Our little red envelopes always stood out on the gifts table, and that way we could afford to give an amount of money that we considered more helpful to each new couple. Most of the weddings were for very young people who needed all the help possible to pay for the wedding/set up their new houses together! Moreover, the little envelopes have also made their ways into several “wedding memories” scrapbooks /albums!

Cheap and cheerful, with a dash of consideration as to what you WANT to give and why, can remove a huge burden.

and frankly, in this day of email and phone calls, I think a letter or card is a wonderful think. Most of the cards I get don’t just have a signature at the bottom, them are newsy and in my family at least, where we no longer write “letters’ Often they are a joy.

most of the solution you mention are things I do with a cared (add a photo, or even make a photo card), send money, write a poem.

I am a regular reader of your blog, and very often find myself nodding in agreement at your thoughts on many topics. That said, please consider not being too hard on the gretting card/gift product industry. It provides a living for many talented illustrators, whose skills are otherwise wholly undervalued in this age of slick, computer generated graphics and effects. For many artists, this field also provides an entry into regular paid commercial work – the children’s book industry which has more prestige I think, is notoriously hard to break into.

I am an illustrator on a career hiatus to raise my three children, but I am forever deeply grateful to the art director who gave me my first break- designing Christmas gift wrap and Halloween gift bags. And to a cash-strapped 20 something, the pay was a huge source of pride, as much needed supplement to my low paying day job. Ok, I’ll get off my soap box now. I’m looking forward to reading about whatever topics you’ll be tackling this week.

I received the funniest cards, from my niece, who used a ton of glitter on a big sheet of construction paper, to my Dad, who drew a stick figure of the two of us on a post-it note. I took pictures of all the cards and put them in my scrapbook. Great birthday.

It doesn’t seem fair to me to send cards to those people, and not to others who hold the same rank in the family.

So to handle this expectation on a budget, I buy blank cards, have a bunch of rubber stamps for all occasions (many of which I picked up cheaply at garage sales or clearance bins), and handcraft a variety of cards in advance.

When the occasion comes up, I pull an appropriate one out of my box.

A few years ago I lucked onto a store going out of business and stocked up – so I’m all for the after-holiday sales.

I use holiday cards for Christmas decorations; sometimes on the tree folded over the light cord (probably dangerous but very pretty with glittery cards), sometimes on the mantle or wall. Sometimes I make bookmarks out of cards, or present tags or take off the back half and use as a postcard. If you make your own notebooks (a la hipster PDA which I learned here and is a great idea) you can use one as a notebook cover. I’ve thought about using the back halves to add some thickness to homemade paper for art project, but haven’t gotten around to doing that yet.

But a letter? I keep those forever.

Dollar tree is a good option as well. I started scrapbooking some cards but this is not necessarily cheaper than buying them. I find though the recipient REALLy enjoys them more and I get the satisfaction of my hobby.

Hallmark cards are off the wall expensive. I would rather add in the 3-5 dollars into the present price than a card.

I think sending actual cards is a thoughtful and personal way to show you care.

I don’t think 3ish bucks (card + envelope + stamp) is too much to ask to give someone a warm fuzzy on their special day though. it is actually cheaper than the potential gift you’d be stressed out to feel like you need to give them.

By the way, PLEASE don’t put paperclips in the mail. They can screw up the machine. Cash in the mail is an equally bad idea. A check or even better a savings bond would be more in the direction to go.

Of all the “problems” in the world, to bear down on this one really blows me away. I love giving and getting cards and I can’t believe someone would make a raft of phone calls asking all their “loved ones” to just stop the practice. I obviously read this blog because I am interested in simple, non-material living but are you really THIS CHEAP??!!! If you don’t want to send them, then don’t. But how mean to ask everybody else to stop, too, because you can’t value the practice. I love it when one person declares himself king of the world and decides for everybody else what is worth spending money on and what isn’t.

We send a holiday card that we make every year *instead* of giving presents. Our many overseas recipients, and some of the U.S. nieces and nephews, too, love seeing the stamps as much as the card — which always includes a personal handwritten note. The cost is quite comparable to a gift, only the effort is truly personal.