Ship of Fools: Here's a photo of me for your mantelpiece.

Thread: Here's a photo of me for your mantelpiece. Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :

The designs of our political leaders' Christmas cards have been released. Two out of the three designs show photographs of the sender: the Prime Minister's card shows the Prime Minister, his wife and the Olympic Torch on the steps of Downing Street. The Leader of the Opposition's card shows him, his wife and their children.

Am I alone in thinking that it is incredibly narcissistic to send Christmas cards emblazoned with photographs of oneself? It seems to be totally inappropriate for the time of year (if it's ever appropriate at all). Or have I got the wrong end of the stick and is this something that lots of people do?

Posted by QLib (# 43) on :

It could be seen as an admission that you are such a nonentity that people need to be reminded of who you are. Which seems to show Clegg in a good light, except that he has some very good reasons for not wanting to remind people who he is. I think it's very wrong of them to have used their families.

Posted by Ricardus (# 8757) on :

If I was David Cameron I'd use a picture of Larry the cat. It would probably win me the election ...

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

Neither of the wives are looking at the camera. And the Cameron card looks like a summer shot, not a Christmas card. At least Nick Clegg has one that actually is a Christmas card.

Yes, Larry the Cat would have been good.

Posted by Birdseye (# 5280) on :

Oh... THAT's who it was... I thought that was Ed Milliband?! I recognise the small fat man with the white beard on the second one.

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :

Anglican't:

quote:
Am I alone in thinking that it is incredibly narcissistic to send Christmas cards emblazoned with photographs of oneself?

You obviously haven't been on many American Christmas card lists. But then we do run to narcissists.

However, the Obamas do have a more modest card, if you don't consider a fuzzy, distant White House on it as a sly brag.

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

I have never heard of people putting themselves on a Christmas card - very odd!

I love the White House one 'tho.

[Smile]

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

If you're an MP you always have to have one designed by primary school children - winners of a competition for schools in your constituency.

No political leader can just nip out and get a couple of packs from Oxfam for the friends 'n' family. It's hundreds and hundreds of cards to party workers, supporters, people who might see their way to giving a bob or two come the next election. The card is to reward/remind the recipient that the Leader is your bestest friend, who holds you in high regard. And the signature is a stamp, btw.

Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :

Well ... OK. I think this is probably a rant against UK politicians but you're an ingenious bunch of Shipmates. You might just find a serious point to discuss sometime during the next 24 hours, say?

Otherwise it will go to Hell and you can feel really free to tear 'em to shreds.

[BTW I think Cameron and Milliband's cards are glossy, self-serving crap. I quite like the Obama's card. Not very Christmassy, but definitely seasonal.]

Barnabas62
Purgatory Host

Posted by Lucrezia Spagliatoni Dayglo (# 16907) on :

Do you suppose they include one of those interminable letters about what all the family have achieved throughout the year?

At least they wouldn't be able to exaggerate, too much [Eek!]

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Lucrezia Spagliatoni Dayglo:
Do you suppose they include one of those interminable letters about what all the family have achieved throughout the year?

At least they wouldn't be able to exaggerate, too much !

The word you are looking for is "spin".

Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Birdseye:
Oh... THAT's who it was... I thought that was Ed Milliband?! I recognise the small fat man with the white beard on the second one.

What, has Frank Dobson made a comeback, then?

Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
And the signature is a stamp, btw.

Not on the one I got from David Blunkett in c1998 it wasn't- and I'd never met him and wasn't a constituent.

Posted by Bostonman (# 17108) on :

Most people in the United States use photos of their families for Christmas cards. Some even send a "Christmas letter," which tend toward the bragging end..."This year Johnny climbed both Kilimanjaro and Everest while maintaining a 4.0 at his Ivy League university" and so on.

Christmas letters are generally seen, if written in that tone, as a bit gauche. But Christmas cards featuring the senders are typical.

Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Bostonman:
Most people in the United States use photos of their families for Christmas cards.

Really? Most? My collection of friends and relatives must be really odd then, because they hardly make up a fifth of what I receive every year.

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
... the Prime Minister's card shows the Prime Minister, his wife and the Olympic Torch on the steps of Downing Street. The Leader of the Opposition's card shows him, his wife and their children....

Perhaps all the cards with pictures of wise men had sold out.

Posted by Hairy Biker (# 12086) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Bostonman:
while maintaining a 4.0 at his Ivy League university" and so on.

[Tangent] What's a 4.0?[/Tangent]

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Hairy Biker:

quote:
Originally posted by Bostonman:
while maintaining a 4.0 at his Ivy League university" and so on.

[Tangent] What's a 4.0?[/Tangent]

Grade point average-- 4.0 is the highest you can attain (straight A's) without extra credits.

(I know there shouldn't be an apostrophe there, but it just didn't make sense without one!)

[ 10. December 2012, 16:01: Message edited by: Pigwidgeon ]

Posted by monkeylizard (# 952) on :

I'm with MT on this one. I get 1 or 2 family photo cards (which go in the trash) each year. I get dozens of normal ones that my wife puts on a table for display. I'm not putting a picture of someone else's kids up in my house.

A 4.0 indicates perfect school grades (marks).
A = 4
B = 3
C = 2
D = 1
F = 0

The average of the grades (marks) in all courses yields a grade point average (GPA).

<<GPA cross-post with a certain owl>>

[ 10. December 2012, 16:27: Message edited by: monkeylizard ]

Posted by Freddy (# 365) on :

quote:
Originally posted by mousethief:

quote:
Originally posted by Bostonman:
Most people in the United States use photos of their families for Christmas cards.
Really? Most? My collection of friends and relatives must be really odd then, because they hardly make up a fifth of what I receive every year.

It's about 50/50 at my house. So I am with Bostonman. For me even 20% is safely within the definition of "most" when I am exaggerating to illustrate a point.

It is amazing how many people's children maintain a 4.0 at Ivy League universities. [Paranoid]

Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :

quote:
Originally posted by monkeylizard:
I'm with MT on this one. I get 1 or 2 family photo cards (which go in the trash) each year. I get dozens of normal ones that my wife puts on a table for display. I'm not putting a picture of someone else's kids up in my house.

My best friend sent a Christmas photo card a few years ago that is still on display in my living room -- it's s great picture of her and her daughter.

Posted by Chapelhead (# 21) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
Am I alone in thinking that it is incredibly narcissistic to send Christmas cards emblazoned with photographs of oneself?

No, you're not alone. What makes it even more pathetic is that, no doubt, many recipients will proudly display the card that 'our beloved leader' sent, as some sort of badge of honour. So it is an ego-boost for both sender and recipient. Not so much 'win-win' as 'saddo-saddo'.

Posted by The Riv (# 3553) on :

Perhaps it's simply a natural transition. Maybe people don't really celebrate and share Christmas with each other any more as much as use the sentimentality of the "Season" to reach out and make contact. In an increasingly isolated society, a 'here's-what-I-look-like-now' card serves a real purpose.

Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :

I like seeing how people's kids are growing up through the years. They all go in the trash after we take down all the decorations, but so do the "real" Christmas cards. (Well, the latter into the recycling -- this is Seattle.) It's not that we're a selfish, inward-looking society so much as I have friends from college etc. who live hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :

Seeing those, is there any Shipmate who isn't glad not to be on their card lists?

Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
Seeing those, is there any Shipmate who isn't glad not to be on their card lists?

Your pronouns have no clear antecedents.

Posted by Freddy (# 365) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
Seeing those, is there any Shipmate who isn't glad not to be on their card lists?

This is really funny because I thought that most people really preferred the cards with pictures of the family on them. I have sometimes sent them in the past and have felt guilty when I resort to ordinary commercial cards.

Posted by Hairy Biker (# 12086) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Chapelhead:

quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
Am I alone in thinking that it is incredibly narcissistic to send Christmas cards emblazoned with photographs of oneself?
No, you're not alone. What makes it even more pathetic is that, no doubt, many recipients will proudly display the card that 'our beloved leader' sent, as some sort of badge of honour. So it is an ego-boost for both sender and recipient. Not so much 'win-win' as 'saddo-saddo'.

Charity is twice blessed...

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

I've had Christmas cards made for the last few years with a photo I've taken on the front, and a select few friends get the dubious benefit of a handwritten letter - apparently these are usually quite sardonic and a timely antidote to the usual schmaltz, though that might just be because I'm a grumpyguts at heart.

Two years ago I did put a picture of us on the front (I'd link if it was on my Flickr), but that was because it was funny, with the two of us so wrapped up against snow falling thick and fast, and settling thickly on us, that all you could see was our eyes. Anything less entertaining doesn't go near my cards. As for getting one from a politician, well, I'd save it for when the cat left something nasty that needed scraping up.

AG

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

The Queen does a royal portrait sort of Christmas card, doesn't she?

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
The Queen does a royal portrait sort of Christmas card, doesn't she?

You mean you haven't received yours yet?
[Biased]

Posted by M. (# 3291) on :

This is interesting - I have some friends from the US who always send us a Christmas card with a photo of themselves & children on it. I'd always thought it very odd and rather narcissistic, so it is good to learn that it's not really.

M.

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :

Perhaps it's so that people know who the cards come from. For some unknown reason we got a card two years ago with a generic Edinburgh in the snow scene, and we spent ages trying to figure out who "Alex and Moira" were.

(For those across the pond, Alex Salmond is First Minister of Scotland)

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

A nice wintry photo of the houses of parliament would do fine imo. In fact, when we had an MP friend, that's what we received. Posted at the HP, if I recall correctly.

Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :

These days I guess there are a lot of folks who'd be less offended at recieving a card with a photo of myself , plus two pages of .... (wait for it) [Projectile]

Round Robin , than one featuring the Nativity Scene.

Posted by Panda (# 2951) on :

We usually send a store-bought card (almost always religious) and put in a little newsletter with pictures of the kids and some news about them, because a lot of friends only see them once a year or less. I try and make it not boastful, just normall family stuff! Toddlers are too young for grade point averages anyway...

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

quote:
Originally posted by M.:
This is interesting - I have some friends from the US who always send us a Christmas card with a photo of themselves & children on it. I'd always thought it very odd and rather narcissistic, so it is good to learn that it's not really.

M.

These are the sort of things some people send -- I'm happy to say that I usually receive only four or five each year.

Posted by PeteC (# 10422) on :

I'd kill myself before I sent a Christmas card featuring ME, ME, ME! HEY LOOK AT ME!

That said, I have enough little people in my large family that I rather enjoy have pictures inserted in a card before mailing.

Posted by Sober Preacher's Kid (# 12699) on :

I gave $10 to Tom Mulcair's (successful) leadership campaign for the federal NDP this year. As a result I am now on his Christmas Card list, I got mine yesterday.

The photo is a snowy picture of the Peace Tower (big central tower with the bells) on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. A picture the Ours d'Outremont* and Catherine Mulcair (in black and white) is inside.

*Bear from Outremont

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :

It honestly never occurred to me before this thread that people would take photo cards as narcissistic. In our farflung family they are one of the chief ways of keeping in touch with what so-and-so looks like now (since we haven't seen him/her since the last funeral, hopefully some years in the past!) and in fact the cards are always focused on the children of the family, usually leaving out the parents. (who needs to look at us anyway, I'd rather they think of me as so much younger and prettier) [Biased]

We don't generally send cards to people we aren't close enough to emotionally to WANT to see (and keep) their photos--no "who the heck is this?" here. IMHO sending cards to mere acquaintances is a business practice (I know, YMMV).

We could certainly buy cards in a shop. But IME those get glanced at for two seconds and laid aside. Basically just long enough to identify the image (usually banal) and read whatever signature there might be, or possibly brief message. Whereas the photo cards (because we ARE close to those people, and interested therefore) get looked at and discussed for minutes, not seconds.

Having said all that, I do think it is horrid for people to send any kind of card, photo or otherwise, with a completely preprinted message and signature, even--not the least bit of handwriting, no personal note at all. Except in the obvious exceptional cases.

Posted by Anselmina (# 3032) on :

I find the round robin thing very subjective. If it's from someone I know well, I love them because I love to see how their kids are growing up and what they've all been up to. Sometimes there are quite major updates there, too. It's a pretty efficient and friendly way of keeping everyone in the loop. And, of course, the news is spun to be a bit more positive, though Granny's death, or Uncle Fester's illness might be referred to. But for something like a Christmas communication, I can understand why my friends mightn't want to go into details of the horrible divorce or recent cancer treatments though some do share fairly honestly.

But I think you can always spot the boasters. If by year four Disney hasn't made a film of their life, you know that that perfect Stepford family who mail you every Christmas with the news of their latest Nobel Prize award must be a little less perfect than they seem!

As for photos of the sender on the card itself. I so do not want a photo of a politician on a Christmas card! What the hell could be less festive?! However, people I know wearing Santa hats and antlers on the dog - no problem. Though snowy church scenes and robins are my favourite!

Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
It honestly never occurred to me before this thread that people would take photo cards as narcissistic.

It strikes me that defining things you're not familiar with as narcissistic is far more self-regarding and vain than sending photos of one's family to loved ones.

Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Anselmina:
I find the round robin thing very subjective. If it's from someone I know well, I love them because I love to see how their kids are growing up and what they've all been up to. Sometimes there are quite major updates there, too. It's a pretty efficient and friendly way of keeping everyone in the loop.

I'm glad you do Anselmina . As do many people of course .
Hope you know I was just having a giggle about round robins.

Just cos my own achievements wouldn't fill one side of a postage stamp, that is indeed no reason to knock the achievements of others.

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

Many years ago, our vicar used to send a card featuring a portrait of himself to every house in the Parish. It really did look narcissistic, although I suppose there might have been people who didn't know what the vicar looked like, who might have found it helpful in a 'WANTED' sort of way....

Many people tend to use facebook for this these days, so I'm not sure why they would also want to send a card of themselves.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Chorister:
Many people tend to use facebook for this these days, so I'm not sure why they would also want to send a card of themselves.

"Many" perhaps -- but not all of us.

Posted by Hairy Biker (# 12086) on :

quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:

Just cos my own achievements wouldn't fill one side of a postage stamp, that is indeed no reason to knock the achievements of others.

indeed not. Especially not the achievements of those who achieve loads of stuff and still have time left in the day to write round-robins in December.

Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Chorister:
Many people tend to use facebook for this these days, so I'm not sure why they would also want to send a card of themselves.

Because not everybody in the world is on facebook? Just a thought. There's also the question of privacy ("if you want it to be private don't put it on the internet") and not everybody wants pictures of their minor children up on the interwebs.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Ok, I am going to start off by saying I am a person who is 1.) probably shittier than most at sending Christmas cards, and as such 2.) does not get a whole lot.

So, quite honestly when I see the strong language aimed at people who send pictures and round robins and such, I think, "Wow, it must be nice to get so many cards and letters that you can critique them like that."

For me a card or a letter gets the same response-- "Wow, something cool to read! From a person who apparently likes me!"

Posted by Josephine (# 3899) on :

I love getting Christmas letters from friends and relations. I read the letters, and I am delighted to know that Penelope is on the track team and Millicent is taking harp lessons and Ludwig got braces. I like it when my friends include pictures of their kids or grandkids. And if the card *is* a picture of the kids, that's cool, too. We tape the cards on the pantry door as a little bit of Christmas decor, but the real joy, for me, is the letters.

Posted by Timothy the Obscure (# 292) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
I have never heard of people putting themselves on a Christmas card - very odd!

I love the White House one 'tho.

It's got a cute dog on it--what more could you want?

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :

IME, here in the US, it's common but not universal.

Some people have photo cards made every year. (One easy way is to go to Walgreen's drugstore--they have a plethora of photo things you can order.) Many people try to do a funny photo.

Some people just include pictures with a card or letter. And some people do a Christmas letter, perhaps with pictures, to update their list of people on how the year went.

I still send cards--some paper, some e-greetings. And I'm not on Facebook.

I wonder what people who celebrate other holidays do? (Hannukah, Solstice/Yule, Diwali, Ramadan, etc. )

Posted by sebby (# 15147) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:

quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
The Queen does a royal portrait sort of Christmas card, doesn't she?
You mean you haven't received yours yet?

Yes, the British Royal Family have traditionally sent a Christmas card with themselves on it.

But for others to do it - pop singers, politicians, business magnates (I had one this year from a particularly rich, ugly, and pretentious family in this category) and the like, it smacks of narcissism methinks.

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

Late as usual, but I meant to find this weeks ago...

This was our Christmas card for 2011. I just felt that it was far too much fun to not use. I'm not a believer in "Here's a photo of us, must mention Christmas somewhere inside", but I do like having cards with personal input, hence why I like to use my own photos, and besides, I think you'd need to know us pretty well to spot who it is - more than one person asked "Is that you?".

AG

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