Christmas Card Order Deadlines for 2026, by Service
On ShipNote, order by December 14, 2026 and your Christmas cards arrive by December 24. If you mail cards yourself, USPS's last recommended day for First-Class Mail is Thursday, December 17. Every service that prints and mails the cards for you sets an earlier order date than USPS, because the cards have to be printed, addressed and posted first.
Below is each service's own 2026 date for cards it mails for you, read on its site on November 13, 2026. Where a company publishes no date, we say so and quote what it does say about timing.
What is the last day to order Christmas cards mailed for you in 2026?
| Service | Last day to order, mailed for you | What the date gets you |
|---|---|---|
| ShipNote | Monday, December 14 | Arrives by December 24 |
| Paper Culture, Mailed For You | Tuesday, December 15 | "MOST cards will be delivered by 12/24" |
| Minted, Mail It For Me (standard holiday cards) | Tuesday, December 15 | Mailed Friday, December 18; no delivery date given |
| Shutterfly, Mail for Me | No date published | Production and mailing typically take 5 to 10 business days |
| Postable | No date published | Mailed in 1 to 2 business days, then 2 to 6 days in the mail |
| Snapfish, Mail for me | No date published | 3 to 5 days processing, then 2 to 5 days delivery |
| Walgreens Photo, Mail-for-Me | No date published | No Mail-for-Me row in its holiday deadline table |
| USPS, if you mail them yourself | Mail by Thursday, December 17 | "Recommended" for delivery before December 25 |
Sources: Paper Culture delivery times, Minted shipping, Mail It For Me tab, Shutterfly's holiday shipping guide, Postable FAQ, Snapfish Mail for me, Walgreens holiday shipping and USPS 2026 holiday deadlines, all read November 13, 2026. Dates can change, so check a company's page again before you order on its last day.
What does each company's deadline actually promise?
Not the same thing, so compare what the date gets you, not the date.
- ShipNote: December 14 is an order date for arrival by December 24. Cards are printed and mailed the next business day, Tuesday, December 15, two days before USPS's recommended date.
- Paper Culture: order by December 15 and most cards arrive by December 24, by USPS First-Class Mail.
- Minted: Mail It For Me is offered on some orders only, as Minted rolls it out. Where it is, December 15 is the order date for standard holiday cards mailed on Friday, December 18, the day after USPS's recommended date. Minted says delivery after that "varies by destination and service". Foil cards are December 14, custom foil December 13 and photo-mount cards December 10 to 12. The dates also assume you approve your proof by 11:30pm ET on the day you get it. Minted's later column, order by December 21, mails on December 24, so those cards arrive after Christmas.
- Shutterfly: no Mail for Me date. Its Christmas card timing guide says its holiday shipping dates "apply to receiving your Shutterfly order, not to the additional time needed to address, stamp, and mail your Christmas cards". At the slow end of its 5 to 10 business days, an order needs to be in by Thursday, December 10 to arrive by December 24. That is our arithmetic, not Shutterfly's date.
- Postable: no holiday date, and it cannot expedite an order. It mails in 1 to 2 business days, so an order by Tuesday, December 15 is in the mail by USPS's December 17. Postable's own advice for holiday cards is "the first week of December".
Why are mailed-for-you deadlines earlier than USPS's?
Because USPS's date is for a card already in the mail. A service that mails for you has to print every card, address it, put postage on it and hand it to USPS first. Proof approval adds a day at some companies. ShipNote has no proof step: you see every card's back before you pay, exactly as it will print, and the cards are printed and mailed the next business day.
USPS's own date is a recommendation, not a guarantee. Our when to send Christmas cards post works out the odds that a card mailed on December 17 still arrives by Christmas Eve, from USPS's on-time figures.
How do you order Christmas cards now and have them mailed in December?
Order today and pick the day they mail. At checkout on ShipNote, under Delivery, choose "On a date I choose". Your cards wait until that day, then print and mail. Nothing about the deadline above changes: the last day to order for Christmas Eve is still December 14.
- Choose a front. Start from our Christmas postcards: your family photo, a greeting and your family name.
- Write one message. Start it
Dear [RECIPIENT],and every card greets its own person by name. You can open any card on the Review step and give it a different message. - Paste your list. A spreadsheet, a contacts export, last year's card list or an email: AI pulls out each name and address, and each address is checked against USPS records. No account, and no typing addresses.
- Pay and pick the mail day. Each card is printed, addressed, stamped with First-Class postage and mailed for $1.99 a card on 10 or more. One card is $2.49. Most arrive 4–7 business days after they mail.
Order now and pick the day they mail. Photo Christmas postcards, $1.99 a card on 10 or more, postage included.
What if you miss the Christmas deadline?
Send a New Year's card instead. Change the greeting to HAPPY NEW YEAR and send the same cards to the same list: they land in the week between Christmas and New Year's, which is still inside the season. Our is it too late to send Christmas cards? post walks through every date after December 14.
Frequently asked questions
What is the last day to order Christmas cards in 2026?
For cards mailed for you: December 14, 2026 on ShipNote, for arrival by December 24. Minted and Paper Culture take orders until December 15. If you mail the cards yourself, USPS's last recommended day for First-Class Mail is Thursday, December 17.
What is Shutterfly's Mail for Me deadline for Christmas 2026?
Shutterfly has not published one. Its holiday shipping dates cover cards shipped to you, and it says those dates do not include the time to address, stamp and mail them. Its guide says production and mailing typically take 5 to 10 business days.
What is Minted's Mail It For Me deadline for Christmas 2026?
Order standard holiday cards by Tuesday, December 15 and Minted mails them on Friday, December 18. Foil and photo-mount cards have earlier dates. Minted's date is a mail date, not an arrival date, and it falls a day after USPS's recommended December 17.
Can I order Christmas cards now and have them mailed later?
Yes. On ShipNote, choose a later mail date at checkout and pick the day. Your cards are printed and mailed then, so you can finish the job in November and still have them land in December.
Related reading
- Best Christmas card services that mail them for you: every service's all-in price per card.
- When to send Christmas cards: the best week to mail, from USPS on-time data.
- Is it too late to send Christmas cards?: what to do after December 14.
- Christmas cards with a different message for each person: a personal note on any card.
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