If you are anyway near my age, you will remember when ordinary people sent greeting cards for every occasion. In the post Depression years of hand-me-down-clothes and bean dinners, my parents still managed to pay for printed Christmas cards. I’m pretty sure they addressed and stamped about 50 every year. And received just as many in return. I can’t remember what they cost, but certainly not the going price of greeting cards today, in the range of $5 or $6. What should a birthday card cost?
Grocery stores and pharmacies have racks full of expensive cards. Most recipients glance at a card, quickly scan the message, then turn it over to see how much the card cost. If someone paid a lot , we’re flattered. The sender thinks that much of us. We go back and reread the message. We may stand our card up on a desk or coffee table for a day or two because it seems a waste to discard it right away. Some people save all of their cards, but most don’t.
The cost of big name greeting cards has escalated so rapidly that you wonder why anyone buys them. The Dollar Stores began selling cards a while back. At first, they looked like they’d been run off on a copy machine. But lately, the quality of those cards has improved vastly. They’re no longer so impersonal. They have his and her cards for every type of relative imaginable. And the truth is, my children and grandchildren are more interested in the size of the enclosed check than the cost of the card. .
Recently, rather than pay $6 for a printed greeting, I decided to write a personal note on a modestly priced card. Doesn’t it mean more to think a person sat down, picked up a pen, and took the time to send us a few special thoughts?
A few years back, I heard an old friend had suffered a stroke. Instead of rushing to the store for a get well card, I found a small note card in my drawer and took the time to write her a personal letter, encouraging her to stay strong, and to let her know I was thinking about her. When I saw her a few months later, she thanked me profusely. Clearly, that note meant more to her than an expensive, printed card.
Younger people don’t spend the time and money to send greeting cards. They text or email or send a Facebook message. But I still think it means a lot to get a handwritten greeting in the mail.