Christmas cards come in two very different products that share one name: boxed sets you pull off a shelf, and custom photo prints a service makes from your own picture. Knowing where to buy each one, and when, changes what you pay and what deadline you face. Below: where to shop for both, what a mailed greeting really costs once postage is counted, the mistakes worth skipping, and five picks.
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Christmas Cards Explained: What They Are and Who They Help
A Christmas card is a greeting card, usually folded and paired with a matching envelope, mailed during the Christmas and holiday season to carry a short handwritten message. The custom began in London in 1843, when civil servant Henry Cole commissioned a printed design so he could answer his correspondence faster. The Greeting Card Association, the US trade group representing card publishers, still ranks the December holidays as the largest sending occasion on the calendar.
A boxed set gives you 20 to 50 copies of one design at the lowest cost per piece. Photo cards are printed to order from your image, which is why they carry a calendar deadline a box does not. Three groups keep the tradition alive: older relatives tracking an extended family by mail, parents sending a family photo to loved ones, and small businesses thanking clients with something physical.
How to Choose Christmas Cards: Features That Matter
Pick the format first, then the paper, then the extras. Everything else follows.
Paper weight and finish. Cover stock is measured in pounds or gsm, and heavier stock resists curling and print bleed. Matte suits typography, glossy flatters photographs. Foil stamping presses metallic detail into the surface under heat; embossing raises it.
Envelopes and postage. Confirm one envelope is included per piece. Square shapes are the trap: the Postal Service applies a nonmachinable surcharge to square mail, so an elegant format quietly raises your bill. Check current USPS rates before you commit.
Personalization and addressing. Custom printing lets you personalize the message, add a signature or a company logo, and select a layout. The real time-saver is recipient addressing, where the printer puts each name and address on the outside. Some services bundle it, some charge extra.
Religious or secular design. Symbols run from a wreath or snowy landscape to nativity artwork on religious Christmas cards, plus minimalist type and cartoon humor. A mixed list is the usual reason buyers order two boxes.
Quantity breaks and lead time. Custom pricing steps down at set quantities, often 25, 50 and 100, so price the next tier up before checkout. Printed orders also need production plus shipping: ordering by early December at the latest is the safe rule for arrival before the 25th.
| Format | Typical cost each | What drives the all-in cost |
|---|---|---|
| Boxed set, 20 to 50 count | Under $1 | Postage, usually more than the paper |
| Photo print, custom | $1 to $3 | Printing plus addressing |
| Single premium card | $3 to $8 | The piece itself |
To price an order:
- Count your list honestly, then add five. Someone always gets forgotten.
- Multiply by the per-piece price of your format.
- Add current first-class postage per piece, plus any surcharge for square or rigid envelopes.
- Add addressing if it costs extra, then compare the total against the next format up.
Budget your postage stamps alongside the design, and coordinate with your holiday wrapping paper if the mailing should match.
Christmas Card Buying Mistakes to Skip
The most expensive mistake is paying December prices for a holiday paper product. Two more cost buyers real money.
Buying at full price in season. Boxed designs typically reach shelves in October and are marked down after December 25, the same clearance cycle that hits artificial Christmas trees. Buying a season ahead is the largest saving here.
Ignoring the envelope shape. The United States Postal Service, the federal agency handling domestic mail, charges extra for square and oversized pieces, so confirm the shape before buying fifty.
Missing the printer’s order-by date. Every photo service publishes a cutoff for delivery before December 25, and it sits earlier than people assume. Miss it and you pay rush fees, if a slot is open.
Which Stores Carry Christmas Cards
Physical shelves run on a calendar. Assortments typically arrive in October alongside the Christmas decorations and the holiday lights, peak in early December, and vanish by mid-January. Call ahead in early autumn rather than driving out.
Hallmark Gold Crown Stores
Hallmark, the largest greeting card publisher in the United States, runs the deepest holiday stationery aisle of any specialty chain, racked by relationship and by tone. Check the holiday collection online before the drive.
Walmart and Target
Walmart mixes national brands with cheaper store-label boxes and usually posts the lowest shelf price of the big chains; browse their holiday selection. Target leans modern, with a smaller, better-curated assortment. Check current inventory, or walk the seasonal aisle once it is set.
Warehouse, Grocery, Dollar and Craft Stores
Costco sells large boxed assortments at warehouse pricing, though it closed its photo centre, so treat it as a boxed-set stop only. Trader Joe’s runs a small holiday rack that sells out early, and Dollar Tree is cheapest per piece with thinner stock to match. Michaels and Hobby Lobby stock blank card stock and kits for making your own; Paper Source sits at the designer end, with letterpress and foil work. Museum and charity shops, the Smithsonian store among them, sell boxed art the mass chains never carry.
CVS and Walgreens Photo Counters
Both drugstore chains keep a stationery aisle year-round and widen it for the holidays. More useful is the photo counter: both print personalized photo cards for same-day or next-day store pickup, the fallback once every mail-order deadline has passed.
Best Places to Order Christmas Cards Online
Online splits in two: marketplaces that ship a finished box of holiday cards, and print services that make something custom from your photo and text.
Amazon
Amazon, the largest online retailer, carries boxed Christmas cards, individual designs and specialty formats like pop-up and nativity artwork in one search. Sellers vary, so compare listings and check the count before adding to the cart. Browse the full selection on Amazon #ad.
Shutterfly and Snapfish
Both are high-volume photo printers built around family christmas cards, with large template libraries and frequent promotional codes. Discounts generally run deepest outside the December peak, so ordering well ahead beats a last-minute order on price and on stress.
Minted and Etsy
Minted sells designs by independent artists, with foil-pressed and letterpress finishes on heavy stock. Etsy is where independent designers sell editable templates and short printed runs, the best source for unique cards outside the big catalogues. Read seller processing times, not just shipping estimates.
Vistaprint
Vistaprint is the practical pick for business christmas cards and high-volume personal orders. Upload artwork, adjust the layout and text, add a company logo, then go to checkout. Per-piece pricing generally falls as the run grows. Start an order at Vistaprint.
Publisher Sites, Papyrus and Charity Sellers
Hallmark.com carries the full catalogue, including designs the stores never rack. Papyrus closed its own shops, but the brand still turns up online and through other retailers, so treat it as a label rather than a place. Charity sellers such as UNICEF Market usually state how much of the price reaches the cause.
Alternatives to Paper Christmas Cards
Paper is not the only way to send a holiday greeting, and in three situations something else works better.
- Digital greetings. Paperless Post and Canva build email or text designs that arrive instantly, with free and paid tiers. Best when recipients are overseas, or when you are still deciding on December 22.
- A photo print plus a letter. One print with a short year-in-review note says more than a signature alone. Best in a year with actual news: a move, a baby, a graduation.
- New Year greetings. A festive New Year note mailed in early January skips the December crush and still lands inside the season, and those designs are cheap by then.
Our Top Christmas Card Picks
We compared five options on price per piece, paper quality and design range. Ranges below were verified in September 2026 and move with promotions.
Best overall: Hallmark boxed holiday sets. Consistent stock, classic artwork and a range of interior messages. Around $15 to $22 per box. Check price on Amazon
Best budget: American Greetings boxed sets. Lighter stock than the boxes above, and the lowest cost per piece among mainstream brands. Usually $8 to $14 per box. Check price on Amazon
Best for photos: Minted custom prints. Artist-designed templates, heavy stock and finishes including foil. Roughly $1.50 to $3.00 each. Confirm whether addressing is included. Check price on Amazon
Best for personalization: Vistaprint holiday range. Deep control over text, images and layout, and the obvious choice for a business list that needs a logo on every piece. Check price on Amazon
Best religious option: Gallery Collection boxed sets. Nativity and scripture artwork on heavier stock, often with foil accents. Around $20 to $35 per box. Check price on Amazon
Start with the format, not the store. Want a photo print? Price a proof now and order by early December at the latest. If a box will do, watch post-holiday clearance and buy next year’s stock then. Either way, count your list, add postage, and confirm whether addressing is included before you buy Christmas cards you will be hand-writing at midnight.
Common Questions About Christmas Cards
What is the difference between boxed sets and photo cards?
A boxed set is finished stock: many copies of one design, bought off a shelf, ready to sign that night. A photo print is made to order from your image, so it costs more per piece and carries a production deadline.
When do printers stop taking holiday orders?
Cutoffs vary by service and shipping speed, and each printer posts its own dates. Ordering by early December at the latest is the safe general rule, earlier for addressed mail or a logo proof. After that you pay rush fees.
When is the cheapest time to buy?
The week after December 25 and the months that follow, when unsold seasonal stock is cleared. Paper keeps for years if stored flat and dry, so buying a year ahead is the only reliable way to pay well under shelf price.
What does it cost to mail fifty cards?
Take the per-piece price, multiply by fifty, then add fifty first-class stamps at current USPS rates. On a budget box the postage typically exceeds the cost of the paper, which is why upgrading the design costs less than people assume.
Do Christmas cards need a return address?
Not for delivery, but without one an undeliverable envelope cannot come back to you. A return address is also how you learn someone has moved, the cheapest way to clean a mailing list for next year.
Are Christmas cards recyclable?
Plain paper ones usually go in with your regular paper stream. Remove foil, glitter, ribbon and plastic coating first, because those contaminate the batch. Glossy or laminated photo prints are often rejected outright, so recycled uncoated stock is the greener choice.
About This Guide
The wheretobuyguides.com editorial team checked retailer stock and pricing for this guide in September 2026. Price ranges are planning guidance, not quotes, and postage rates change, so confirm both before placing a large order. Pair the mailing with matching stationery and a few Christmas ornaments.