Celebrate the reason for the season with these Christmas cards

Christmas is coming, and with it the obligation to send Christmas cards. It’s an obligation that is increasingly easy to shirk. These days, even to send a proper email can seem a profligate expenditure of our precious time and energy. As for a message handwritten on actual paper and dispatched through the U.S Postal Service — do you take us for some kind of idle nobleman?

We might be chagrined to realize that this tradition some of us (this writer included) find so onerous was itself invented as a labor-saving convenience. It was the brainchild of English inventor and civil servant Sir Henry Cole, who found himself overwhelmed by the unanswered mail that tended to pile up during the holidays. In 1843 he commissioned his artist friend John Callcott Horsley to create a simple holiday greeting he could send to each correspondent without undue effort. He then had this card printed (an image of which you can see above) and offered to the public for sale. It was a commercial flop, but the tradition of Christmas cards obviously eventually caught on.

If you’d like to create your own personalized photo cards, Shutterfly offers easy-to-use templates, dependable, fast delivery, and frequent discounts. For something a bit more luxe, try Shutterfly subsidiary Tiny Prints. Like Shutterfly, the California-based company prints its cards in the USA. Another good option is Paper Culture. Yes, they do go on about “sustainability,” but the designs are nice, and what’s the harm of planting some trees?

Minted is a bit too invested in DEI for us to recommend wholeheartedly, but we applaud the company's work with independent designers across the country, particularly those in Minted’s fairly robust “religious” section.

Simple boxed Christmas cards can also help you emphasize the reason for the season. Storied American paper company Crane has been in operation since 1770. In addition to tasteful designs featuring Santa Claus and reindeer, the company offers a beautiful card engraved with an image of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. For less expensive but still high-quality religious Christmas cards, consider the employee-owned, 74-year-old Leanin’ Tree or Indiana-based Warner Press. Rounding out our list is Printery House, run by some hardworking Benedictine monks in the very small town of Conception, Missouri.