New Year's Cards

Although sending Christmas cards has become a new cool thing to do, the tradition is to send postcards to everyone you know. Consider it a traditional form of networking. If you want to stay on people's lists for business or future endeavors, send this annual card.


The New Year is ushered in by exchanging postcards with everyone you can think of. It is a great way to keep in touch with people you don't meet with often. Once a year, you send a greeting and they return it. Businesses do it too - we get cards from the gas company and phone representative as well as friends and relatives.

You can see the tiger motif is popular since 2010 is the year of the tiger. With the popularity of home PCs, most people print out messages and designs but just a few years ago, these were all meticulously handwritten and calligraphed. There was a lot of effort that went into them that is now replaced with "control-P".

Most people maintain elaborate lists of names, checking off who returned a card and who didn't so you can plan who will get a card the following year. If someone died during the year, then you don't send a card to their family until the following year. If you have sent a card previously, they will notify you of a death in the family with a special black and white postcard sometime in December.

The post office has special delivery just for postcards on Jan. 1.
Note: If you receive a card from someone who you didn't send a card to and you want to remain on their "list", then go ahead and send a late card. As long as you do this within the first week-10 days, you are OK!

THE LOTTERY - On the bottom of the postcard you will see a code. These numbers are entered into a national lottery, with prizes ranging from big time cash to free postcards and stamps. The winning numbers are announced from January 15 in newspapers around the country.

Some stores also have special "lotteries" offering discounts and free gifts if you can bring in a postcard with certain numbers. So the more you send, the more you will receive and increase your chance of winning!