncles Charles and Great Aunt Win Blanchard with Win's sister Grace and husband Stanley c1963 note the Christmas cards on the mantelpiece
I can't remember how our family used to display Christmas cards.  I suspect on a mantelpiece or strung across the fireplace with string. But that was when we lived in colder climes.  

We don't have a fireplace in sunny hot Queensland.  At first we used to have them strung up over the curtains but they would blow down in the breeze. Now we have some string hooked up under our kitchen bench so that when people walk into our family/kitchen area they can see them there.   

 A very popular spot in many Australian homes is to keep them tucked into Venetian blinds.  


Christmas cards have been a tradition in our family for many years.  The oldest card I have dates from 100 years ago.  Here are some pictures of it. It was from my grandmother's parents to their friends and family from their home in Parsley Bay, Sydney during WW1.  My paternal grandmother's maiden name was Carrett.




The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) allows you to share your family’s holiday history twenty-four different ways during December! Learn more at http://adventcalendar.geneabloggers.com.

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