How long should you keep Birthday cards and Christmas cards?

Question

How long do you keep them after you receive a card for like your Birthday or Christmas? Do you keep them for a few weeks then throw them away? Or longer? Or are there some people that keep them forever?

Answer 1

I'm someone who keeps cards for the memories. If you don't like getting cards though you could tell the people around you that you are going paper free, or trying to cut down, so they could spread the christmas/birthday/holiday joy by sending you an ecard. Then there is no inconvenience for storing them. However I doubt anyone would question you about were their card has gotten too so mayb just keep it around as long as it's relevant e.g. for an xmas card, until you take your tree down.

Answer 2

As long as you want, period.

Answer 3

as long as you want to...it is always fun to look back at cards from friends who may have left our lives

Answer 4

It all depends on who gives it to me. I normally keep the card for years then throw it away, but then again that's just me.

Answer 5

It's really up to you, they can be kept as long as you wanna keep such memories. I have my Bday cards all around the house and put some nice Xmas cards from past years in a Xmas mailbox forniture I put under the tree cause they are nice

Answer 6

it depends on how sentimental they are to you.  some you throw away, some you keep forever.

Answer 7

Yes to all your questions.  I know someone who reads the card, goes "oh, that's very nice" then tosses them into recycling immediately.  She compares the return address against what she has in her addressbook immediately if the address looks new to her.  Other folks will hang holiday cards during the holidays, take them down (when the tree comes down) and recycle then.  And of course there are always the folks who never keep everything adn never throw anything away.  I have been trying to be like my friend, read and toss, because paper tends to accumulate exceedingly fast in my life (like, mounds and boxes of this stuff).  Unless the card has a picture of my people/person on it, then I save the photo.  Or if the person made the card (very rare and unusual for my friends/family), I'll keep it because usually it is very very nice.

Answer 8

There are some people that keep them forever... :-) i'm one of those people... ofc, I've lost some along the way, but I still have some from when I was a child... I think they're just too nice to toss.

xoxox

Answer 9

I've kept birthday cards from "big" birthdays like 13, 16, 18, 19, 21 ... the rest I have recycled. As for Christmas cards, I keep them for one year. Each Christmas, I pull out the stack from last year to make sure I keep up all my correspondence properly, don't forget anyone, get updated addresses, get reminded about any major news, etc. Then I recycle those ones after Christmas is over, and save the new ones until the following year. Some cards will have sentimental value and you should keep them, but I doubt very much anyone is going to ask you, "where is the Christmas card I sent you 7 years ago?"

Best Regards,

Holly

Answer 10

For the most part, I keep Christmas cards till I put away the Christmas decorations--usually after New Years.  Birthday cards I might keep around for about a month.  Now there are some cards I keep, especially those in which the sender has written a personal note.  I also have a few cards from my parents that I thought were just funny or really reminded me of them (like my dad was really into model trains, and he sent Christmas cards one year that had trains on them).  They're really meaningful now that both Mom and Dad are gone.

Now others may keep cards forever.  When my grandfather died, we found a big box with all the cards his family had sent him for birthdays, Christmas, Father's Day, etc.

Answer 11

If they're from people I care about I just keep them forever unless I spill something on them. Then they're icky and I throw em away. But then again I love making scrapbooks of my friends and family and just decorate those with the cards.

Answer 12

i keep them forever

Answer 13

Some crafty people keep them "forever" in a box to use the front page in future craft projects.  I cut the front off and may use it to decorate another gift box.  Or, glue it onto a blank card and send it (to someone else) next year.  

If you don't do this, since it is apparent you do not want to keep it for a keepsake, you may want to start a simple notebook of names and dates when you received a card, so you will know you should send them one back.