When to Send Corporate Christmas Cards in 2026
The best time to send corporate Christmas cards in 2026 is between Monday 7 and Friday 18 December. Christmas Day falls on a Friday this year, so most offices will wind down during the week of 21 December, and cards sent after that risk landing in an out-of-office.
Here's how to plan it, whether you're sending to 20 people or 2,000.
Key dates for Christmas 2026
Date | What's happening | What it means for your cards |
|---|---|---|
October | Planning season | Pick designs, agree budgets, pull together recipient lists |
Mon 16 Nov | Mid-November | Aim to have cards created and messages collected |
Thu 26 Nov | US Thanksgiving | US clients and colleagues are offline; avoid this week for them |
Mon 30 Nov | St Andrew's Day (Scotland bank holiday) | Scottish offices closed |
Fri 4 – Sat 12 Dec | Hanukkah | A good reason to use inclusive wording for mixed lists |
Mon 7 – Fri 11 Dec | Ideal week for client cards | Clients are still at their desks and inboxes are calmer |
Mon 14 – Fri 18 Dec | Ideal week for employee cards | Last full working week before Christmas |
Thu 24 Dec | Christmas Eve | Many businesses close early or all day |
Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day (UK bank holiday) |
|
Mon 28 Dec | Boxing Day substitute (UK bank holiday) | Boxing Day falls on a Saturday this year |
Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day (UK bank holiday) |
|
Mon 4 Jan 2027 | 2 January substitute (Scotland bank holiday) | Scottish teams back a day later |
UK bank holiday dates: GOV.UK bank holidays.
When to send Christmas cards to clients
Send client cards in the first half of December, ideally the week of 7 December. Clients get busier and start taking leave from mid-month, and an early card stands out before everyone else's arrives.
If you work with clients abroad, send a little earlier. US clients are often winding down after Thanksgiving, and many teams in Australia and New Zealand head into their summer break before Christmas.
When to send Christmas cards to employees
For your own team, the last full working week (14 to 18 December) works best. A card that lands just before people log off feels like a proper send-off for the year. If you're holding a party, sending on the day or the morning after is a nice touch. Need ideas? Here are our office Christmas party ideas.
For shift workers, part-timers and anyone on leave, schedule the card for a day you know they'll see it.
Is it too late to send a Christmas card after Christmas?
Not if you change the message. Between Christmas and the first week of January, switch to a New Year card or an end-of-year thank-you. "Thank you for a brilliant 2026, here's to 2027" works just as well, and lands when people are back and reading.
Your Christmas card planning checklist
October: Agree who's getting cards (employees, clients, partners, suppliers) and your budget.
Early November: Choose a design or brief your designer. Pull recipient lists from your HR system or CRM.
Mid-November: Write your messages. Stuck? Try our Christmas card messages for employees.
Late November: Invite colleagues to sign if you want group messages, and give them a deadline.
By 4 December: Schedule everything. Then relax.
If you're running a gift swap alongside, our virtual Secret Santa guide has you covered.
The easiest way to hit the date: Schedule it
The biggest risk to Christmas cards isn't the wrong date. It's running out of time in December. With Thankbox you can create your cards in November, upload your recipient list as a CSV and schedule your Christmas eCards for the exact day you want them to land. No postage, no last posting dates, no queue at the post office.
Start your bulk Christmas cards
Create one Christmas card, upload your CSV, and every employee and client gets their own personalised Thankbox with gifts included and scheduled in advance.
