Why is there so little poetry in Christmas cards, as compared to birthday cards, and why is it is uninspired?

Only two cards this year had verses.

'Wishing you JOY
in each thing
that you do
and hoping your WISHES
at CHRISTMAS come true'

and

'A loving festive greeeting
to let you know how much
You're wished the kind of Christmas
that holds a special touch'

Birthday cards usually do better than that and can sometimes be genuinely touching. What is it that makes the difference?

I admit I'm not a big fan of "poetry" in cards, simply because they always seem a little saccharine. Howevever a card from my (invariably grumpy and begrudging) brother read:

"Life is s**t, times are hard, here's you f*****g Christmas card!"

Nice to know that someone is embracing the seasonal cheer . . .

No, that's not saccharine. (-:

I'm at my son's now and notice that they have a card from a neighbour -

'You're very special neighbours,
a real delight to know
and Christmas seems the perfect time
to warmly tell you so.

No matter how you spend it
or what you plan to do
here's hoping that this Christmas
will bring happiness to you.'

It's saccharine, but its originality and sincerity, coming the way I'm told it did, seem to chime with the festive spirit.

Happy Christmas!

hi dave;

some years back i got so fed up of recieving duff verse pre printed in christmas cards, i decided to start doing my own and putting it in selected cards.. sometimes cheerful, sometimes not - this year's is among my blog 'walk in tune' but i agree with you totally...