With alternatives in the shape of e-cards or charity donations available, is it really necessary to send season’s greetings through the post?

The Christmas card was not an immediate success. The card believed to be the first was commissioned by Henry Cole, a civil servant and inventor, and printed in 1843 – from an illustration by artist John Callcott Horsley. It didn’t sell well – for one, it showed a boozy family, which people objected to – and it was another 20 years or so before the Christmas card started to become a popular festive tradition. This year, according to reports, the Greeting Card Association (GCA) claims Britons will send an estimated 900m cards – this is around 100m fewer than last year, but the tradition is still holding off competition from e-cards.

“I’m a great believer in sending Christmas cards,” says William Hanson, an etiquette coach. “It’s a nice thing to do, especially in the digital world.” Every year, however, he counts them up and receives fewer and fewer, “which I’m sure is representative of everybody, not just people disliking me. It’s still nice to let people know you have put pen to paper and you are thinking of them.” A poll for the Royal Mail found that 80% of people would prefer a physical Christmas card over an e-card (granted, the Royal Mail has a vested interest in the former’s popularity), with only 1.7% of people saying a WhatsApp message would do. Supposedly tech-addled 18- to 24-year-olds were the most likely to make their own cards this year.

There has been a trend for telling people you are not sending cards, but instead donating this money to charity (a card from, say, Oxfam’s 10-pack works out at around 40p, plus a 55p second-class stamp), but Hanson thinks this is “a bit boastful. People grandly say: ‘I’m supporting charity instead,’ [but] Christmas cards support charity, so it’s more that you can’t be bothered. Just own up.”

The GCA says charities raise around £50m a year from the sale of Christmas cards, but some cards donate more to good causes than others. A better reason not to send cards is the environmental impact. According to a report by the University of Exeter for the online company DontSendMeACard.com, which allows you to send e-cards and donate to charity, a conservative estimate of the carbon footprint of each card – an exemplary one made from recycled cardboard, posted within the UK and recycled at the other end – is still around 140g. The real figure is likely to be higher.

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