5 Easy Steps: How to Write a Great Christmas Card

November 21, 2008 by Rita Marshall 

Of all the fuzzy feelings Christmas brings, there’s a special serenity in knowing your Christmas cards are done and in the mail. Make your way through your list quickly and genuinely with these five easy steps:

1. Choose the Right Card

Some people make everything by hand. I buy prepackaged Christmas cards, but I choose ones that have preprinted verses in the same spirit as my basic feelings about the season. No matter how different my individual messages will end up being, I make sure the phrase agrees with them all.

2. Know Your Audience

With Christmas cards we send out well wishes to everyone in our lives no matter how big or small a role they play. But your message must honestly take into account how big or small a role they play.

For some acquaintances, a Christmas card is pretty much the only contact I have. My message will be sincere, but brief. They don’t need to be burdened with every experience I’ve had in the last 12 months.

I have family overseas where my Christmas card is also my main contact. I share personal information with them, and updated photos.

Close family here don’t get Christmas cards at all. They get to see me Christmas Day all jazzed up on red wine and turkey stuffing.

Go through your Christmas list and decide who needs a brief message, who needs more personal information and who doesn’t need a card at all.

3. Acknowledge Your Audience

The focus of your card should be on the reader. Acknowledge the role they play in your life: “Nancy, you’ve been so much help to me in my first year at Kimpex…”"Mrs. Jenkins, you’ve been a wonderful teacher…”
If it’s someone from your past, acknowledge the importance they hold for you: “John and Justine, we’re thinking of the great times we’ve had in London…”

4. Interest Your Audience

Information about yourself should have some relation to your reader. “I’m really enjoying Kimpex, thanks to you and the other great ladies in accounting…” “I finally get math now, thanks to your explanations…” “There’s a restaurant here that reminds us of our old hangout The Only…”

5. Wish Your Audience Well

Beyond a merry Christmas, what else do you wish for your reader? Best wishes for life-changing events like a new baby, a new house or a new job are an important and easy mention. You might also want to wish them continued success at work, enjoyment with visiting family from out-of-town or strength and peace if it’s a first holiday without a loved one. (As a rule, any acknowledgement of loss or suffering should be followed by something positive. Never end on a sad note. Christmas is a joyful time!)

The above examples are three or four line messages for acquaintances. The same pattern can be expanded for closer recipients. It’s easy to write more when it’s someone you’re close to, as long as you remember that, like Christmas, your card focuses on others!