When should we send Christmas cards?
Sending Christmas cards can seem quite a chore – choosing the cards, finding your address book (last used 12 months ago), writing them out and then queueing at the Post Office to send them off, not to mention the expense! BUT – isn’t it lovely when you receive a card? And it’s just as lovely for the recipients of your cards, so while it might be a chore, it’s one we can complete with a good heart.
Also, when you put all the cards you receive up, the extra colour and sparkle completes the Christmas decor – and when you take them down, that’s it, all over for another year. Sigh.
Why should we send Christmas cards?
With all of life’s distractions, it can be easy to fall out of touch with friends and more distant family. Sending a Christmas card is a great way to let people know you still think of them and also keep them up to date with what’s been happening in your life.
Sending greetings just once a year, however, can seem a little cold, however, if you’re just tucking a ‘round robin’ letter into your cards. People you only reach out to at Christmas really aren’t that concerned with hearing the detail on your life, and a letter you type and then effectively copy and paste to all your rarely seen friends and family is so impersonal, so rather than use time doing that, simply add a few handwritten sentences inside the card – headline news, and a hope your card finds them well and happy.
Don’t feel bad about culling your Christmas card list. It’s not a rule that you need to send a card to everybody in your address book. It is a truth that some friends are ‘just for a season’. They may have been a huge part of your life a decade ago, but not all friends are forever friends, so don’t feel guilty letting some go. Simply cross their details out of your address book and acknowledge your lives have changed. If they send you a card, don’t panic, they just haven’t been as brave as you, but are probably feeling the same way and won’t be sending you one next year!
So, when should we post our Christmas cards?
We say the sooner the better! Get them in the post that first weekend of December, which not only means you’ll have a Christmas chore out of the way super early in the month, but you’ll be spreading the Christmas cheer early too.
It’s also a good idea to post early as the month of December is when Royal Mail is at its busiest, so getting your cards in the system will allow for any unforeseen delays, and ensure they arrive before the big day! There’s nothing worse than making the effort to buy, write and post a card and it does not arrive till the 27th of December – it makes it look like you’re sending it as an afterthought.
To make it super easy for you this year, here are the last safe dates for posting announced by the Post Office, for both UK and overseas posting, in 2023::
UK Christmas Cards
Royal Mail 2nd Class and 2nd Class Signed For: Monday 18 December
Royal Mail 1st Class and 1st Class Signed For: Wednesday 20 December
Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: Thursday 21 December
International Christmas cards
Australia and New Zealand, Caribbean, China (People’s Republic), Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Far and Middle East: Wednesday 6 December
Cyprus and Malta: Thursday 7 December
Greece, Eastern Europe (except Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia) and Turkey: Friday 8 December
Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, USA and Canada: Monday 11 December
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovakia, Switzerland: Wednesday 13 December.
Eddie Friday 24th November 2023. (Image used from own marketing team).
