The world’s first Christmas Card went on sale in 1843 and as we approach Christmas 2008, the Royal Mail have said that they are expecting to deliver 750 million cards this year. But do our Christmas greetings have to take the form of a card? The GPO introduced their Greetings Telegram in 1935 and whilst telegrams have all but disappeared, there are many other forms of communication we could use – email, text messaging and electronic or e-cards. But which is best and which conveys the true meaning of Christmas or maybe they are all the same. Surely life in our technologically driven, digital, 21st century world no longer has any need for a 165 year old tradition of sending paper cards at Christmas.

Well, according to our 2007 Christmas Card Survey, this is emphatically not the case the good old fashioned Christmas card is very much here to say!

• 68% of people who responded to our survey said they would not rather receive an e-card instead of a traditional card, and 74% said they would not prefer to send an e-card in place of a traditional one.

• 58% of respondees believed that e-cards are greener and cheaper than traditional cards but 71% believed they are more impersonal, 61% felt that they were less traditional, and 64% said that they were difficult to display.

You can download the complete report of our findings [2007] .

But have your views changed any of the last twelve months? We live in more financially uncertain times and the relentless advancement in telecommunications technology continues.

Thank you to everone who completed the 2008 Christmas Card Survey. Results will be here shortly.