Christmas cards are sometimes considered a dated tradition, but from personal experience, they are still very much something that people love to send to one another over the festive season. Over the years, this has become a more faith-based tradition as those who don’t know or believe in the meaning behind Christmas leave these costly frivolities behind. But as Christmas is a Christian celebration, it is good to send these reminders of the incarnate Jesus to friends and family who aren’t as close by as we’d like, and use it as an opportunity to encourage them in the faith and send any news as well.
And Hope Designs - Nativity Play classmate and teacher Christmas cards.
I personally love receiving beautifully illustrated cards with a carefully hand written message inside. A couple of my friends send a family newsletter inside their cards each year and it is something I genuinely look forward to receiving around Christmas time.
With large supermarkets and every single charity jumping on the bandwagon of Christian greeting cards but without any meaning or faith behind the cards, only the desire to make money, it is then a good question to ask: where can I buy lovely Christian Christmas cards this year?
1. A Christian charity that is close to your heart.
Having designed Christmas cards for a Christian charity in the past, I know that a lot of Christian charities commission Christians to design their Christmas cards each year. This is great for many reasons: a portion of the money you spend on your Christmas cards will go towards supporting those in need, and another portion of that mo et will go towards paying Christian’s who work for those charities. A further portion of that money will go to supporting a Christian freelance designer pay their bills and support their families. So it’s such a good way of spending money to further the Kingdom (on multiple fronts!)
And Hope Designs - Grey and yellow modern Christian Christmas cards
If you’re struggling to find good charities, two Christian charities I recommend having a look at for Christmas cards are Tearfund and Compassion.
2. And Hope Designs
It’s me, hi!
I work hard each year to come up with modern and fun christian Christmas cards that are reverent and elegant. It is important to me that I print on high quality paper, that I use manufacturers within the U.K. and that the workers are paid fairly for the work that they do printing, packaging and posting my work to me. On top of that, I too need to be paid fairly for the hours of illustration, design, and the millions of other jobs it takes to get these cards in to your hands.
And Hope Designs - set of A Thrill Of Hope Edinburgh Christmas Cards
So while my cards will not be as cheap as those you find in a charity shop or a supermarket, you can be guaranteed that those who worked to produce them were paid fairly, and that the cards you receive will be of the highest quality thick card (350gsm if you like to know the nerdy numbers).
This year, I have designed a few new cards, including one that a customer asked me to design which features a manger and the shadow of the cross below it. I’m really pleased with my growing collection of Christian Christmas cards, and you can see the whole collection here.
And Hope Designs - set of expectant Christian Christmas cards
3. Cheerfully Given, a U.K. based chrisitan online marketplace
Cheerfully Given is a Christian online marketplace which is FULL of lovely small business owners from across the U.K. Each business is carefully checked and curated, which makes the final result a collection of incredible businesses selling gorgeous products, and that includes Christmas cards, of course.
And Hope Designs - Christmas Carol Christian Christmas Card set
Some of my favourites on there are by gorgeous artists The Mustard Seed Press (letterpress cards - gorgeous!!), Anna Grace Bell (absolutely stunning pebble art photographed and printed on cards) and Sarah Dinsdale Studio (some stunningly detailed watercolour paintings).
4. Find a great, curated, local Christian craft market.
There are loads of gorgeous markets, and those I have attended in Northern Ireland usually have Christian makers who, around Christmas, will sell faith based Christmas cards. This year, I have booked a few markets, but those I am most looking forward to and recommend attending for your Christian locally made wares are Hark, which is on Thursday 30th November (evening) at St Anne’s cathedral in Belfast, and Cohen and Co Christmas market, which is on 24-25th November (I will only be there on Saturday) at Montalto estate. Both events are ticketed but they promise to be incredible, and they are so carefully curated. Look in to them if you’d like to see the quality of the cards and other Christmas products before you buy them - you’ll see what I mean! The difference compared to your local supermarket is huge.
And Hope Designs - set of Christian Christmas heart cards
If you’re not local to Northern Ireland, I’d recommend having a bit of a Google or search on Instagram for opportunities like these, as there are markets everywhere, especially at Christmas. If you’re in the south of England, I recommend looking out for the Christian Christmas Fair, as they have 3 markets on this year. Hopefully as the years go by, there will be more of those popping up across the country.
