Christmas season
Share festive joy with a Christmas card
Browse warm, artist-designed Christmas cards and send your message in minutes.
Christmas eCards
The history of Christmas cards
Christmas has been celebrated on December 25th since at least the fourth century, originally marking the birth of Jesus Christ. Over the centuries it absorbed traditions from older midwinter festivals — Yule logs from Scandinavia, evergreen wreaths from Roman Saturnalia, and gift-giving from the Feast of St Nicholas.
The Christmas card itself is a surprisingly recent invention. The first commercial one was commissioned in London in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole, who asked artist John Callcott Horsley to design a card he could send to friends. One thousand copies were printed and sold for a shilling each. By the 1860s, mass printing had made Christmas cards affordable for everyone, and the tradition exploded across Britain and beyond.
Today billions of Christmas cards are sent worldwide each year — and increasingly, people are choosing digital cards for their speed, personalisation, and zero postal stress. Whether printed or digital, the purpose remains the same: a small, personal gesture that says “I’m thinking of you” during the season of goodwill.
Tips for writing a Christmas card
Christmas cards are one of the few traditions where a handwritten (or personally typed) message still carries real weight. Some tips:
- Go beyond “Merry Christmas.” Add a line about a shared memory from the year, something you admire about them, or a hope for the year ahead.
- Keep it genuine. A warm two-line message beats a long, formal paragraph you copied from the internet. Write the way you’d actually talk to the person.
- Mention the year. A quick highlight or reflection — “What a year it’s been!” — makes the card feel timely and personal rather than generic.
- Think about people who might be alone. Christmas can be a difficult time for some. A card that says “thinking of you” or “you’re not forgotten” can genuinely brighten someone’s day.
- Send early, not perfectly. A card that arrives in the first week of December will be read and appreciated. One that arrives on Boxing Day because you were perfecting the wording… less so.