The Power of Greeting Cards

Every year on my birthday, I put out all the cards I’ve been sent — from friends, family, colleagues, and the lovely people who somehow always remember the date. But one card means more than the rest. It’s the last birthday card my mum ever sent me, over ten years ago.

It’s just an ordinary card, the kind you might walk past on a shop shelf without a second thought. But to me, it’s priceless. Her handwriting, the message inside, they bring her back in a way that nothing else does. Every year, when I put that card alongside all the others, it feels like she’s still part of my birthday.

That’s the thing about cards. You don’t always realise at the time that you’re holding a tiny memory waiting to happen. It’s only later, years sometimes, that you find it again and suddenly you’re right back in that moment.

We’ve heard so many stories like that from people who’ve kept cards tucked away in drawers, cupboards and boxes. The person who still has the Valentine’s card their husband gave them on their very first date. Another keeps every single birthday card her kids have ever made, from the scribbly crayon ones to the ones clearly bought last minute with pocket money. Someone else found a whole stack of Christmas cards written by their grandparents, complete with 1970s glitter that still somehow manages to shed everywhere.

Cards last. They don’t vanish when you get a new phone, and they don’t get buried under a hundred WhatsApp messages. They sit quietly on display, or in a box somewhere, waiting to make you smile all over again.

And that’s why I still love making them. Because when someone sends a card, whether it’s heartfelt, hilarious, or just plain daft they’re sending a bit of themselves. A connection, a memory, something real.

So if you ever wonder whether it’s worth sending one… it absolutely is. You never know which card will end up being the one someone keeps forever.

You never know whose day (or future memory box) you’ll make.