How to Save Postage Costs on Sending Holiday Chanukah or Merry Christmas Cards

Sending holiday cards to family and friends is a time honored tradition in many families. When the budget is tight, there are ways to save money on postage and still give out greeting cards to all those on your list.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Creative organization
• List of group locations, church organizations, or common meeting places of your friends and relatives.

1. Determine where and when your friends and family gather together regularly before the holiday. Is there an annual Thanksgiving dinner or work-related holiday party? Do many of your friends or family attend the same worship service or local sporting events?

2. Give local cards out in person at these events. Some organizations such as churches will welcome a card exchange box with alphabetized cubby-holes, if you volunteer to set it up before the holidays and promise to clear it away after the holidays.

3. If you are geographically distanced from most relatives or friends, and you know they will all be together at someone's home to celebrate - call the host and ask if you can send the cards to the one address in advance of the event. Offer to include postage to forward any cards to last minute no-shows. Be sure to include a news-filled letter for the host to share with all the guests.

Tips & Warnings

• When you are handing out cards, be prepared with a few extra, just in case a person not on your list expects a card while you are giving.
• Be careful about including photos when giving multiple cards out at the same event, as recipients will compare and someone inevitably will take offense at not getting a picture if others did.

[tedpack]

on 1/4/2009 Lots of people use two stamps for heavy letters. The Post Office gives us long-winded people a break. As of January 2009, the first ounce is 42 cents, but the second is a mere 17 cents.

So, if you have four pages and 6 pictures, you can send 1.75 ounces for 51 cents, not 84, a savings of 33 cents. This mounts up if you mail the same thing to 400 people.

If you routinely write long letters, or usually include half a dozen photos, or have a special mailing to a lot of people, look up the current rates and save; the rates will inevitably go up, but the second ounce is always cheaper than the first.