Have Christmas cards had their day?

THERE is a growing trend for people to claim they’re not sending Christmas cards because they’re giving the money to charity instead. I agree with charitable giving, but why not instead cut back on the excessive amount of food and drink consumed at this time and give that money to charity? Why is it always the chore of writing cards they are prepared to ‘sacrifice’? We seem to be getting more selfish and self-indulgent. Sending relatively inexpensive cards shows others we are thinking of them and wishing them well at Christmas. It seems people are just trying to save themselves the effort and justifying it by trying to appear virtuous. T. NICHOLS, Basildon, Essex. IT IS not only younger people who do not want to send Christmas cards. Some responsibility for falling sales must lie with Royal Mail. At 56p for a second-class stamp, the cost soon mounts up. I love sending and receiving cards and they make attractive and meaningful decorations. But this year I have cut down and resorted to emails and e-cards. I hope those who have received them don’t feel I’ve treated them as second-class friends.

Name and address supplied. A LOCAL shop has two long racks of Christmas cards labelled with every relative and friend you could think of. It was more difficult to spot a small section at the back of the shop labelled ‘religious’. ROGER ADAMS, Plymouth, Devon. I AM grumpy about the number of cards I have received with my Christian name spelled incorrectly. Even so, I know I should be thankful to receive any cards at all. JENIFER (with one ‘n’) MORTLOCK, Swanley, Kent.