Do you still send out holiday cards?

Americans are expected to send out about 1.6 billion holiday cards this year

USPS -- Dec. 15 (First Class), Dec. 20 (Priority Mail) and Dec. 23 (Express Mail)

DETROIT – It's that time of year when people like to spread holiday cheer with greeting cards.

Personally, I love the overachievers who include that very special family photo in their holiday card. You know the photos with everyone dressed in festive attire or with frightened young children on Santa's lap, forcing a smile for the camera so they can get down.

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During my childhood my paternal grandparents never had enough room on their fireplace mantle for the dozens of Christmas cards they received. They had to tape some of them to the ledge.

We all know the unspoken rule that if you get a holiday card, you can't just pack it away in a drawer. The last thing you want is for someone to show up to your house and not see their card on display.

I'm sure the cards were an ego booster for my grandmother. I would catch her glancing at the cards during commercial breaks of her favorite daytime talk shows and soap operas. She didn't have Facebook likes to gauge her popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. She had greeting cards.

That was then. So far this holiday season my "mantle" is adorned with just one lonely greeting card from an old college friend.

I put quotes around mantle because I don't have a mantle. My "mantle" is a TV stand. Maybe if I had a mantle, I would have more cards by now.

Each year I get fewer and fewer holiday cards. Sadly, this year is shaping up to be no different. I keep checking my mailbox, but I'm only greeted with bills, ads and coupons.

One of my friends, who has religiously mailed greeting cards every year, is taking this Christmas off. She says she's too busy. I'm a little disappointed because I've gotten a card from her for about the last 12 years. She's kept up with my address as I've moved from city to city for my career.

Americans are expected to send out about 1.6 billion holiday cards this year, according to the Greeting Card Association. That's down from 2.4 billion 10 years ago.

It's a sign of the times. In this high-speed Internet age Americans aren't sending as much mail.

Natasha Rankin, the executive director of the Greeting Card Association, points out greeting card mail hasn't declined at the steep rate as overall mail volume. Greeting cards sales have stabilized, in fact.

Rankin says there's still nothing like getting a greeting card in the mail.

"It's not a bill. It's a greeting. It's an announcement. It's the sharing of the season. Most importantly, it's a connection," she said.

Rankin is right. I always receive plenty of mass text messages, emails and social media posts wishing me a "Merry Christmas." Most of the text messages come from people I don't know replying to the mass text, which can be annoying. None of the electronic communication greetings are as meaningful as a card with a handwritten note.

For that reason Rankin says greeting cards will never go extinct.

"Those connections and the desire for connection have always been there and they always will," she said.

I know it's still early in the season. There could be more cards headed to my mailbox. The US Postal service is predicting Wednesday, December 17th as its busiest delivery day for cards and letters.

Even if no one sends me another card, I still plan to spread holiday cheer to my family and friends as I do every year--with a text message on Christmas Day. It's cheaper and easier than mailing dozens of greeting cards.

For my loved ones who take the time to personalize, stamp and mail holiday cards, I appreciate them very much. I look forward to reading them. I want to apologize that you won't ever get a holiday card from me in return.

But standby for that text message. It's better than nothing.

Happy Holidays!