Christmas Cards

Christmas cards are, I think, nice, especially as a means of keeping in touch with people that you hardly ever see.   However, in this electronic age, is the Christmas card sent by mail outdated?    But if you receive an electronic greeting, how do you put it on the mantlepiece?   And isn't there still an element of (shall we call it) "romance" in going to the mail box and finding a card there?   And if you do go electronic, do you still send a traditional card to those on your list who don't have an email address (or whose email address you don't know)?  These are often the very people that you want to send a card to.
Bearing in mind all these issues, and in line with my traditional values, we are still all for Christmas cards.  We're then faced with the question - where do we obtain them?   Until a few years ago, the answer was quite easy - at the VCOSS Christmas card shop in the city.   For quite a few years, this operated in premises provided by St Paul's Cathedral, and to outward appearances, appeared to be quite successful.  However, it did appear that the average age of the volunteers was rising, so whether it was for this reason or some other reason, this shop ceased to operate a few years back.
Certainly, other options exist.   You can buy cards directly from charities, either at their offices (one year I bought some at Wesley Mission in Lonsdale Street) or by mail.  There also appear to be internet sites, and as what I would regard as a last resort, you can go to the newsagent or even the $2 shop.  However, fortunately I was pointed in the direction of the Camcare shop in Camberwell.  Although a little challenging to find, when you do, it's just like the former VCOSS shop, with a good array of cards from a variety of charities.  They even take EFTPOS - not bad for a shop operated by volunteers, I thought.  So I made my annual pilgrimage there a few days back and I am now stocked up, ready to go.    Next thing is to update my address list, which looks as though it might be a greater challenge than finding the Camcare shop!