Christmas Card Etiquette: When to Actually Send Them (and Whether You Need to Reply)

As the festive season arrives, many of us are making plans for decorating, shopping for gifts and preparing for the big day.

One of the most time-consuming tasks can be sending out Christmas cards to friends and family. Christmas cards, themselves can be a bit tricky. When is the right time to send them? Can an E-card feel just as meaningful as a handwritten note?

To explore this, Adobe spoke with world-leading etiquette expert Jo Hayes, and Chartered Psychologist Dr Gurpreet Kaur.

The Etiquette of Timing & Intention

One does well to have Christmas cards in the mail well ahead of time. And, certainly, if sending overseas, one wants to give a few weeks margin room. For several reasons. Yes, post office delays. But, largely, due to the busy-ness of the season. Many people get to December 20 and realise they haven’t got their cards out.

For domestic Christmas Cards, I generally encourage sitting down to write cards at the start of December, and get them in the post, post-haste. This means the job is done well ahead of December 25, and the recipients receive the cards at the perfect time – not too early, not too late.

I will add, even if you do end up with Christmas cards unsent on December 24 … it’s never too late! Receiving a card in early January is better than no card.

Is it rude to not send a card back?

Not necessarily. We all have different levels of capacity. Some people have time/energy to send cards to 100 people, others can only manage 10.

If sending cards to your loved ones ‘sparks joy’ – go for out. If it weighs you down with a feeling of, ‘oh no, yet another thing I need to do’, it’s possibly an indication that you’re meant to forgo this task this year.

Sending cards is something we should do out of joy and desire, not simply ‘duty’. So, if you receive one unexpectedly – send a return if it ‘sparks joy’. If it doesn’t, a sincere expression of gratitude and thanks to the sender – a call, text or an e-card – will be just fine.

The Card Itself: Does Digital Measure Up?

While traditional cards remain beloved, digital greetings are steadily growing in popularity. In the UK alone, the online greeting card market was valued at approximately £338.9 million in 2024 (IBIS World Wide).

But can an e-card carry the same sentiment? According to Dr Gurpreet Kaur, it can. Especially when extra thought goes into the design.

A lot of communication happens before we say a single word. Fonts, like tone of voice or body language, create an immediate impression.

The reason a bold, angular typeface feels different to a softer, rounded one isn’t just a matter of taste. It’s because our brains are wired to respond emotionally to shapes and patterns to make sense of our environment.

A typeface full of edges can feel formal or even slightly intimidating, while one with curves feels open and warm. In psychology, we often see the same spectrum in people: some are naturally expressive and expansive, others are more minimalist and contained. It’s not about one being ‘better’ than the other, it’s just different ways of signalling identity and making connections.

This holiday season, whether you choose paper or pixel, it’s clear that a thoughtful design can make all the difference.

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