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FOCUS ON… CHRISTMAS CARD TRENDS
There’s no rest for the greeting card designer as no sooner has one festive season ended than it’s time to have the next year’s ranges ready to show to retailers. Here PG looks at some of the trends being pitched on the new clutch of Christmas cards. Meaningful connections, expanded captions and keeping the eco-friendly vibe are the trends for Christmas 2025 as publishers look to build on the magic. An ever-important part of designing festive cards, Merry Christmas and Magical Christmas remain consistently popular captions at The Art File. But sales and marketing manager James Mace said: “An emerging trend is more contemporary captions such as Cosy Christmas and playful puns like Holly Jolly and Merry Catmas which draw from the design of the card.” Continuing with packaging innovations, The Art File’s Christmas collections are all completely plastic-free for the luxury boxed cards, charity packs and even the new gift bags – totally recyclable, including the handles! All the trends identified at Hallmark point to meaningful connections with writing director Adam Yare picking out the new Hand To Heart range: “It goes beyond simple greetings. We’ve focused on genuine compliments, meaningful phrases that truly connect. “We understand that Christmas is about more than just exchanging gifts – it’s about sharing moments of joy, connection and meaning. With this year’s range we’ve focused on creating cards that resonate deeply, whether through nostalgic imagery, heartfelt
Above: The rococo Christmas window at London’s Choosing Keeping is already inspiring Hotchpotch for 2026 with its fresh and uplifting colours. Left: The Art File has completely recyclable gift bags. Below: Hallmark offers playful Parcel Up and classic Country Companions.
messages or playful humour. We want each card to feel like a gift in itself – a way to bring people closer and celebrate traditions both old and new.” And he said there’s a shift towards people rejecting the chaos of Christmas and embracing simple joys and the magic, while blending modern and nostalgic elements to keep the season familiar but new.
And the Parcel Up collection taps into the playful spirit, offering keepsake attachments like the Santa key for hard-toreach homes, with Adam adding: “These cards become more than just greetings, they’re tokens of affection that create lasting memories and spark joy year after year.” There’s always a Hotchpotch team outing at Christmas into London, where head of design Anna Price said: “We’re always inspired by all the wonderful displays. Some highlights were the
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 67