Last day to mail a Christmas card
December mail is the slowest of the year, and Christmas cards are the easiest to send late. Here's the last day to mail so yours arrives before the 25th — not in January.
Mail by — 2026
Friday, December 18, 2026
So it arrives safely before Christmas on Friday, December 25, 2026. Cutting it close? Tuesday, December 22, 2026is the latest we'd risk. That's 165 days from today.
Planning ahead? For 2027, mail by Monday, December 20, 2027 (Christmas is Saturday, December 25, 2027).
How we got that date
First-class mail typically takes 3–5 business days, and weekends don't count. We work back 5 business days from Christmas so the card lands a day or two early — early reads as thoughtful, late reads as forgotten. Around the holidays, mail volume runs heavy, so the buffer matters more than usual.
Timing and message tips
December is the single heaviest mailing month; the safe deadline is earlier than you'd guess — mail by mid-December, not the week of.
Holiday cards are the one time a year distant friends hear from you. A single specific line about the year beats a photo with no note.
Doing a big list — 20, 40, 100 cards? Address them all in one sitting; that's the multi-send moment we're built for.
For international, add a week or more; overseas December mail is genuinely slow.
Don't rely on remembering the deadline
Set a free reminder and we'll nudge you before the mailing window closes — with time to spare. Want to skip the post office entirely? we'll print, hand-write, stamp and mail it for you so it arrives on time. From $7.99, postage included.