Holiday Card Etiquette: Answers to Every Question

Ideally, your holiday cards should be delivered to your friends, family, and colleagues within two to three weeks of the holiday that you’re celebrating. Typically, USPS takes 1-5 days to deliver your cards to domestic addresses, but keep in mind that the postal service can experience delays during the end-of-year holidays. So putting your Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year cards in the mail a little bit early is never a bad idea.

Here are mailing windows to keep in mind for major holidays that you might be sending cards for:

• Rosh Hashanah 2026: September 20 - 24
• Halloween 2026: October 20 - 26
• Diwali 2026: October 31 - November 3
• Thanksgiving 2026: November 16 - 20
• Christmas 2026: December 4 - 17
• Hanukkah 2026: November 27 - December 4
• Kwanzaa 2026: December 4 - 21
• New Year 2027: December 14 - 21
• Lunar New Year 2027: January 27 - February 1
• Valentine’s Day 2027: February 2 - 9
• Eid 2027: February 27 - March 4
• Easter 2027: March 17 - March 23

Don’t stress if you miss these windows. There is absolutely a grace period for sending holiday cards a little bit late. We’ve shared everything you need to know in our guide to sending late holiday cards — including how to make late cards feel intentional, and not like an afterthought — but know that most people will be happy to receive a card one to two weeks after the holiday has passed.

When it comes to addressing holiday cards, clarity and following mailing conventions is key. Here’s the proper format of domestic addresses:

First Name Last Name
Street Address, Unit Number (if applicable)
City, State Zip Code

Be sure to print addresses as legibly as possible (or use a service like Minted’s free recipient addressing when ordering your holiday cards) in the center of the front of your envelopes. Your return address should follow the same format, and can be printed in either the top left-hand corner of the front of the envelope or on the back flap.

While addressing itself is pretty simple, it can be surprisingly challenging to get the name line just right. Here’s how to tackle the most common situations:

• Pluralizing last names: Never pluralize a last name by adding ‘s, as the apostrophe signifies the possessive. Instead, simply add an s or es to the end of the last name to address your holiday card to the whole family. Correct: The Smiths, The Millses, The Gonzalezes. Incorrect: The Smith’s, The Mills’, The Gonzalez’s .
• Addressing families: Address families by using “The” and adding an s or es to their last name. For example, The Smiths. For something slightly more formal, you could also address your cards to The Smith Family. Finally, you could name each member of the family in the address. For example, Jim, Margaret, Kelly, and Chase Smith.
• Couples with different last names: For unmarried couples or married couples with different last names, list the full name of each person on the address. For example, Katie Day and Jeffery Ward.
• Families with different last names: There are a few different approaches you can take in this scenario. The simplest is to hyphenate the last name of both parents. For example. “The Smith-Mills Family.” Or, list the full names of both parents on the first line of the address, then list the first names of any children under 18 on the second, followed by the standard format for street address, city, state, and zip code.

No matter what you celebrate, the holidays are meant for spreading love and finding ways to connect with your community. Choosing an inclusive greeting for your holiday card is a great way to make everyone feel uplifted in the spirit of the season.

Here are a few agnostic/secular greeting ideas for holiday cards that go beyond “Happy Holidays!”:

• Wishing you joy and happiness
• Warm wishes
• Merry everything!
• Make it merry
• Happy, happy, happy

If you want to include others in your tradition, we recommend using traditional greetings, paired with something more inclusive that speaks to the essence of the holiday. For example…

• Rosh Hashanah: Shana Tova! Wishing you a sweet year ahead.
• Diwali: Happy Diwali! May the festival of light bring joy, peace, health, and happiness to you and your family.
• Hanukkah: Happy Hanukkah — sending your family peace, love, and light this holiday season.
• Christmas: Merry Christmas! May this season bring your family peace, joy, and blessings.
• Eid: Eid Mubarak! May your day be filled with food, laughter, and good company.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to choosing the design of your holiday card. To help find the right style for you, consider…

• Start with Your Photos. Consider if you want to share just one favorite photo, a handful of pictures, or even a full 12 shots for a year-in-review holiday card.
• Size. Traditional Christmas cards are 7” x 5”, but that’s not your only option. Stand out from the crowd with a postcard or petite card, or go big and bold with a grand 8” x 6” card. (Although be aware that larger cards may incur additional postage.)
• Design style. Traditional, vintage, editorial, nostalgic…find a design that matches both the vibe of the photo that you’ve chosen and your family’s personality. From there, you can choose to layer in additional elements like stripes, bold typography, borders, and more.
• Special accents. Give your card a bit of holiday magic by opting for a style with glowing foil-pressed details. Or, go sophisticated with letterpress typography and design elements.

Want more inspiration? We’ve put together a guide to our favorite holiday card ideas if you’re looking for a deep dive into this year’s trends!

Most of the etiquette rules that we’ve covered so far in this article apply if you’re working on corporate or professional Christmas cards, but there are a few additional things to keep in mind to ensure you make the right impression.

• Keep messages inclusive. Don’t assume that your colleagues, clients, and business partners celebrate the same way you do. Keeping things open and inclusive ensures everyone feels appreciated.
• Match your formality to your relationship and company culture. Creative careers can afford to be a bit more casual, while an overly funny message coming from a law firm may not strike the right tone. The same goes for cards sent internally to your department and externally to your vendors, clients, and customers.
• Send your cards early. While you can get away with sending Christmas or New Year’s cards a few weeks late to your friends and family, plan ahead to ensure your cards arrive no later than a week before the holidays.

Want more guidance on how to craft your corporate holiday cards? Read our full guide to how to word professional cards here.

The etiquette for signing cards is simple: always include a hand-written signature! We love the human element this adds. It shows you’ve taken the time to personally touch each card, making them feel even more thoughtful. Close out your card with a final short holiday greeting or well wish, then use one of the signing options below.

• Couples: Sign cards with just your first names if you’re sending to your friends and family. If you’re married, you can use Mr. and Mrs. — which we especially love for newlyweds!
• Families: Sign on behalf of your whole family by using “the” — for example, The Smiths. Or sign each individual family member’s first name. Bonus points if you get everyone to sign their own name!
• Businesses: If you run a boutique firm or very small business, feel free to sign off with everyone’s names. Otherwise, sign with something like The Team at Minted or Your Minted Family.

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this article, but there’s even more you can explore.

• Christmas Card Etiquette. In this guide, we break down everything you need to know to get your Christmas cards just right — from who to send them to, what to say, and how to ensure they arrive on time.
• Sending Late Holiday Cards. Missed the deadline? Don’t sweat it. In this article, our stationery experts share how to send a late holiday card with grace.
• Sending Business Holiday Cards. From how to balance your corporate culture with warm holiday wishes to what to say to clients, colleagues, and customers, this guide contains what you need to know if you’ve been tasked with sending your company’s holiday cards.