The Best Literary Holiday Cards to Send This Season

I love the tradition of sending holiday greetings to friends and family, and I have fond memories of my mom taping the Christmas cards we’d receive in December around the door frames in our house. As the years went by, it seems like we’ve gotten fewer and fewer holiday cards, and I for one would love to bring that tradition back because, well, I love snail mail and there are so many cute holiday cards out there just waiting to be discovered…especially when they’re bookish and literary holiday cards!

While many of the offerings in this collection do tend to skew towards Christmas, we’ve rounded up a great bunch of literary cards and postcards that are the perfect greetings for your bookish pals and loved ones this season! Buy them as a single card for that one bookish friend, or buy them in sets so that you can send them to everyone in your address book! Whatever your plans, we recommend ordering ASAP so you’ll have them on hand when the holiday season gets in full swing, and you’ll have plenty of time to send them out! (For the final bookish touch, might I suggest the Snowy Day stamps, with artwork by picture book author/illustrator Ezra Jack Keats?) And here’s hoping that the bookish holiday card trend will continue to grow and we’ll see even more holiday representation in bookish cards in the years to come!

Wishing You a Novel-ous Holiday Season ($6): Because we all know the holidays aren’t complete without great books!

Have Your Shelf a Literary Christmas ($5): This card is serving holiday greetings and shelf goals.

A card with a painting of colorful book shelves decorated for Christmas and a message that reads "Have your shelf a literary Christmas"

Happy Hanukkah Typewriter ($12): Personalize your Hanukkah greetings with this lovely typewriter card!

A vintage blue typewriter typing out "Happy Hanukkah" with space for a personalized message on a white postcard

Punny Bookish Holiday Cards ($3): Because bookish holiday puns are evergreen. (Sorry, not sorry!)

Four square craft paper cards with the following puns: Galt tidings we bring to you and your Kin-dle, Have Your Shelf a Merry Little Christmas, ISBN dreaming of a White Christmas, and Poe, Poe, Poe Melancholy Christmas.

Eat, Read, and Be Merry ($5): I love this sentiment, and I dig that this card features colors that aren’t too Christmas-y!

A stack of bright books with a floral arrangement on top and the words "Eat, Read, and Be Merry" on the spine.

It’s a Book Holiday Card ($6): This is a versatile card that says what we all know and are happy about: Your gift is a book.

A card with a bunch of wrapped packages in various types of wrapping paper, and words that read "it's a book"

Hobbit Hole for the Holidays Card ($4): Can you imagine a cozier spot for the holiday season?

A painting of a Hobbit hole with a wreath on the door and snowflakes falling.

Brontë Sisters Holiday Card ($4): Not only is this a lovely card featuring groundbreaking ladies in classic literature, it’s also a stunning work of art your recipient will want to frame and keep!

A dark starry sky depicting the Bronte sisters as angels and their works floating about their parsonage home at wintertime, done in beautiful blacks, browns, and blues collage style.

The Christmas Shelf Card ($4): It’s hard to beat a card that doubles as a holiday greeting and reading list for the season!

A green card depicting a stack of holiday books including The Nutcracker, Christmas Carol, Tailor of Gloucester, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, Little Women, nd Blue Carbuncle.

Merry Bookmas Card ($5): This card is all of my holiday dreams in one beautiful bookshop!

A dark blue card that reads "Merry Bookmas" and depicts a teal bookshop with colorful books pines and pink, red, and green accents.

Wishing You Stacks of Joy Card ($6): All the stacks of books, with none of the Elf on the Shelf nonsense.

A white card depicting stacks of books decorated with ribbon, and a small elf.

Have A Literary Christmas ($5): Can’t ask for much more than this, tbh.

A white card reads "Have a literary Christmas" and depicts a snowglobe with a stack of books and a cup of hot cocoa inside.

Season’s Readings Card ($6): This card has the right idea! (Bonus, check out this Etsy shop for a ton more great literary holiday cards, many of which we featured last year!)