Guide · Practical
When to Send Christmas Cards
The best time to send Christmas cards is early enough that they arrive in the week or two before Christmas, and late enough that they don’t land in the middle of fall. In practice, that means mailing cards within your own country in the first half of December, and cards going abroad in late November or the very first days of December. The rest of this guide explains how to work that out for your own list, and what to do if the season gets away from you.
The short answer
| Where the card is going | When to send it |
|---|---|
| Across town or within your own country | First half of December |
| To another country | Late November to the first days of December |
| To a military address overseas | Late November to early December, checking the official dates |
| A card sent online | Any time, including Christmas Eve, or scheduled for the day you choose |
These are comfortable windows, not deadlines. The real deadlines are the last recommended mailing dates each postal service publishes, and they change every year. We keep them on separate pages so they stay accurate: the USPS holiday mailing deadlines for 2026, Royal Mail’s dates for UK post and An Post’s deadlines for Ireland.
When should a Christmas card arrive?
Aim for the week or two before Christmas. A card that arrives then gets read while people are thinking about Christmas, and it has time to sit on the mantel, hang on a ribbon or stand on the windowsill for the rest of the season. In the UK and Ireland, many families string their cards up or line them along a shelf; the earlier ones get the best spots.
There is a second reason to aim before Christmas rather than for it: in many families the most important moment is not December 25 at all.
When Christmas Eve is the big night
For many families with roots in Germany, Poland, Scandinavia and other parts of Europe, Christmas Eve is the main celebration. In Poland it is Wigilia, the Christmas Eve supper; in Germany, Sweden and Norway presents are traditionally opened on the evening of December 24. If you’re writing to family there, or to relatives here who keep those customs, a card that arrives on the 26th has missed the moment. Treat December 23 as your target, and mail accordingly.
Advent: cards that keep the season company
Advent starts four Sundays before Christmas. In 2026 the first Sunday of Advent is November 29. Some people like their cards to arrive early in Advent so they can be enjoyed through December, a little like an Advent calendar filling up on the shelf. If that appeals to you, mailing in the last days of November or the first week of December works well, and it happens to suit international mail too.
Not before Thanksgiving
In the U.S., many people think of the Christmas season as starting after Thanksgiving, which falls on November 26 in 2026. A Christmas card that lands in mid-November can feel a little early to some people. For cards going abroad there is no such issue; a card for Ireland or Britain mailed the week after Thanksgiving is right on time.
A simple timeline, working backward
The easiest way to get the timing right is to start from Christmas and count back.
- Early November: the list. Update addresses while you still have time to ask for the ones you’re missing. People move more often than our address books admit. If you need a refresher on envelope conventions, our guide to addressing envelopes for couples, families and households covers them.
- Mid-November: stamps and cards. Buy them before the lines (or queues) start. Check whether any card is square, thick or decorated, since those can need extra postage.
- Late November: the far-away cards. Write and mail the ones going to other countries and to military addresses first. These are the cards with the earliest deadlines and the longest journeys.
- First week of December: the long-distance domestic cards. Relatives on the other side of the country, old friends you only write to once a year.
- Second week of December: everyone nearby. Neighbors, colleagues, friends across town. Cards you can hand-deliver need no deadline at all.
- After the last mailing date: switch to email or text. If someone is still missing, a card sent online can reach them in time (see below).
If you write a long annual letter, start it in early November. It’s the part that always takes longest.
Sending cards abroad
International mail is where timing goes wrong most often. Cards travel through two postal services, customs and the busiest sorting weeks of the year. Two habits help:
- Check both ends. The country you’re mailing from sets the last date to send, but the card still has to cross the other country’s postal system before it reaches the door. If your family in Ireland is writing to you in Boston, they are working to An Post’s dates; you are working to USPS’s.
- Send before you’re ready to send everything else. The far-away cards don’t have to wait for the rest. Write them first, mail them in a small batch and enjoy having them done.
For families split between countries, the timing is part of the message. A card that arrives early says you were thinking of them before the rush.
Is it ever too late?
Not really, though the message may change.
- The week before Christmas: mail anything local straight away and use the fastest service for the rest. A card from a few streets away can still be delivered by hand.
- Between Christmas and New Year: a late Christmas card is still welcome; there are twelve days of Christmas, after all. A short line saying it’s late is all the apology it needs. Or send a New Year card instead, which is never late until January is well underway. Our New Year wishes for cards and messages can help with the words.
- Early January: in Ireland, January 6 is Nollaig na mBan, Women’s Christmas, and in much of Europe it is Epiphany. For some families that is still part of the season.
Cards sent online: timing without the mail
An animated card sent by email, or shared as a link by text or WhatsApp, doesn’t depend on postal deadlines at all. That makes it handy for the last few names on the list, and for people you would otherwise miss: friends who are traveling, relatives whose new address you don’t have, someone you only remembered on December 22.
With Paper Lantern you can send a card straight away or choose the date it should arrive, so you can write it in a quiet moment in November and let it go out on Christmas Eve. Email is quick but not infallible, so tell the recipient to look out for it, and to check their spam folder if it doesn’t appear. Our step-by-step guide to sending a card online shows how it works, and you can browse all the Christmas cards to pick a scene.
Questions
When should I mail Christmas cards in the U.S.?
For cards within the U.S., the first half of December is comfortable. USPS publishes a recommended last date for First-Class Mail each year; check our page on this year’s USPS send-by dates for the exact day.
How early is too early to send Christmas cards?
Before mid-November, most cards will feel early, and in the U.S. many people wait until after Thanksgiving. Cards going overseas are the exception: late November is right for them.
Should cards arrive before Christmas Eve?
If your recipient celebrates mainly on Christmas Eve, yes: aim for December 23 at the latest. Otherwise, any day in the week before Christmas is ideal.
Is it rude to send Christmas cards late?
No. A warm card in the last days of December is far better than none. If you’d like to be correct about it, send New Year wishes instead. For more on who to send cards to and what’s expected, see our guide to card manners; for the words themselves, how to write the message, step by step; and for the last line, ways to sign off from one person or a whole family.