The Complete Guide to Letterpress Holiday Cards for Everyone On Your List
I love a stack of pre-addressed holiday photo cards as much as the next busy working parent/spouse/daughter/friend/exhausted person. But for the people who make the holidays meaningful to me, I like to write a message in a card that expresses some part of the feelings I have about their presence in my life that I somehow haven’t been able to get across over text, social media comments, or conversations broken by toddlers yelling and throwing food.
Letterpress holiday cards are, simply put, special. You can get cheaper cards at Target, yes. Anyone who receives a photo card in the mail from you will know that you still care about them to not have removed them from your csv file from last year. But if you’re like me, there are a handful of people in your life who you’ll be thinking about a lot this season. Maybe you live with them, maybe you haven’t seen them for years. You may be planning to give them a gift or you may be struggling just to have that zoom cocktail you’ve been talking about for months. And for those people, a letterpress card can be a thoughtful, meaningful way to connect this season.
We put together this guide to help you find the right cards for everyone you want to really connect with this season.
Once you’ve decided to take the plunge, think about who you’re writing to, and how you’ll deliver your note:
Send a Letterpress Card Through The Mail
Sending a card you’ve lovingly chosen, which has in turn been lovingly printed one color at a time on a press that is more than 100 years old using woodblocks that were lovingly carved by hand is a great way to communicate that you actually really care (that’s a lot of love in one small envelope!). You won’t even have to think too hard about what you write inside, because as they say, it’s the thought that counts, and when you choose a thoughtful card, you’re more than halfway there!
Pair a Letterpress Card With a Gift
No matter what may be inside the wrapping (if there’s a package at all), everyone agrees that the feeling that motivates and accompanies a gift is what really matters. What better way to express your care and attention, and help give context and heft to the object (or experience) you’ve chosen to give than with a handmade card that has been lovingly created at every stage of the process?
Here are some of our best loved designs. I hope one of these will strike a chord and help you nurture a relationship in your life that matters to you this season.
When You Can't Be Together
Togetherness is at the heart of our holiday traditions, but if the people you love won’t actually be present at your table or around your tree, sending a thoughtful card through the mail will help you connect in a meaningful way.
When You Know The Holidays Might Not Be So Merry
For someone who is heading into the holidays after a hard year, because of a loss or other hardship, getting a card in the mail that acknowledges that the holidays are not all “happy this” and “merry that” for everyone can make them feel seen and supported during a tough season.
When You'll Gather Around a Table
The holidays happen around tables, and if yours is going to be a happy one, somebody is going to have to be working hard to prepare all that food. What better way to say thank you for food made with love than a card made with love? You might even pair one with a Generous Kitchen Towel and Sponge Cloth to make their next culinary project even more pleasant.
When It's Been Too Long
After two and a half years of pandemic life, no one on Earth is taking for granted the gift of being in a room with the people they care about the most. These designs were born out of lockdowns and social distancing, and they perfectly express the joy of being able to safely gather with our nearest and dearest.
When Pie Is On The Menu (Hopefully Always)
Nothing says Happy Holidays like PIE. For the person you love to bake with, or share a slice with (or maybe two slices), these cards are a perfect accompaniment to the pecan, pumpkin and apple you’ll be sharing this season.
When You (Or Your People) Will Have To Brave Holiday Travel To Be Together
For friends and relations who will be braving an unprecedented year of terrible travel conditions this season, thank yous will be in order. Whether you are the one putting in the miles or putting up with joyfully welcoming houseguests, a letterpress card will help smooth the ragged edges that traveling during the holiday season can create.
Thanks for reading! You shop our whole collection of holiday cards here.