Will you be sending Christmas cards this year?

The custom of sending Christmas cards was started in the UK in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole. He was a civil servant who helped set up the new ‘Public Record Office’ (now called the Post Office) and wondered how it could be used more by ordinary people.

Ever since the British people have been sending Christmas cards to old friends and family to reconnect and spread Christmas cheer.

In our recent Speakers Corner, we asked ‘Do your Royal Mail deliveries currently meet your expectations?’, and 76% of our members said ‘No’!

If the current Royal Mail service is falling way short of expectations, how will it match up to increased demand over the festive season?

Coupled with the increasing cost of postage, the element of wanting to be kinder to the planet, and the ease with which greetings can be sent via social media some believe the days of sending Christmas cards are numbered.

Reports suggest that the older generation, who traditionally would contact old friends each year, is being put off by postage costs, and the younger generation, which does everything online, isn’t interested in sending a physical card.

What are your views? Do you enjoy receiving Christmas cards? Have you always sent Christmas cards to friends and family? Is this a tradition that you will continue? Do you prefer to donate the equivalent money to charity? Or have times changed and so have your Christmas card-sending habits?