Sending Birthday Cards Through the Mail

Sending birthday cards through the mail seems like such a simple task, but for nearly all my life, I never did it. I was never really taught to do so. But now I want to.

Birthday Cards from Grandma & Grandpa

Every year throughout my childhood, I received a birthday card through the mail from my paternal grandparents. Each one was simply signed by them with Love and included a bit of cash.

To me, as a child, it seemed the purpose of the card was more to hold the cash than to send a personal birthday wish. That’s probably because they rarely wrote anything in the card beyond my name, the year and their signature.

As I got older, the cards stopped coming. And that set of grandparents passed away when I was in my late twenties, before I met my husband.

It was a rare occasion for me to ever get a birthday card through the mail again that I can recall from anyone.

Gifted Calendars with Noted Birthdays

At some point during my adulthood — after moving closer to my parents (& my mother’s side of the family), I started receiving hand-delivered, custom-printed calendars as gifts for Christmas. These came from my mother’s brother & his wife.

The special-made calendars had the names of all my mother’s family members (including multiple generations) printed on the dates of their birthdays. (They also included wedding anniversaries & memorial dates for those in that family who had passed away).

The calendars were housed in a large paper envelope with a narrow slip of paper attached to them. And each slip listed all the named birthdays & anniversaries from the calendar in chronological order. This annual list naturally included new family members as they came to be.

I thought that gift was a great idea. (I particularly enjoyed the homemade mini chocolate chip, cream-cheese filled cupcakes that typically came with them.) However, for the longest time, I never thought to send any of the named family members a birthday card.

(The thought likely never crossed my mind, because on that side of my family, my grandparents typically called me each year instead of sending anything through the mail.)

A few years ago, when the uncle of that calendar-giving couple passed away, those gifts stopped coming.

I miss not having that regularly updated reference, because my sister’s kids, two of which are married now with children of their own, are estranged from me. And I’ve lost track of their wedding anniversaries & their children’s birthdays.

Creating a New Habit

Unfortunately, my children never experienced getting a birthday card from their grandparents through the mail (or from anyone else, for that matter). My mom’s parents lived right next door, and my husband’s parents passed away before my kids were born.

I imagine most people these days, send happy birthday wishes electronically, but I don’t think that compares to getting something tangible in the mail. And then to have it personally addressed and signed in the sender’s handwriting makes it even more special.

I plan to make a habit of sending birthday cards through the mail going forward. While I don’t have any grandchildren of my own yet, and I still see my kids every year on their birthday, I have other loved ones (to include both family & friends) that I can reach out to in this way. And I’m going to do just that. 🙂

What About You?

Do you receive birthday cards in the mail? If so, who do you hear from? And how does that make you feel as opposed to receiving a digital “Happy Birthday” wish?

Do you ever send birthday cards in that way?

Tell me about it (either in the comments below or contact me privately). I’d love to hear from you.