The Easiest Way to Send Christmas Cards, Ranked (2026)
The easiest way to send Christmas cards is to have them printed, addressed, stamped and mailed for you from a list you paste. On ShipNote that takes about 15 minutes for 50 cards: pick a design, write one message, paste your list, and pay $1.99 a card on 10 or more, postage included. Nothing to address, stamp or carry to the post office.
Below are the five ways people send Christmas cards, ranked from the least work to the most, with what each one costs for 50 cards. Disclosure: ShipNote is our product. Competitor prices are list prices read on each company's own site between October 18 and November 13, 2026, with no codes or sales applied: Shutterfly's 5x7 flat card on November 13, and the rest as dated in our roundup of Christmas card services. The times are our own estimates for 50 cards, start to mailbox; your pace will differ.
What is the easiest way to send Christmas cards?
A service that mails the cards for you from a list you paste. The work in a Christmas card is not the card. It is the list: typing 50 addresses, then addressing, stuffing, sealing and stamping 50 envelopes. Hand that part off, and the job shrinks to choosing a design and writing one message.
| Rank | How you send them | What you do | Your time for 50 cards | All-in per card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mailed for you, from a pasted list (ShipNote) | Pick a design, write one message, paste your list | About 15 minutes | $1.99 on 10 or more |
| 2 | A card company's mailing add-on (Paper Culture, Shutterfly, Postable) | Design the card, then enter every address in the company's address book | 45 to 60 minutes | $4.08 to $5.41 |
| 3 | Printed cards you mail yourself (Minted, Simply to Impress) | Design the card, address the envelopes (Minted prints them free), then stuff, seal, stamp and post 50 | About 2 hours | $2.75 to $3.30 with the stamp |
| 4 | Boxed cards, written by hand | Write a note, address, seal and stamp every card | About 3.5 hours | The box, plus an 82¢ stamp each |
| 5 | An e-card or a photo text | Send a link | Minutes | Free to a few dollars, but nothing arrives in the mailbox |
How we got the times: 15 minutes for ShipNote is a design, a message, a paste and a check of the list. The address-book step at a card company runs about a minute a household when you type it. Stuffing, sealing, labeling and stamping an envelope is about a minute a card, and writing a short note by hand adds two to three more.
Why is mailing from a list the easiest way?
Because it skips the two slowest steps: the address book and the envelopes. Most card companies sell you a box of cards. Even when they offer to mail them, every recipient has to go into their address book first, typed in or imported one format at a time. ShipNote starts from the list you already have.
- Paste any list. A spreadsheet, a contacts export, last year's Christmas card list or an email thread. AI pulls out the names and addresses, so you never retype them.
- Every address is checked before you pay. Each one is checked against USPS records. A row with no address is flagged, and you can send that person a link to fill in their own.
- No envelopes, no stamps. A ShipNote Christmas card is a 4x6 postcard: your design on the front, your message, the address and First-Class postage printed on the back.
- No trip to the post office. Cards are mailed the next business day, and most arrive 4–7 business days after they mail.
- Pick the day they mail. Order now, and hold the cards for a day in the first week of December.
What is the cheapest way to send Christmas cards?
The cheapest way we found to have every card mailed for you, with no membership and each card greeting its own person by name, is ShipNote, at $1.99 a card on 10 or more with postage included. For 50 cards that is $99.50, against $204.00 at Shutterfly ($245.00 if its postage is extra), $217.50 at Paper Culture and $270.50 at Postable with their mailing services.
| 50 Christmas cards, mailed for you | Total | Per card |
|---|---|---|
| ShipNote | $99.50 | $1.99 |
| Shutterfly ($2.59 card + $1.49 Mail for Me) | $204.00 | $4.08 |
| Paper Culture ($2.44 card + $1.09 Mailed For You + an 82¢ stamp) | $217.50 | $4.35 |
| Postable ($4.59 on 20 or more + an 82¢ stamp) | $270.50 | $5.41 |
Cards you mail yourself can cost less per card than these services. A box of cards plus an 82¢ Forever stamp each is the lowest cash price there is. But it is the slowest way on this list, and the postage alone on 50 cards in envelopes is $41.00. If cost is the whole question, our Christmas card price comparison lines up card prices from more than ten companies, all-in with the stamp.
How do you send Christmas cards the easy way?
Pick a holiday design, write one message, paste your list and pay. Here is the whole job on ShipNote, start to finish:
- Choose a front. Browse our Christmas postcards: a full-bleed family photo, or a painted design with no photo at all. Christian families can pick a nativity or scripture front from our religious Christmas cards.
- Write one message. Start each card with
[RECIPIENT]and it greets its own person by name. - Paste your list. Copy it from wherever it lives. If you are starting from nothing, our free Christmas card list template has the columns you need. US addresses only.
- Review and pay. Check the cards, fix anything flagged, and pay. To have them mail later, choose "On a date I choose" under Delivery at checkout.
To arrive by Christmas Eve, order by December 14, 2026. Earlier is easier on everyone in December, and the first week of the month is the sweet spot.
Christmas postcards, addressed from your list and mailed with First-Class postage. $1.99 a card on 10 or more.
What makes the other ways slower?
The address book, the envelopes and the post office. Each is small for one card and big for 50.
- The address book. A card company's mailing service still needs every name and address in its own system. If your list is a spreadsheet, a contacts app and a few addresses in old texts, that means merging it all by hand first.
- The envelopes. Printed labels help, but you still stuff, seal, label and stamp each one. A square card also needs extra postage, because USPS charges more for envelopes that can't go through its machines.
- The stamps and the trip. Fifty Forever stamps is two and a half sheets, and a stack of 50 envelopes is usually one more stop at the post office in the busiest month of its year.
If you are missing addresses, that is the slowest step of all. Our guide to getting addresses for Christmas cards covers where to find them.
When is the slower way worth it?
When the card itself is the gift. A folded card in a lined envelope, foil pressing, a long handwritten letter or a photo print tucked inside is a different thing from a postcard, and some people on your list will keep it on the mantel for a month. For those, the extra hours are the point.
Two more reasons to pick another way: cards to people outside the US (ShipNote mails to US addresses only), and a list of five or six people, where writing by hand is quick anyway. For everyone else on a list of 20, 50 or 100, mailing from your list is the easiest way to get it done. The full walkthrough, from building the list to the mail-by date, is in how to send Christmas cards.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest way to send Christmas cards?
Have a service print, address, stamp and mail them from a list you paste. On ShipNote you pick a design, write one message, paste your list from any spreadsheet or contacts export, and pay $1.99 a card on 10 or more. Every card is mailed First-Class the next business day, with nothing to address, stamp or post.
What is the cheapest way to send Christmas cards?
ShipNote, at $1.99 a card on 10 or more with postage included, is the cheapest way we found to have every card mailed for you, with no membership and each card greeting its own person by name. Cards you buy, address and stamp yourself can cost less per card, but you pay for them in hours: about three and a half for 50 handwritten cards, by our estimate.
How long does it take to send 50 Christmas cards?
About 15 minutes if a service mails them from a list you paste, by our estimate. About two hours if you order printed cards and print address labels, then stuff, seal and stamp each envelope. About three and a half hours if you write and address every card by hand.
Can I send Christmas cards without addressing envelopes?
Yes. Use a service that prints the address for you. A ShipNote Christmas card is a 4x6 postcard with the address and postage printed on the back, so there is no envelope at all. You paste your list once, and every address is checked against USPS records before you pay.
Do I need an account to send Christmas cards on ShipNote?
No. Pick a design, write your message, paste your list and pay. There is no subscription and no address book to build first. Your order page link lets you check on the cards after they mail.
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