Mapping Christmas

Our latest research unveils a comprehensive map of the UK’s Christmas card habits, including where and how we send them, who is on the typical Christmas card list, and the emotional resonance we place on them.

When?

The two days when the nation is most likely to send their Christmas cards (18% on both days) are 1 and 10 December. However almost one in 10 (7%) send them as early as November.

The average Briton sends 18 Christmas cards. Close friends, neighbours and parents are the most popular recipients on the nation’s list; however, some more surprising additions include the family pet (6%), the pet of a friend or family member (5%), the local postman or woman (4%) and even ex-partners (3%).

Where?

Bristolians are the nation’s posting early birds starting as early as October, and Belfast generally leave it the latest, starting at mid-November.

Edinburgh sends the most (on average 18), and Manchester the least (11). Bristol keeps their cards on display the longest, with 5% of residents keeping them up for more than six months.

Londoners (7%) are more likely to send a Christmas card to an ex-partner. Those in the South West (11%) are most likely to send a card to their hairdresser.

What?

The average UK adult sends 18 Christmas cards. Almost one in 10 people (9%) send between 46-100, and a further 1% claim to send more than 100 cards.

UK adults most like to receive festive Christmas cards (61%), however, traditional (55%) and funny (45%) are also popular.

An atmospheric snow scene is the nation’s favourite Christmas card cover (59%). This is followed by robins (55%), snowmen (53%), reindeer (53%) and images of Father Christmas (52%).

Who?

Close friends (59%), neighbours (51%) and parents (mum and dad) (49%) are the most common recipients on a Briton’s Christmas card list; however, some more surprising additions include the local postman or woman (4%), ex-partners (3%) and even the local dustbin man or woman (2%).

Additionally, almost one in 10 (9%) people send a card to their pet, or to the pet of a friend or family member.

Some other fascinating facts unearthed by the research include:

• On average, 30% of UK adults keep their Christmas cards on display for 2-3 weeks, but 3% claim to keep them on their mantelpiece for more than six months
• Most people purchase their Christmas cards from a shop (41%), however, charity shops are also a popular source (34%). 5% of people hand make their cards, and only 2% expressed a preference for buying them online
• Almost 1 in 6 people (14%) include an ‘update newsletter’ from their family in their annual Christmas cards. Almost 1 in 10 (8%) include a family photograph, and 10% pop in either a paw print from their pet, or a ‘crayon signature’ from their children.

Mark Street, head of campaigns, said: ‘Christmas cards are one of the defining items of the British festive season, and clearly hold a lot of emotional resonance. It’s fascinating to see modern card sending habits broken down in this much detail.’

Festive wordsmiths are reminded to post their letters and cards with enough time to spare for Christmas. The last posting date for First Class stamps is Thursday 20 December, and Tuesday 18 December for Second Class.