Study: Which Generation Gets the Most Sentimental About Holiday Cards?
What do you do with the holiday cards you receive each year? Do you put them on display and keep them somewhere special? If you do, you’re definitely not alone.
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According to a recent study from Minted, the majority of people do get sentimental over holiday cards—84 percent of respondents said that they display holiday cards (29 percent keep them up into January or February) and 44 percent save all or most of the cards they receive after the holidays are over. That makes sense, since the survey also found that many people have emotional attachments to the cards they receive—they make people feel loved (according to 70 percent of respondents), grateful (56 percent of respondents) and sentimental (50 percent).
What else did that Minted study discover about peoples’ holiday card habits?
It Turns Out, Millennials Take Holiday Cards Most Seriously
You won’t be surprised to learn that different generations have different feelings about sending and receiving holiday cards, but you might be surprised that it’s millennials who get the most into holiday card season—especially since sending paper cards via snail mail seems like an old-fashioned tradition. Yet millennials were the most likely to save the cards they receive (60 percent of them admitted to doing so) and at 38 percent, they’re more likely to include a hand-written note than any other generation.
Teachers, Pets and Exes Get Cards, Too
Of course, family members top the list of holiday card recipients, but they’re not the only ones getting on senders’ mailing lists. Twenty-eight percent of respondents with kids also send holiday cards to their children’s teachers, while 24 percent of respondents send a card to their hairdresser, 23 percent send cards to active military or veterans, 17 percent send cards to children’s hospitals, and 12 percent send cards to their bosses or coworkers.
In addition, 12 percent of respondents said they send cards to pets, 11 percent send one to Santa, and 10 percent send cards to their exes (13 percent said they either send, or would send, cards to an ex’s family). Some respondents even admitted to sending cards to celebrities they don’t know—5 percent of respondents under age 30 admitted to doing so, while 2.5 percent of those over 30 said they would. And many people send cards to friends they’ve all but lost touch with—56 percent said they send cards to friends they haven’t spoken to within the last year.
And, As Always, Pictures Speak a Thousand Words
Some cards are more well-received and popular than others—survey respondents said they preferred photos of the entire family (84 percent) or pets (70 percent) over photos of just babies or kids (48 percent). Families are mostly staying away from the cliche of coordinating outfits for the holiday card photo, too—only 11 percent of Minted customers in 2015 ordered holiday cards featuring matching looks.