Christmas Cards

[Alternative PC Title: Holiday Cards]  ML and I have very different patterns of card sending.  She sends out a few cards with long handwritten personal messages to a handful of friends with whom she is not in touch the rest of the year.   I send out a bunch of cards (about 40) to people I may or may not have been in touch with over the year, but whose friendship I still wish to acknowledge.  I usually don't include that much of a personal nature, beyond the signature and maybe a brief greeting.

I think of these cards as a way of saying to those I haven't seen or talked to in a while, "Hey, we're still here, you're still there, we haven't forgotten about you."  Sort of place holders in our relationship, a relationship that may or may not get back to the front burner  some day. 

Some reciprocate, some don't.  I always try to send out more than I receive, and usually succeed if you don't count the cards from politicians, stock brokers, car dealers, etc.  I don't always get them out in time for the recipients to actually receive them by Christmas Day.  This year, for instance, I just got them to the PO in time for a Christmas Eve postmark. 

So, my question is, what do Christmas cards mean to you?  Both the ones you send and those you receive?