Share the Merry: Our Very Best Christmas Card Tips

Because it feels good—for you and people who receive them.

Putting a little thought into creating a tangible thing that lets someone know you love them is good for your relationship. It’s also an amazing grounding exercise: It takes reflection and intentional gratitude to make something meaningful for our favourite people and that reminds us how lucky we are to have them in the first place.

And what could help you feel more Christmassy than celebrating love by putting more love out in the world? Get out your favourite pen, put on your favourite carol renditions, grab a festive beverage and get into the spirit.

Pro tip: Set your own deadlines

If making to-do lists and setting deadlines helps you stay on track, then we got you. We get that it’s easy to get wrapped up in the holiday season and let your card-sending goals get away from you.

Add “due by” dates to this official checklist or block time on your calendar for the following:

GET READY

• Think about how many cards you plan to send or what your budget might be.
• Make your holiday card list.
• Figure out different kinds of cards you might need.
  Friends, family, business connections, people to thank, other cultures and religions, etc.
• Decide whether you want to include a baby pic or family photo or newsletter.
• Round up addresses. (While you’re at it, ask for their birthdays.)
• Block time on your calendar for shopping, signing and sending.

GO SHOPPING

• Visit Hallmark.ca, your Hallmark Gold Crown store or any Hallmark retailer. Find boxed cards that express your Christmas wishes perfectly and shop individual cards that say just what people need to hear.
• Order prints of your photos and newsletters.
• Print or order return address labels— or get a custom self-inking stamp
  or embosser.
• Visit your post office or Canada Post for festive, seasonal stamps.

DO THE FUN PART

• Plan a card-signing party to make writing and decorating even more fun.
• Get inspiration for writing holiday wishes and decorating envelopes.
• Write personal notes and sign cards. Tuck in photos and newsletters.
• Address, stamp and decorate envelopes.

SEND THEM OFF

• Drop your stack of cards in the mailbox or post office.
• Hand-deliver cards to co-workers and neighbours.

Check the Canada Post website for the latest information on when to send your cards.

• Because so many people mail cards for the holidays, it’s a good idea to send yours by First Class mail about two weeks before Christmas.
• Mail the cards three weeks early if you’re sending overseas or to a military address.
• Running super-late and want a super-special card to arrive on time? Priority Mail is your friend—it’ll get there in 1-3 business days.

But the real answer? Whenever. No one is going to be upset about getting a holiday card from you—early, on time or late. Christmas in July is always an option, too.

This is the logistical tips, “prep yourself before you wreck yourself” section. We’re going to make it easy to:

• Pick a number
• Go in circles (not as dizzying as it sounds)
• Make the cut
• Find your people
• Keep things organized

If you feel like you’ve already got a handle on prep—first of all, good for you. Second of all, maybe still skim the organization ideas below in case one tickles your fancy. You can treat this like a step-by-step game plan or like a choose-your-own-adventure kind of story. Whatever feels right.

Pro tip: Start with a system

Where will you keep your addresses? Everyone has a favourite method.

• Some go old-school with a paper address book.
• Others build out the contacts in their phone (where you can create a group called “Card List”) or computer OS.
• Search online for “best address book apps.”
• Start a holiday notebook with card and gift lists and notes.
• Our heroes have intricate spreadsheets with years of card-sending and -receiving history captured in symbols known only to the master. Do what works for you.

Step 1: Pick the number of cards to send

Sending holiday cards should bring you joy, not stress. Time, budget, attention spans and patience are finite resources, so decide about how many cards you can send and get ready to make your list fit. It doesn’t have to be an exact number—just a general idea.

Step 2: Go in circles of friends and family

One easy way to organize your sending list, especially if you want to send a lot of cards, is by social circle: immediate family, closest friends, co-workers, extended family, trivia team, church friends, etc. etc. etc.

• Make a list of the circles you want to hit and start adding people to them. You can write it on a napkin, draw out a Venn diagram, make a spreadsheet—whatever floats your boat.
• Start close in and work your way out so that you reach the people you’re most wanting to connect with.
• Or, if your goal is to connect with people you don’t see every day, do the opposite.

Step 3: Make cuts like a TV high school theatre teacher

If you have to shorten your Christmas card list, it can help to make rules for yourself. Possible rule examples:

• If you’re unlikely to see people in the next year, they absolutely get a card.
• If a circle or group is too big, cut it out completely—or save on postage by hand-delivering cards or sending postcards.
• If you can’t find an address in one try, settle for a DM with holiday emojis.
• If you’re certain they’ll recycle the card immediately instead of treasuring or displaying it—and that hurts your feelings more than it brings you joy to send the card—then send a text instead.

Step 4: Find your people’s addresses

We don’t always have addresses written down. Some easy ways to get them:

• If it’s a family member, ask your mom. If it’s a pal, ask your most organized mutual friend. If it’s a co-worker, ask your administrative assistant.
• Try an all-call on social media, with a request to DM or reply with addresses and zip codes.
• Look through a map app on your phone—if you’ve ever driven to their house, you might have it there.
• Try searching their first and last name with their city and state and the word “address.”
• Send texts, emails or DMs to individuals, copying and pasting the phrase “address, pls.” Maximum results, minimal effort.
• Check last year’s Christmas cards, if you kept the envelopes. (And this year, when you get a card, take a pic of the return address and add it when you have a chance.)

Pro tip: Look out for future you

While you’re getting addresses, ask for other important information and add it to your notes—birthdays, anniversaries, special dates, kids’ names, pet’s names, etc.

Here are a few things to think (and make notes) about once you have your Christmas card list and are moving on to the shopping portion of the preparation. Hint—this is where a spreadsheet or notes in your contacts come in real handy:

• What to say: As you look through your list, think about whether “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” is a more appropriate message. (Or maybe you want to send messages for Hannukah, Kwanzaa or New Year’s.)
• How close you are: Do you need different cards for family and personal friends vs. business contacts?
• What’s it about: Who will receive a personal card (like one specifically created for a hairstylist or family member) and who will get a boxed card? If you want to say something personal and specific, shop the card rack. If you want to express holiday wishes your way, find the boxes.
• Get a count: Tally cards you’ll hand deliver, give with a gift and send through the mail. And count the numbers of newsletters and photos you’ll need.
• Care for the planet: If you’re pretty sure folks will recycle cards instead of keeping or displaying them, just avoid sending designs with glitter or plastic attachments. For those folks, the meaning is in the moment more than the object itself.

Your kind of fun may depend on whether you want to turn card-sending into a party or chill time. And who says you can’t do both? Not us.

Gather your family. Invite your friends. Or cozy up and turn on some Christmas music. Here’s a list of things to round up before you start.

CHRISTMAS-CARD-WRITING SUPPLIES

• Cards, envelopes, newsletters, photos and stamps (everyone brings their own)
• Paint markers, permanent markers, glitter pens—Crayola has all the options
• Stickers and washi tape
• Stamps and ink pads
• Writing pads, ink blotters or legal pads so you have soft surfaces to write and decorate on
• A table with plenty of room, or a smaller table plus sofas and TV trays
• Holiday beverages (whimsical Christmas cocktails, hot or chilled holiday drinks, Christmas punch, hot cocoa—pick your favourites)
• Non-messy snacks (best hint: food on sticks or toothpicks)
• Holiday music playlist

Having company might help keep you motivated and make the process feel more festive. Celebration is part of what the season’s about, right? Get together in person or virtually, set out some snacks (in-person company or not, treat yourself) and leave plenty of room for supplies.

Version 1: Family card assembly line

Want to get your whole family involved in sending your cards? Give everyone, big and little, a job or two to do. Make an assembly line with everything needed at each station. Here’s how to divide them up:

Easiest to do:

• Doodle and draw
• Add stickers

Might take a teeny bit of practice:

• Sign your name
• Fold the letter
• Stuff the envelope
• Place the stamp
• Add a gold seal

Writing required:

• Write the note
• Address the envelope

Version 2: Christmas card crafternoon

Meaningful note-writing and card-signing can call for contemplation and focus, and a party doesn’t always need that kind of reflective vibe. Consider inviting your crafty friends and making your party all about decorating envelopes.

• Gather around your table or set up a video call.
• Decide what snacks and supplies you’ll provide and what to BYO.
• Share this post about Christmas mail art and these free printable envelope decorating tips.

Everyone’s focus will be on their cards, so don’t worry about major decorating—or even being tidy. Just light the pine-scented candles, crank up the Christmas music and break out the seasonal bevvies.

Christmastime is about coziness, too. Forget the party and make sending cards a blissfully all-for-you nonevent.

Gather your snacks and supplies.

Pick your coziest spot and keep your stationery, pens, decorations and stamps close by. This way once you sit down and settle in, you don’t have to get back up for your stickers and a cookie.

Take your list a little at a time.

Focus on one card at a time or one task (like writing inside notes or addresses) at a time. Do whatever is going to help you de-stress the most in the moment.

Include the rituals you love.

Make some tea, light a candle, drink some wine, get a hair mask going…this is your time.

Go easy on yourself.

Don’t beat yourself up for “running behind” or treat sending cards like an overdue homework assignment. You are not Santa, and if everything’s not done by December 24^th, Christmas will not be ruined.