Beautiful Christmas Greetings card

One of the most pleasurable traditions of Christmas is to receive beautiful, carefully-chosen Christmas cards from your loved ones, and display them proudly in your home. In the era of digital ‘E-cards’ and social media, it’s widely believed that fewer people than ever are sending Christmas cards to their family and friends, but still nothing can beat opening up a card complete with a hand-written, heartfelt festive greeting – especially when that card comes from the stunning charity Christmas card collection from Traidcraft.

Each year, an estimated £50million is raised from the sales of charity Christmas cards, and Traidcraft are proud to have helped to fund the work of charities including Traidcraft Exchange, CAFOD, SCIAF and Christian Aid through their festive greeting card designs. When such a small and caring gesture as giving a Christmas card can mean so much to so many people, that’s a great reason to keep this beloved tradition alive.

But just how deeply rooted is the custom of giving Christmas cards? The history of Christmas cards in fact dates back to 1843, when the first Christmas cards were invented and sent by a civil servant named Sir Henry Cole. Funnily enough, Sir Henry himself worked for the Royal Mail and had three years previously had a key role in introducing their ‘Penny Post’ service, which helped to make the sending of Christmas cards popular as postage stamps were affordable for the average person. As for the cards themselves, only 1, 000 of Sir Cole’s cards were printed, and sold for a shilling apiece!

Why not celebrate Charity Christmas Card Week with Traidcraft?

Between the 15th and 22nd November, Traidcraft will be calling upon the nation to make their Christmas wishes even more meaningful by celebrating our annual Charity Christmas Card Week.

Backed by the Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu, our Charity Christmas Card Week is the perfect time to choose your charity Christmas cards from Traidcraft – and perhaps even send them out to your loved ones start spreading those first sprinkles of festive cheer!

“I love social media, but I think something has been lost in our increasing reliance on it to connect with people” says Archbishop Sentamu.

“A ‘like’ on Facebook or a retweet will never satiate the most basic of human needs: to feel connected, loved and belonging to a tangible community.”

Archbishop Sentamu would love to see not only the return to sending real Christmas cards with genuine, heartfelt sentiments, but more charity Christmas cards being chosen, and also sending seasonal greetings to those in our wider communities who we may not have connected with through the rest of the year.

You could make Charity Christmas Card Week special by hand-delivering all of your charity Christmas cards, organising a Christmas card exchange event to gather together your family and friends, or even give a Christmas card to someone you have lost touch with, have never given one to before, or may very much need it.

For instance, if you aren’t yet familiar with your neighbours, personally delivering a Christmas card during Charity Christmas Card Week is a thoughtful way to ‘break the ice’. Or if you know of someone in your community that doesn’t have many relatives or friends living nearby, a Christmas card with a friendly, festive message (delivered in person, along with a fresh mince pie, perhaps!) is sure to bring them plenty of Christmas cheer.

Discover the Traidcraft charity Christmas card collection

We believe that our latest collection of Christmas cards at Traidcraft is the most delightful one yet, and whether you prefer classic and simple, or contemporary and colourful designs, you’ll find charity Christmas cards that suit your personality perfectly!

Many Traidcraft Christmas card designs help to tell the wonderful Christmas story in a more traditional way, including our Peace Christmas cards with a shimmering gold foil design; our Under the Baobab cards with a beautiful illustration of Mary sitting beneath the Baobab Tree; and our Away in Manger cards that are evocative of the favourite Christmas carol that we all know and love.