What do you do with cards!

evolving_doors

Question in the realm of 1st world problems...

What do ye do with birthday/christmas/easter cards sent to kids?

Me I keep em' for about 2 days and then into the recycle bin. I found out another friend keeps them and files them all away and was shocked that I chucked em out.

ARE you a keeper or a cold hearted chucker! I'm feeling a bit guilty I suppose as someone else has spent time (and ridiculous money) in their sending with the understanding that the kids will read them in 50years time when all the oldies are dead and gone.

MistyCheese

I don't keep every card but have kept quite a few. Some cards have really beautiful messages on them that would make me well up if I were to go upstairs and read them right now.

My brother and sister in law make their own cards. They're pretty amazing and I keep those too.

I wouldn't keep a card that said 'Happy bday, have a gud un!' I would appreciate the card at the time but I don't think the card giver would expect me to keep it forever. On the other hand my little sister made a Get Well card for my 6 month old daughter who was having an operation and I definitely want to preserve that one.

implausible

I would keep some (all baby cards and a few nice or thoughtful birthday and Christmas ones) and recycle others - I've made gift tags out of them and I once cut letter shapes out of them to make the wee girl's name and put them in a frame. I'm highly uncrafty, but I think it looks cute in her room.

My local playschool are always looking for this type of stuff too.

byronbay2

On the mantlepiece for a week, then hit the recycling. We have a drawer for keeping the children's sentimental stuff - mainly newspaper articles and pics (they're all VERY high achievers) and creative stuff from age 4-7. Otherwise, it's school reports. The drawer is about 1/3 full (and our youngest is 7) so should suffice.

tickingclock

I keep them but she's only 1 so kept all the new baby, christening, first Christmas and birthday. I'm a hoarder so I'll keep them all. I've recently found all the cards I received as a child and I'm loved seeing them and keeping them. They are sentimental now.

Roesy

I keep the new baby cards and first birthday cards. Everything else is recycled except for random cards their granny posts to them during the year just because!!

pwurple

I filed the new baby cards. Birthday cards get kept if sentimental, reused in crafty things if suitable (we cut out pictures and stick them in the art supply box for rainy day glueing onto pictures or other cards), or into paper recycling.

livinsane

They all convene in the sitting room making a mess and I gradually sift through them, delegating some to recycling and keeping others. I can't help but be more sentimental towards cards from my own family but I try to be fair. A crappy drawing from a child relative is guaranteed to get the card a spot in the folder.

On a related note, for some reason myself and my partner ended up giving our son a first birthday card from each of us separately. No idea why, it's strange seeing them. Maybe I'll bin them too...

KERSPLAT!

Any cards from the kids to me or me to the kids are kept, maybe some from the Grandparents too but that's about it. The rest go in the recycling bin

Lola18

I keep almost all of them, I feel terrible throwing cards out...I still have cards from when I made my communion!!

meeeeh

Bin. I keep some made by kids a bit longer. I am not coming from big card giving country so I wouldn't even notice if I got a card or not. I consider them complete pain and while I put an effort in picking the presents, I usually buy the first card I see and make very little effort writing into them.

Cunning Stunt

I have kept the new baby cards - can't actually remember if I kept 1st bday cards. But at least the new baby cards would be nice to give my kids when they are adults.

Diamond Doll

I kept every one of the new baby cards.

As for other cards, I'd only really keep them if it was from someone very important to us, or if someone had put a lot of thought and effort into the message inside.

Sunny Dayz

I'm a divil for keeping cards. I only have the one child but have all his new born cards, christening cards, first birthday cards, communion cards and cards for Christmas and birthdays every year from us and from his grandparents and great granny. And also any really nice cards.
I feel really bad throwing away cards.
I have all the cards my other half has given me over the last 10 years. I have all our wedding and engagement cards. I have kept any personalised cards we have received, like the Christmas ones done through the schools with the kids drawings.
I have the weeding cards kept in a gift bag someone gave us a wedding present in. I have a cardboard box that my sister decorated holding my son's cards. The other cards are stacked in the back of a shelf in the living room which I keep adding to each year and say that each winter I will sort them out!

Call me Al

I have kept baby cards, wedding cards. Milestones I suppose.
But all the rest is filed away under B for bin.
In saying that though birthday cards are left up for 3/4 weeks in this house do is say the kids are sick of looking at them in the end.
I keep Christmas cards stored away with the decorations for a year and use them as a reminder on who to send to the following year. Then they're recycled too.

Sleepy

I'd bin the lot but Mrs. Sleepy wouldn't hear of it, she'd want to keep them all so it's sort of a compromise in that we keep "some" (i.e. three quarters!) of them!

zeffabelli

In the bin.

But .... I was helping a good friend clear her office and she found a card my son signed to hers when they were three years old... And it was so sweet... Because they've been friends since they were babies ... Now 8 years later... Still friends... A very moving reminder of our friendships.

mrsWhippy

I have gmail accounts set up for each of my two kids. For birthday cards, art from creche, funny stories etc, I write a short message or take a photo, and email them to their accounts, then bin the originals (keep the very special ones).

This way, all the art is dated, stored safely and I can give them their account details when they're older....