Gerry Rice is reining in her holiday spending this year. Instead of two gifts each, her children are getting one. She’s cut back on the cost of presents and shopped sales wherever possible.
But when it comes to Christmas cards, Rice is no Scrooge. She’s sending out the same stack she normally mails: about 45 cards — with a picture of the family on the front and the annual Christmas letter tucked inside — to friends and relatives out of town.
“It’s kind of a tradition,” the Katy woman said. “It’s a way of keeping in contact with people I don’t always keep in touch with.”
Christmas cards have stayed on many holiday shopping lists even while big-ticket items have been erased. The National Retail Federation predicts consumers will spend an average of $26.77 on cards and postage this holiday season, down from last year’s average of $27.39. Average overall holiday spending is expected to drop about 3 percent from last year.
Sheila Malendres, a Katy woman whose husband is an oil rig manager, typically sends cards to the families of every employee on the rig. In addition to her own friends and family, it totals close to 300 cards, plus postage. But she hasn’t cut back this year — the cards are too vital a part of her holiday routine.
Sheila Malendres, a Katy woman whose husband is an oil rig manager, typically sends cards to the families of every employee on the rig. In addition to her own friends and family, it totals close to 300 cards, plus postage. But she hasn’t cut back this year — the cards are too vital a part of her holiday routine.
“It’s personal. A lot of people stamp their cards, but we hand-write ours,” she said. “I just like giving them. ”
The U.S. Postal Service expects to deliver 3 billion cards and letters this holiday season, down from 3.4 billion last year. But a survey commissioned by online card company Cardstore.com, conducted by Kelton Research, found that 20 percent of Americans planned to replace some gifts with greeting cards this year.
Consumers say cards are a treasured tradition and also a relatively inexpensive one. Card companies are banking on their lasting appeal despite the economy, and some are even adapting card messages to address the recession — with an optimistic spin.
Recession theme
Hallmark has unveiled holiday cards that touch on the economy — some humorous, some hopeful — after hearing from focus groups that card-senders wanted to acknowledge the tough times.
“People have told us, ‘Let’s not sugar-coat it,’ ” Hallmark spokeswoman Diedre Mize said. “The card messages address that this year was not a great year, but it gives a message of hope as well, or appreciation. People want to feel good this time of year, and that’s what the goal of these cards was.”
In one example, the front of the card reads: “Due to high costs, Santa had to cut back on his help this year.” The inside shows his sleigh pulled by cats instead of reindeer.
Classic, sentimental holiday cards — with no mention of the recession — are the most popular by far, Mize said.
At Katie & Co, a stationery and card store on Washington near Shepherd, this year’s card sales have surpassed last year’s, according to owner Katie Hackedorn.
Neither the economy nor the e-card business seems to have hurt sales, she said.
“Generally speaking, e-cards and paper cards do not compete with one another,” said Barbara Miller, spokeswoman for the Greeting Card Association, the industry trade group. “E-cards are fast and informal and fun, whereas paper cards are sent more as keepsakes and sent for more heartfelt occasions.”
On a recent afternoon at Rachael’s Hallmark in Katy, customers bypassed the humor section. Anne Scruggs leafed through the family cards, flipping through “Daughter, you mean so much,” and “For a special daughter and son-in-law” before opening one that asked “What makes a son so special?” She scoured the racks for the perfect card for each of her five grown children and in-laws.
“It takes me a long time, believe me. I have to read every one of them,” she said.
