The Best Holiday Cards

I’m from Tennessee, so maybe it’s a Southern thing, but 90% of the cards that I receive and 100% of the cards that I send, are family photo cards. I love seeing everyone’s growing family!

I bought those exact pinball machines, but realized later that so did my mother in law!

My next door neighbor used to send us pop up cards every year when I was growing up. She died twenty years ago, but we still use her cards as ornaments, with her little handwritten notes attached!

Every year, my favorite NY museum holiday tradition is collecting the annual Met Museum star and snowflake (or waiting until after Christmas when they’re half off, haha). The Met has been releasing them since the early 70’s – before my time, but I’ve filled in the gaps in my collection with help from ebay. They’re really beautiful, but I don’t know anyone else who collects them. Their motifs are pulled from objects in the Met’s collection and they’re so beautifully wrought in sterling silver. I like to think my kids will continue to hang them for generations after me.

They’re not at all festive though…

Hooray for MoMA cards! My favorite are the ones designed by Caldecott medalist Sophie Blackall (illustrator of Ivy& Bean series, A Fine Dessert, Hello Lighthouse, etc.):
https://store.moma.org/holiday/holiday-cards/urban-holiday-holiday-cards-box-of-8/103853-103853.html?cgid=holiday-hoilday-cards#start=51
MoMa used to carry 2-3 card designs by her; I wish they’d bring more back. I bought boxes and boxes of them a year or two ago at a ridiculous discount right before Christmas — I think they were 70% off. I like to give them to my kids’ teachers because they are familiar with her books. I also love the modern nativity cards — it’s hard to find well-designed, modern cards with a religious message so I appreciate that MoMa includes them.
Such a great post! Add my vote for a future post about how to write a good holiday letter or personal note in your holiday cards. I nominate Jenny Rosenstrach as author. :-)

I find the best, most random holiday cards (or any occasion cards) at Goodwill. Some of them are really old and amazing. Fun to see what kind of treasures you can find there.

I always buy the MOMA cards in January for the next year, when they have great sales!

oh no no no! I know there’s a point to giving your readers the best chance at the greatest selection (and I’ve always loved MOMA cards and sent many over the years, so great choice) but please do not throw the late December holidays at us on November 2! Ack!

I love this! My mother-in-law buys hundreds of MOMA pop-up cards each year, and everyone knows and looks forward to her super fun cards. My one-year-old niece carried it around in her little purse for a whole year, she loved it so much. MOMA cards are the best!

I love the holiday cards at Papyrus, I just bought four (I KNOW, I AM A CHRISTMAS WEIRDO) boxes of some super cute designs. Every year I sit down, pour a glass of wine, throw on The Muppet Christmas Carol, and write out my cards. I love the tradition.

I love sending holiday cards! Since I was little, I have designed, drawn, and illustrated a different holiday card each year (shout out to my mom for encouraging me to be artistic from a young age!). It’s given me an appreciation for sending mail to loved ones near and far. It’s also nice to look back over the years and see how my drawing style has evolved :)

Thanks for this walk back in time. I have given out so many MOMA holiday cards over the years. They continue to be some of my faves.

I love sending cards to people during the Holiday season – it just makes me feel so incredibly festive!!

Rebecca

These are seriously so cute!!

Hannah

Love the MOMA cards. The LOVE card has been one of my favorites. Also, love the snowy pine in the new collection. And Maurice Sendak – so amazing!

I enjoy holiday cards very much, but these are not holiday cards; these are Christmas cards. Call it what it is.

As a Jew, I can promise that I will never buy a “holiday” card with holly, a reindeer, or a red and green color theme. A few more neutral options, a Hanukkah card, or a few more New Years cards would have been nice.

Don’t mean to be grinchy, I just assumed that if we were using “holiday” it would encompass more than one holiday.

I always sent cards from Unicef–cute cards, good cause. I get two different designs and give one of them to my mother as a Thanksgiving present. A retired schoolteacher, my mother likes designs with children, but we inevitably end up swapping a few cards, so we each get a few of both designs. This year: maybe some cheerful children and a smug but stylish moose?

https://www.market.unicefusa.org/p/wonderful-world-unicef-holiday-cards-set-of/U1055/

https://www.market.unicefusa.org/p/unicef-holiday-cards-boxed-set-of-12-the-moose/U33417/

I totally love the LOVE card! And I love the snowy pine card in their new collection. I will definitely be sending that to my grandchildren. What is so great about the MOMA collection is that you can find something gorgeous for everyone. And they are all so artistic and beautiful. The Maurice Sendak card is lovely.

Oooh, those Ben Shahn & Ivan Chermayeff cards are lovely.
I love receiving, and sending, holiday cards! I hang all of our received cards as a garland on our mantle and they stay up until Valentine’s Day each year ; )
I used to really enjoy choosing my Christmas cards & MoMA always had a great collection of graphic and clever cards. Now I send a photo card but I still look at MoMA’s catalogue each year!

Well, reading this just cost me $30 because I found a christmas card I didnt resist.

Oh shoot, I clicked on this thinking it would be about the best cards like–an honest and personally written note or a picture of your family on a trip together was more well liked than staged. These MoMA cards are so beautiful but maybe there’s an idea for another post in there?

I admit, at first glance i was like, WHAT, HOLIDAY CARDS ALREADY?!?! but these are really truly awesome cards. i need to get my butt in gear and grab some instead of waiting too long and having only boring options left! thank you for sharing these with us!

What great, sponsored content!!! Thanks COJ and MoMA!

These cards are gorgeous!! I love buying unique cards from artists. This year I’m getting a variety pack of cards with Christmas song lyrics (my favorite!) from Andrea Woodlee Design, her cards are quirky and bright and I love being able to picture the person making them with love!

I think I skipped last year for cards. I have a sprinkling of friends over the world from living in France in 2006, and doing two 3 week summer schools there. And I love to keep in touch with people I might one day travel to see! Facebook helps keep in touch though.

Last year’s skipping MAY be because I was a few months out from a four year relationship – so not much ‘good’ news. Actually that was the year prior – man. I’m a wreak.

I don’t buy ‘new’ cards every year – I try to ‘use it up’ the last years, and tend to track who got what cards, so two years running they don’t get the same. Yeah, I’m a little over the top, but it’s me :)