What’s So Funny?
Humour cards are a staple of the greeting card industry as people love to find connections and raise a smile, However, with all that’s going on in the world at the moment – the Iran war, fuel issues, America’s NATO posturing, Ukraine, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis here in the UK – PG’s annual Humour Cards pullout looks at how cards are helping, and what’s hitting the funny bone in 2026.
Humour is an essential part of life, and the most relatable jokes that really hit the funny bone these days are those rooted in everyday life, softening the sharp edges of the world.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in greeting cards, which reflect what’s happening.
“In the current climate, humour and shared laughter is ever more important, lightening the mood and helping build deeper connections,” said Pigment’s creative studio manager Rob Palmer.
“We're leaning into authenticity and observational humour – less punchlines, more relatability, the kind of stuff where you immediately think ‘that is painfully accurate’.”
At Redback Cards, design team member
WHAT’S INSIDE?
Pages 5-9 What’s So Funny
The evolution of the humour card sector.
Pages 12-13 Joking Apart
The Henries 2025 humour card finalists.
Pages 17-19 The Best Medicine
Retailers reveal funny top sellers.
Pages 20-22 Fresh Humour
Material
New humour card launches.
Page 23 Of The Moment
Cardies share what’s making them laugh.
“We’re seeing a real appetite for relatable, honest jokes that people instantly recognise themselves in.
“At the same time, there’s a clear demand for humour that pushes boundaries. From blunt observations to slightly rude, relationship-led jokes, people are still drawn to cards that say the thing they probably shouldn’t… but absolutely would.
comedian talking to the audience about their personal experiences and using observational humour.
“And it’s really no different when it comes to greeting cards. The strongest designs are the ones that spark that same reaction, where someone picks it up and instantly thinks of themselves,
Today’s Titters
“As my husband Jon lost a fight with a circular saw last week – and part of his finger – these are his answers, as I need to make him do something while he’s resting that hand! Fave comedy celeb in stand up is still Ricky Gervais! Top TV giggle is Last One Laughing.”
“That balance of relatability and edge is where the magic happens, it’s the card you walk past, double take at, and immediately think of someone to send it to.”
The verdict from Ling Design and Great British Card Company CEO David Byk is: “Forget comedians, our office is usually chuckling over a recent social media trend or video that’s doing the rounds online.
“That quick-fire, instantly recognisable ‘that’s me!’ style of content is everywhere, and playing a big role in shaping humour right now – where people see themselves in a scenario and feel compelled to share it with friends.
“It’s all about that immediate moment of recognition and connection. Comedy has changed with far more shows being the
Caroline Ranwell, owners, Hugs & Kisses, Tettenhall
Focus On Humour Cards is published by Max Publishing Ltd.
It is distributed with the May/June edition of Progressive Greetings Worldwide.
Editor-in-chief: Jakki Brown (jakkib@maxpublishing.co.uk);
Features Editor: Tracey Bearton (traceyb@max-publishing.co.uk);
Advertisement Director: Warren Lomax (warren@max-publishing.co.uk); www.max-publishing.co.uk
Tel: 020 7700 6740.
Copyright: 2026
Right: Boning up on what’s funny is important for the Paperlink humour writers!
Katie Thorne added:
Above: Shared laughter is important for Pigment’s Rob Palmer.
someone they know or a situation they identify with.”
Taking inspiration from real life is exactly what happens at Ricicle, where owner David NicholsRice goes for tonguein-cheek sarcasm that’s never offensive.
reflecting on our relationships with each other and the everchanging cosmopolitan world around us is something to be treasured but also measured so the work has enduring, inclusive appeal to all.
Today’s Titters
and website manager, said: “It’s clear sarcastic, witty and playful humour is still thriving. Trends might shift with the seasons, but a genuinely funny greeting card never goes out of style!”
“We recognise a good humour card has a potential to do more than other categories to make us understand what it is to be human.”
“Sarah Millican just does it for me – she is brilliant. Her looks just make me roar!”
Carl Dunne, owner, Cards & Gifts, Dronfield
Noting that greeting card humour sits between observation, timing and reliability, studio manager Liz Ellis commented: “Cards are different to stand-up comedy or the comedy we watch on TV, where delivery and performance carry much of the impact. A card needs to land the
one each’ came from a trip my husband Steve and I took to Florida. The hotel room had two enormous king-size beds. We looked at the beds, looked at each other, and said in perfect unison, ‘we’re having one each, right?’ It was the best night’s sleep ever, full starfish mode, with all that glorious space!”
On the retail side, Michelle Kingscott has seen this shift at Card Shack in Bristol: “Humour changes all of the time. We went through a phase of insults, then puns and now it's all about day-today life.
“For example, the Donald Trump cards by Dean Morris sell very well at the moment. Cards from Tikkled Pink make jokes about the day-to-day life such as, 'one day being young and cool, the next you have a favourite spatula'. Redback, ‘you know you're old when you’re entering your date of birth and you have to spin that bitch like you’re on the wheel of fortune’!"
“One of the most reliable sources of humour for cards are lifestyle observations. These small, shared truths relate to modern living, aging, relationships, work frustrations, parenting and technology overload. The subjects need to be instantly recognisable – it’s that moment of identification that creates the laugh.”
And she said it mirrors the tone on panels shows and topical comedy, which take what people are already thinking or noticing and sharpen it into something witty: “Cards borrow from
Today’s Titters
The Paperlink humour writers commented: “What we find ourselves continually coming back to is the best cards don’t just make someone laugh, they make them feel seen. Whether that’s the person buying it, or the person receiving it, that shared recognition is what gives great cards their staying power.
“The trends will keep shifting, the memes
will keep memeing, but that fundamental human need to say ‘you get me’ isn’t going anywhere, which is ultimately good news for us!”
“Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cozy, doesn’t try it on, so said Billy Connolly, and these images/selfies illustrate a lifelong obsession with making the most of any opportunity to see the funny side by wearing a ridiculous hat. Good humour is for life, as it’s an increasingly unsettled world we need to turn up the dial, put our head in a hat but not in the sand and destress with laughter.”
Lee Keeper, creative director, Woodmansterne Publications
Woodmansterne has dialled up the observation links with recent ranges celebrating the timeless relationship between art and culture, and creative director Lee Keeper explained: “The ability to see the funny side of aspects of cultural life,
the same principles, however, the humour on cards is created with a longer shelf life in mind.”
Retailers have been loving Cath Tate Cards Pina Colada range, which has been dominating its top sellers since January, and Rosanna Jones, the publisher’s social media
Lucilla Lavender is on board with the observational humour too, as her Little Quirks range shows with jokes about age and technology, while Birdculous marries the traditional pun with topical scenarios. Portfoliio’s Natalie Morphet agrees puns are still strong, reflected in the good response to its new Prankly range, and she added: “I don’t see derogatory age cards as prevalent as they used to be. The age cards are now more upbeat, congratulatory and celebratory.”
However, Redback’s Katie Thorne commented: “Age humour is still going strong. We recently introduced milestone ages into our bestselling ranges, and the response has been huge. The more we laugh about ageing, the lighter it feels.”
Hallmark senior writer Andrew Dewhirst agrees: “Age jokes continue to be as popular as ever, but we’re finding more humour in the positive side of ageing. Especially as we’re not getting any younger ourselves!”
Age jokes will always be funny for Brainbox Candy’s co-founder Ben Hickman but only if done well: “They just need to adapt and move with the times.
Above: Redback pushes the boundaries.
Above right: Lucy Maggie’s back to brash.
Above: Recognisable humour from Ling and GBCC.
Older people are younger than they’ve ever been if that makes sense. It’s not all knitted cardigans and bus passes anymore.”
And that’s the observation from Rosie
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“My current favourite comedian is Romesh Ranganathan, especially when teamed with his wonderful mother. However, my all-time favourite was the great but sadly late Sean Lock (pictured), I loved to listen to him sparring with Jimmy Carr on Eight Out Of 10 Cats Do Countdown. The world should have been allowed many more years of his incredible comedic brain. My top TV giggle, well, there are quite a few – I do love shows like Last One Laughing, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Task Master. Oh, and wasn't Celebrity Traitors funny! Celia Imry had me in tears. Anything that's quick witted usually gets me going. Unfortunately, I'm a terrible giggler, I’d be the friend you never take to a serious event for fear of me tittering.”
Lizzie McCormick, owner, Bizzie Lizzie
co-owner Jo Denning likes to mix the two: “I personally love a subtle insult card. My husband is always telling me how old I am at birthdays – he’s a month younger than me – so I do tend to look for cards that hit him straight back! Age jokes have always been relevant in our household.”
owner Lucy Nicholson, “you definitely won’t like them if you don’t share our sense of humour, but if you do, they’re right up your street.”
However, she’s also taken on board the observational stuff into “the kind of everyday, ‘that is so me’ content we’ve seen flying off the shelves, so we’ve leaned into that and expanded the range to match”.
This softening of the insult has also been noticed by Stoats & Weasels’ founder Lisa Bamford, who believes poking fun at ageing will always be a thing, “but it does feel like things are softening slightly”.
She added:
Rosie Harrison too:
“For our Gin & Frolics range, age jokes seem to be going strong. The humour here is fairly gentle with the swears kept to a minimum.
“On the other hand, we’ve gone turboinsulting with our Stroke Me range and that seems to be going down a treat!”
Lovely Paper Stuff’s
Below
“There’s a growing appetite for humour that’s a bit kinder, or at least more knowing. Cards that reflect specific life stages continue to resonate, especially when they feel relatable rather than brutal.”
As with Paperlink understanding that gentle teasing is still a way many relate to one another when choosing and sending cards, slightly softer insults are also still strong at UK Greetings, where humour editorial manager Mark Graham said it’s particularly popular in captions like brother.
Lucy Maggie Designs has gone back to its classic, brasher roots with a new range of insulting birthday cards launching PG Live
He added: “Although the tone is one of daftness and silliness rather than anything overly harsh. Hanson White's new male humour collections feature designs that variously call your brother a nob, a duckhead or suggest that he isn't quite right!”
“Think bold, a bit outrageous, and packed with some pretty ridiculous expletives,” said
As one of the maestros of humour publishing, Emotional Rescue cover all the bases, with the observational Is It Friday Yet? through Model Family’s naughty and naughtier offerings, as well as more traditional cartoons, photographic giggles, puns, and everything in between.
On the caption side it’s all about the puns for Lovely Paper Stuff’s Jo Denning, who admitted: “I think my brain just works that way, but I’ve found puns to still be strong in 2026. The great thing about humour is, it’s individual –so individual. Some people will belly laugh over the weirdest things, but that’s ok because we’re all so different.”
Brainbox’s Ben Hickman added: “Humour is obviously very subjective and, while some people can’t stand cheeky humour, others love it.
Above left: Art meets card comedy from Woodmansterne.
Above: Abacus has instantly identifiable laughs.
Left: Cath Tate’s Rosanna Jones with Pina Colada.
Above: Ricicle’s real-life captions.
Above middle: Card Shack love Dean Morris’ on trend cards.
Above right: UKG’s gentle joshing.
Right: Puns rule at Lovely Paper Stuff.
Below: Puns work for Hallmark.
middle: Insults rule for Rosie Made A Thing’s Andy and Alex Fletcher.
Below right: New take on old masters at Planet Sal.
(t) 0116 230 4197 (w) www.mint-publishing.co.uk (e) sales@mint-publishing.co.uk
Likewise with puns, they can be loved and groaned at in equal measure.”
And puns are “evergreen favourites” at Hallmark, where Andrew Dewhirst commented: “We’re enjoying finding ways to put a new spin on them, either by looking at trending foods and subject matter or by finding new and exciting kinds of wordplay.”
Food puns remain a solid trend for Stoats & Weasels’ Lisa Bamford, with no signs of slowing down, and she mixes that humour rooted in everyday life such as her Chip Chip Hooray range full of chips and cheeky seagulls marrying the British love of a trip to the seaside and fish and chips.
Lisa added: “Puns aren’t for everyone but, for those who love them and thankfully many do, they’re still a reliable winner.”
Puns seem “unkillable” for Bewilderbeest’s Iain Hamilton: “It’s dad humour, but then there are a lot of dads out there”, while puns and insults go hand in hand at Earlybird, where co-owner
needing to be reprinted within four months of launch.”
Perhaps the most apposite explanation came from Ornament Art’s Jo Short: “Humour is all about reading people –there are times when the funniest thing is loud and raucous, or it’s about playful teasing or it can just be a small thing that raises a gentle smile.
“If you can laugh with and at someone, quirks and all, and them do the same back that's the best humour. It shows how well you know them, how much you care and we think it's one of the greatest displays of affection.”
Heidi Early noticed: “The launch this year of our Quackers really cemented this for us with Happy Birthday Mudda Dukka
Today’s Titters
“Any of Sasha Baron Cohen (pictured) characters are my favourites, much to my wife's dismay! As a Barcelona fan, watching Real Madrid lose is just as funny however.”
Chris Beard, co-owner, Mantons Cards, Port Erin
On the dark side
With the world currently seeming a scary and bizarre place, humour can be this way to lighten the load.
“People that can find humour in these dark and crazy corners can really resonate and find lightness in the doomiest of situations,” said Cinnamon Aitch co-founder Sara Burford.
“With regards to cards, humour is divided with some being very sensitive and others reflecting a harsher approach. We tentatively nod to borderline stronger, less complimentary humour – Not Dead Yet as illustrated with a dodo or our Margo cat can deliver some brutal one liners!
“But there’s definitely a line we would not cross as many of our customers would potentially…not see the funny side.”
Objectables’ humour has
always been dark, admitted co-owner Tim Gould “and that hasn’t changed – so we’ve been finding the impending doomsday as a great source of humour for a few years now.”
Quitting Hollywood’s studio manager Emily Meaney admitted its cards have been keeping the team giggling lately “at the state of how bad things have been with the weather and fuel prices, but there’s always room for a giggle”.
While known for her jokes, Go La La’s Laura Kavanagh has been struggling: “It's not easy to feel particularly lighthearted with so many depressing things going on in the world. I really have to limit the volume of mainstream news I see at the moment because it becomes overwhelming. I went down a rabbit hole of looking into the Epstein files and wish I hadn't.
“To counter all this, I'm making a point of finding more positive news stories on Instagram and also watching less TV drama that leans into the cliche of Woman Gets Assaulted/Abused/Abducted/Murdered in favour of more humour entertainment.”
And Bizzie Lizzie owner Lizzie McCormick summed it up: “With the current climate and the doom and gloom on the news, people are desperate for something to laugh about again – so humorous greeting cards are really selling.”
Right: Laughter is affection at Ornament Art.
Far right: Stoats & Weasels love a foodie pun.
Below right: Bewilderbeest’s Iain Hamilton just loves a pun.
Above: Objectables’ Tim Gould loves the dark side. Above right: Go La La’s John and Laura Kavanagh are looking for positive news.
Above: Humour cards are selling for Bizzie Lizzie’s Lizzie McCormick.
Joking Apart
So much of the greeting card world is about bringing a smile to people’s faces and that’s never more apparent than with humour cards, making the Best Humorous Range one of the most coveted trophies in The Henries awards each year.
Along with the 2025 winner Babble from Rosie Made A Thing, the other finalists were – Ark Life from Pigment, Betiobca from Cath Tate Cards, Fifty Shades Of Green from Paperlink, Gone Tagging from Objectables Publishing, Heard They're Absurd from Bewilderbeest, Holy Flaps from Redback Cards, and Is It Friday Yet? from Emotional Rescue in conjunction with Paper Salad. Here, PG shares more about these standout ranges.
Inspired combination
Partnering two multi-award-winning publishers with very different styles was the stroke of genius that resulted in the Is It Friday Yet? contemporary humour range.
Over 30 years of honing their craft has seen the Emotional Rescue team become a “lean, mean, product-focused, humour machine that’s constantly learning and adapting to what the good, old British public likes to have a good giggle at”, according to co-owner and joint MD Jen Rutter, who runs the business with David Greaves.
And combining that innovation with the bright and sparky designs from Paper Salad owner Karen Wilson has proved inspired.
Jen admitted: “The range came about because of conversations between Karen and David a million years ago, I can’t take any of the credit! We continue to sell shitloads –it’s a fabulous brand!”
Completely absurd
“It's probably at this point that I should come clean,” laughed Bewilderbeest’s Iain Hamilton, “because our Heard They're Absurd range only came about as a made-up last-minute thing when I needed to arrange a name to enter The Henries awards!
“Prior to that I didn't really know what a range was or why I needed one, I'm still not totally clear. Since then our Heard They're Absurd range has been the
Tea’s quirky collection
The Betiobca range came out of a collaboration between Cath Tate Cards and Crotian artist
Tea Filipi, turning into a quirky, playful collection full of dry humour mixed with striking graphic design.
Tea combines loud captions, retro, sometimes-vintage inspired illustrations, and a bold signature colour palette.
Rosanna Jones, social media and website manager at Cath Tate, said: “It’s one of our favourite contemporary humour ranges and we continue to add to it as time goes by.
“Since The Henries nomination we have updated the collection with a few newbies for 2026 which have already proven popular.”
backbone of Bewilderbeest – or possibly the funny bone – and has many of our bestsellers in it.
“It's basically where I stuff all of our birthday cards and occasions cards and is one of the first places I point new stockists to in our catalogue – after the smashing picture of my face of course.
“As to where I'm going with it, well, hopefully to the next Henries awards. You never know your luck!”
Above right: Emo’s humour with Paper Salad designs.
Left: Iain and the Bewilderbeest backbone.
Right: Rosie Made A Thing’s owner, Rosie Harrison with the publisher’s second humour Henries award in two years
Above and right: Betiobca’s retro designs.
Flapping about
Having released Holy Flaps in 2018 the range has since grown to become one of Redback’s bestsellers.
Known for its edgy humour, design team member Katie Thorne said: “Holy Flaps gives us a canvas to share humour that you wouldn’t normally see on a greeting card. It’s a range that certainly has people stopping and doing a double-take, and that reaction is what makes it so popular.
“Holy Flaps leans into that space that pushes past safe, predictable jokes and, instead, delivers punchlines that feel surprising, current, relatable and just the right touch of inappropriate.
“Looking ahead, we’ll continue to test the edges of its already punchy humour – we’re always aiming for that ‘should this be on a card?’ reaction that defines the range.”
Something in the water
There’s definitely something in the water down in Folkestone, that’s the only explanation for the sideways look on life that the Objectables’ team brings to greeting cards.
Gone Tagging is just one of the surreal collections from the weird and wonderful minds of co-owners Tim and Annie Gould and designer Joy Thomas, which probably shouldn’t work, but just do – and The Henries retail judges really got the vibe. Who else could make a combination of random graffiti and tags found in the wild on everything from bridges and bus shelters to dumped baths and piles of fly-tipped rubbish work with the immediate thoughts that probably shouldn’t see the light of day let alone become a card caption!
“We never tire of making the Gone Tagging range,” admitted Tim. “Been planning on getting some bleak birthday sheet photos done and finally got round to it – and we’ve been adding newness so there’s more to see at PG Live!”
Going green
Going green has meant something different at Paperlink – Fifty Shades Of Green!
And the more traditional cartoon-style humour ensures there really is something for everyone in the greeting card world, as the range lives up to its name with the colour palette featuring various shades of green as well as greenery with quite a lot of plants.
Having extended the range last year, Paperlink has been allowing it to continue making its mark, and marketing manager Ryan Blue said: “Following our success as finalists in last year’s Henries, we’ve been focusing on expanding our humour offering, with a particular emphasis on the growing trend of photographic humour.”
All about the chat
The massive success of the Gin & Frolics range got Rosie Made A Thing founder Rosie Harrison thinking...
“I decided that we needed something a bit different so set about working on a new look,” she explained. “This was at the end of 2019 and, at this stage, I didn’t have any design help in the business and, sadly, it turns out I can only do one look!
“And so, in spring 2020, the Babble range was born – essentially the same old Rosie look but now the characters chat to each other. This has opened up a wider pool of funnies and the range is fast becoming as popular as our Gin & Frolics designs.
“We’re adding newness to the range all the time and
Today’s Titters
“The second season of Last One Laughing (pictured) was a big hit, showcasing some of the best comedians in the UK doing their best not to find each other funny. Bob Mortimer remains, of course, a national treasure.”
Andrew Dewhirst, senior writer, Hallmark Cards
Out of the ark
AI has been the inspiration behind the Ark Life range from Pigment, with humour lead Rob Palmer saying it all started four years ago.
“That’s when we quietly started experimenting with AI, using it as a new creative tool along with traditional design and Photoshop,” Rob said.
Ark Life was born from this tech-driven development and has been not only a huge success but a really fun creative project to work on.
“Since The Henries nomination the range has continued to grow internationally and we’ve expanded into new areas, including 3D lenticular keepsake designs, currently exclusive to the Postmark retail group in the UK.
“Spending this much time crafting the Ark Life animals, we’ve started to notice that some of our designers are starting to resemble the characters on the cards!”
Above: Random graffiti from Gone Tagging.
Above: Holy Flaps pushes punchlines.
Above: Paperlink’s greens and greenery.
Above: Rosie’s style is a winner.
Above and left: Pigment’s designers now resemble Ark Life characters!
The best medicine
Laughter is the best medicine and can be found free around the humour racks in any card store, where retailers know they’ve got things right as the customers’ giggles and guffaws float round the store.
Sally Wilde, owner of Planet Sal, Honiton
“I stock all kinds humour card and personally select every design. I have stocked Rosie Made A Thing since I opened eight years ago and so many folk come in just for her cards. I also find Swizzoo cards have the same gentle wit and also do so well for me. Woodmansterne brings out some great humour ranges on a regular basis, too.
“I knew I really wanted to have a Naughty Corner and had the perfect spot for it, but wasn’t sure how the people of Honiton would react to it. I was a bit worried I might have a backlash, but I was so wrong. From two rows of ruder cards to start with,
Michelle Kingscott, owner, Card Shack, Bristol
“I’ve been working in card and gift shops in Bristol Broadmead for 20 years this year and the people in Bristol just can't get enough of the rude and witty humour that we can get away with!
“Customers come into Card Shack for a good laugh – it's like a free therapy session! Most customers walk in and say ‘show me the rudest cards you have’! People love it here
Customers love
Carl Dunne, owner, Cards & Gifts Dronfield
I now have a whole wall, and gifts to match! It’s great because it encourages men to pop in for them, who may never normally buy physical cards. The ruder the better for their brother or mate!”
and it makes my job fun seeing everyone laugh at all of the naughties in the shop.
“People are always surprised at the amount of funny cards around – you hear the howling in the shop, the comments like ‘who comes up with these?’ or ‘I can't believe you can get away with that!’. “Customers make use of our three cards for £9 deal and stack up on funny cards. Most don't know yet who they’re giving them too, they just like them!
“At the moment Emotional Rescue and the designs called Sketch distributed by Words ’N’ Wishes outsell anything.
“For other publishers, they’re just a steady flow from Giggles by UK Greetings, IC&G’s one with the vibrant envelopes. We also have about four different ranges from Second Nature, and Paperlink is good as well.”
“Our top humour sellers are Ohh Deer’s Ken The Cat range and Tiny Notebooks, Tikkled Pink has young and trendy cards, Studio Boketto’s food puns and celebrity puns, Dean Morris’ Donald Trump cards, and Sarah Ray Draws with her Sweet Cheeks and Sparkle Chops designs.”
Chris Beards, owner, Mantons, Port Erin
“We really utilise all the space we have for greeting cards – 2,500 square foot – and sell all types of humour cards from mild to explicit.
“Anyone who knows me won't be surprised to hear that Dean Morris is one of my favourites, especially the offensive cat designs!”
Today’s Titters
“I absolutely love Michael McIntyre (pictured), I’ve seen him live twice and I love all of his TV shows!”
Michelle Kingscott, owner, Card Shack, Bristol
Below:
all the naughtiness at Card Shack
Above and below: UKG’s Giggles and Emo do well for Cards & Gifts.
Above: Chris loves an offensive cat
Left and below: Sally loves hearing customers laugh.
Jazz up your game night with our fun new playing cards!
Come & say hi at PG Live Stand 500
RETAILERS’ REACTIONS
Janet Ross-Jordan, Cards And Gift Wrap, Isle Of Lewis
“I’ve noticed customers leaning toward gentle giggles and cheerful wordplay rather than the old-style digs or milestoneage jokes.
It’s all about humour people can share across generations – something kind, clever and relatable. I’ve recently started stocking Dandelion Stationery, and they’re flying out! “Cards like “Money can’t buy happiness, but it
Aga Marsden, owner, Highworth Emporium, Highworth
can buy fabric — lovely fabric’ (complete with a sewing machine sketch) strike that perfect balance between witty and warm.
“People are definitely in need of a giggle. With everything going on in the world we see more and more people reaching for the funny ones.
“But the favs tend to swing one way or the other – animal puns or long wordy ones. We struggled with our extra naughty box at first but now people have discovered it they keep coming back and telling their friends, and people were specifically requesting it when we didn’t have space for it over Christmas!
“We’ve had quite a few new punchlines enter the shop in the last six months and people do gravitate to them over the old ones. Air fryers are still funny, booze is making a comeback and anything regarding the generational gap is absolute gold – think remembering passwords or the concept of vegan cake!”
Anne Barber, owner, In Heaven At Home, Market Harborough
“There is nothing nicer than hearing customers giggling away, especially if they then purchase a few cards.
“We have funny cards, cheeky cards and downright naughty cards – and the people who buy those are often the least likely looking!
“Cards which make fun of getting older/losing our memory/friendship/funny things dogs say seem to be very popular. Designs flying out at the moment are from Bold & Bright, Great British Card Company, Lola Design, Objectables’ Dustbin range, Poet And Painter, and Woodmansterne’s Iain Welch.”
Below: Bold & Bright, Objectables, and Woodmansterne are flying out.
“Another hit has been the Central 23 range, especially ‘This is the cheesiest card I could find’ surrounded by doodles of actual cheese – even my newly 10-year-old burst out laughing at that one! And its Sweet, Carrot, Lime card – you'll be singing it all day!
“It’s proof that simple, upbeat humour, puns, light sarcasm, and relatable themes, is what’s keeping customers giggling in the aisles at the moment.”
Caroline Ranwell, owner, Hugs & Kisses, Tettenhall
“Our bestselling humorous range is still Gin & Frolics by Rosie Made A Thing, our customers absolutely love these cute cards as they can usually relate to the hilarious jokes or quotes. These are mainly directed at getting older, drinking too much and also about friendship.
“Rosie’s cards are generally mild and non-insulting humour but a lot of our customers do love the cheekier type of card.
“Brainbox Candy and Dean Morris Cards are our goto for cheeky and even rude cards, they sell so so well!
Some are out on display but the really naughty ones are in Brainbox Candy’s Cheeky Box, an absolutely brilliant idea which works so well for us!
“For any greeting card retailer who thinks they can’t sell cheeky cards then I suggest they give the Cheeky box a try… I’ve even videoed ladies screaming with laughter huddled around the box!”
Jo Sorrell, owner, Cardies, Stevenage
“The humour ranges we stock are from Paperlink, Rosie Made A Thing and Redback, and all three are all strong for us.
“RMAT cards are always very relatable especially for women, people often say ‘oh that looks exactly like my friend and fits her personality perfectly’. At the moment my favourite cards from RMAT are: ‘Did you have a perm in the 80s as you may be entitled to compensation’ and ‘In dog years you’re a nob’. Both of these always make me laugh and the dog years is a best seller for us!
“From Redback the Holy Flaps and Cloud Nine ranges sell well, while Paperlink’s humour has a slightly more traditional feel but always sells well across their ranges and they offer a great variety.
“Personally, I like silly humour, that’s the thing about humour everyone’s taste is different so trying to get a balance of choice is always important.
“Luckily, I have great reps/agents who keep me on track with Ian, who is my rep from Paperlink and Alex my agent from RMAT. Both are brilliant, they’ve put up with me for years now and do a good job of helping me make the right choices.”
Above: CRMAT cards and Brainbox’s Cheeky Box
Above: The Emporium’s staff love a good punchline
Above and right: Jo’s after compensation for her 80s perm!
Left and Inset: Puns and word play work form Janet Ross-Jordan
Right: The Ponks make all dog cards a hit.
Fresh humour material
Hitting the right note is always the trick with humour ranges, as what makes one person laugh can leave another cold. The sheer variety that publishers and illustrators pull together for the delectation of retailers and customers can be seen in this round-up of the latest in humorous card releases.
When life imitates art
Extensions to the bestselling Rosie Made A Thing ranges are the newness for PG Live, with founder Rosie Harrison happily setting up a life imitates art shot with Cheryl Collins, who runs The Porch Gift Shop in Burbage to showcase the Boozy Brunch addition to Gin & Frolics. And she also confessed that her favourite new card for the show is the Stroke Me Tiny Willy design, describing it as “simply ridiculous”! Other new releases include additions to the A5 notebooks, and the launch of the RMAT playing cards.
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Gooaaallllllll!!!
Fresh releases have brought Quitting Hollywood’s successful male sports photographic humour range, Game On right up to date. With the World Cup happening over in Canada, Mexico and the US this summer it’s a nice link up, and a great way to keep a long-standing range in the news.
Stripping things back
Feeling good
Size Matters from UKG offers a fresh take on vintage photo humour by introducing full colour and absurdly large icons coupled with relatable topical gags. Felt Good is another new range which features beautifully handcrafted, appealing characters that deliver fun, sendable pun humour that combines freshness with bestselling know-how.
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Silly Shakespeare
Some of the funniest and most enduring comedy was born from partnerships like Morecambe & Wise, and French & Saunders. Continuing this legacy Woodmansterne shares two new collaborations.
Laughing Stock and Costume Drama takes the Royal Shakespeare Company’s costume department and unique archive of paintings of performers and performances as inspiration and translates both into everyday and imagined scenarios with witty editorial that references the Bard’s timeless characters with modern-day themes.
The original Scrawl quote range was born over 20 years ago to kickstart UStudio, or Urban Graphic as it was, with the concept of making people laugh by saying the things everyone thinks but not necessarily says!
“The harder hitting and slightly more brutal humour back in the earlier days has now softened a little bit, but we still like to keep people on their toes,” said wholesale sales coordinator Helena Colvin. “After a few incarnations, we’re stripping things back and have released the latest Scrawl range in 2026. Still sticking to our roots and poking fun at cultural trends, people, relationships, adulthood and everyday life, this range is stripped back and minimal in design, letting the words do the talking.
“No fluff, just 100% relatable silliness and guaranteed laughs - a range that’s grown with us through the good, the bad and the ugly.”
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And with Jelly Armchair, Woodmansterne has dived into the world of Silly Art & Literature with a sideways look at the history of art, while Silly Smile references prosaic elements of everyday life with food, pets and animals. Both ranges have intelligent wordplay and witty puns presented in their rich, expressive watercolour style.
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Today’s Titters
“The second series of Last One Laughing has been one of the comedy highlights of the year so far for me and has generated so many brilliant viral moments. The inimitable Bob Mortimer often stole the show again but the winner David Mitchell (pictured) is another big favourite of mine and I'm also looking forward to the upcoming second season of his comedy detective series Ludwig later in the year.”
Mark Graham, humour editorial manager, UK Greetings
Reality check
In a world of filtered perfection, Pigment’s new Oops, She Did It Again range is a reality check. A female-led humour line, illustrated in-house, built around daily life – think Vinted addictions, cardio optimism and just one glass of something fizzy. Visually, it pairs handdrawn illustration with highoctane fluoro accents that demand attention on the shelf.
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Is this your card?
Pussyfooting around
Having just got the samples in, Running With Scissors’ Steven McFee is looking forward to launching his new angle at PG Live in the shape of the Is This You? collection. The range of 16 humour cards celebrates traditional playing card design. Designs include Diamond Geezer, I Heart You and Totally Ace, “but my favourite has to be the Is This Your Card? Design,” Steven said.
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Getting the bird
Primarily known for humour, Not at all Jack has a few additions being launched at PG Live, which founders Rebecca and Mark Hamilton have taken from relatable scenarios that we know well. One new card is On The Loo and Rebecca laughed: “We think many will relate to having found their car having been used as a toilet! It follows on from one of our previous popular cards, What A Day, which also depicts birds and daily habits!”
A rugby player and football fan are also being added to the Anatomy Of… range highlighting the essential elements of these folk who live to play or watch.
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A good prank
Prankly My Dear is the latest humour collection from Portfolio, launched earlier in the year and so successful four new designs have already been added. Elton Swann, Derek Trotter, Roal Dodo and Tuna Turner have joined the ranks of Al Pacacina, Eelvis, Ham Solo, Harry Otter, James Pond, Justin Beaver, Katy Purry, Moo-cheal Jackson and The Beetles to make a total of 13 designs from artist Libby Bothway in a fun morphing of celebrities and humour.
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Absolutely not polite
A playful clash of sweet and savage, the new Bloomin’ Cheek range from Lucy Maggie Designs pairs soft, retro-inspired florals with unapologetically blunt humour. Designed to look cute at first glance but deliver a perfectly timed punchline, each card celebrates the art of saying exactly what you’re thinking, just with better typography. Bold, bright and a little bit unhinged, it’s a collection for people who love their birthday wishes like their humour – pretty, but absolutely not polite.
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Meet Ken The Kitten, the latest addition to the Ohh Deer family, packing all the signature wit from the bestselling Ken The Cat range into a fun-sized 88x120mm format. He’s smaller, fluffier, and living proof that he’s been a professional chaos-agent since birth.
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Groaningly good
Lovely Paper Stuff’s stand will be bursting with newness at PG Live as it has expanded its bestselling Cool As Duck range with a whole new batch of wonderfully colourful additions, featuring good – and groan-worthy! –puns. In addition to the expansion, Lovely Paper Stuff is giving its square card designs a new lease of life in 127x177mm portrait format. Same punny designs, just a little taller!
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Funnies keep coming
One of the originators of the chaos comedy card, Kissmekwik has been making funny cards for over 25 years. And the cheeky, silly, and rude designs just keep coming with owner Simon Spicer still having a great time thinking up ideas for the cards. The latest batch of daftness has just been released in a mix of retro photos and drawn styles, with four already topping the bestsellers lists – Boobs, Lemons, Work and Going Out Out.
Let’s go Quackers
Earlybird Designs is dialling up the laughs with the launch of Quackers, a bold new humour range created with illustrator Amy Hastings. Packed with cheeky wordplay and offbeat characters, the collection leans hard into pun-led humour with a nostalgic twist and is finished with spot UV and foil.
Co-owner Dominic Early said the new launch builds on a winning formula: “The reaction to our mini cards with Amy was brilliant, so it made sense to go bigger. Her nostalgic, tongue-in-cheek style really connects, and Quackers takes that humour to the next level.”
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Keeping people happy
Hell/Fuck Yeahs are the newbies from Objectables. As co-owner Tim Gould shared: “We had great fun doing these cards, they came about from us trying to think up lines for another range and we somehow landed on this idea and went with it. We have made a Fuck Yeah version and a Hell Yeah version of each card to keep everybody happy!”
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Feeling ruff
When you’re poorly a shot of humour can be a great pick-me-up and Puntastic & Ho has found its new Sym-paw-thy range is ready for a wider audience at PG Live. The 16 designs blend gentle, pet-inspired illustrations with warm, reassuring messages and a light touch of humour. Alongside pet sympathy cards, there are get well designs offering a playful option showing care with a smile.
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More from four
Licensed to laugh
Cardology is leaning fully into the current retro trend with two exciting new licensed ranges, each celebrating classic properties, leaning into their fantastic heritage, but contemporised for a modern card buyer. The DC Superhero Vintage Collection showcases iconic characters like Superman and Wonder Woman, combining nostalgic comicbook styling with punchy, light-hearted captions.
Meanwhile, The Original Stormtrooper Neon Retro Range brings a fresh, contemporary edge to spans cards, wrap and gifting.
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Paperlink’s humour writers have been busy knocking out no less than four new humour collections, covering a wide range for customers. Back In A Jiffy brims with nostalgia and playful irony, while the adorable photos of Cutie Paws raise a whimsical smile celebrating furry and feathered Silly Goose’s quirky Pixel’s striking neon text and bold snaps.
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With a twist
Cath Tate Cards is so excited to be launching a handful of new Twisted Lyrics designs for PG Live. The Twisted Lyrics collection reimagines classic songs with a witty twist, creating memorable cards for music lovers, retro enthusiasts, and fans of iconic hits!
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The dark side
Going Postal is the new card range from Go La La! designed by the co-owner John Higgins. The designs have “a blokey existential humour feel,” according to fellow owner Laura Kavanagh. “It’s bound to appeal to those with a dark, dry sense of humour – supplied with grey envelopes but now wondering if they should be black!” she added.
Going all googly
Humour hasn’t previously formed a huge part of Cinnamon Aitch’s offering, but the Googly range has proved a great success. Simple, colourpopping imagery of cute, quirky characters combine with dad puns, fun word play and are handfinished with googly eyes. As co-owner Sara Burford laughed: “It turns out lots of people love an up beet beetroot or a sub-lime citrus fruit!” PG Live will see an additional 12 designs added to the now 66-strong range.
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Swipe it like it’s hot
What’s this? A card on a card? Well yes! The new Swipe It Like It’s Hot range from Brainbox Candy features an embossed and spot UV 3D card attached to the front. Maximum fun is to be had with this new everyday range featuring anything from fake IDs, bogus loyalty and club cards and credit cards. They even feature pretend chip and pins. Ooooh chips, hmmmmm. We love chips. Anyway, these cards are fun. You’ll like ‘em.
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The funny club
Abacus has teamed up with the Comedy Card Company again for its latest humour releases, launching a trio of ranges ready for PG Live. There’s Beasties (pictured), with cute cartoon creatures and clever puns, while Let’s Face It features retro black and white images with more edgy captions, and the typographic Straight Talking range tells it like it is.
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Think it’s funny
Having welcomed Louise Mulgrew as a new licensed collection, The Art File is bringing some new gentle humour designs into the range for PG Live. The funny and thoughtful illustrations match many occasions, and add to the publisher’s established humour ranges of the witty medieval-themed and the bold and bright Rise ’N’ Grind collections.
Magical mystery tour
Dust off your crystal ball and gaze into the future at PG Live, where Arrthi Little’s Cheeky Legends is unveiling its most mystical range yet, Magic Wish & Potions
Blending sharp-witted humour with cosmic charm, the launch has eight showstopping designs alongside a magical capsule collection of keythemed cards. Unlock exclusive offers available only at the show –it’s written in the stars…
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Of the moment
There are very different tastes in comedy and humour but just about everyone loves a good titter so PG has asked around to find out what greetings folk are finding funny.
“I went to see Vir Das (pictured) at the Royal Albert Hall at the start of April. It was the final show of his tour, and was recorded for Netflix, so I’m is very glad I wasn't sat in the front row! He was very funny and even tipped his hand to the greeting card industry saying that ‘us Brits send a card for almost anything’.”
Harry Ferrin, B2B sales manager, Ohh Deer
Today’s Titters
“I’m enjoying Emma Doran’s posts on Instagram. She’s an energetic, selfdeprecating Irish comedian whose humour is often based on the chaotic realities of motherhood.”
Lucilla Lavender, co-owner, Lucilla Lavender
“I’ve just finished the new series of Last One Laughing and honestly, man of the moment Alan Carr had me in absolute creases (pictured). The whole show is brilliant, the line-up is ridiculously good but Alan’s facial expressions alone nearly finished me off. Add in Bob Mortimer’s completely off-the-wall, can’t-replicate-him humour, and I was gone – a solid 10-minute titter spiral.”
Lucy Nicholson, owner, Lucy Maggie Designs
“After a long day we like to watch reruns of Schitt's Creek – it's clever and witty, camp and kitsch so it's right up our street, but it's also really heartwarming. We like character-based comedies, shows like Motherland, This Country, and Parks And Recreation which is probably why we invent personas and silly back stories for the ornaments that star in our cards. We were recently watching the Schitt’s Creek one where David and Patrick are preparing for their wedding (pictured) and Patrick gifts David a massage to help with his nerves – needless to say our Happy Ending card is a homage to that episode!”
Jo and David Short, founders, Ornament Art
Today’s Titters
“Favourite Cinnamon Aitch comedian is currently Bob Mortimer (pictured). Surreal and obscure while cheeky and lovable all rolled into one. A very good chuckle!”
Sara Burford, co-owner, Cinnamon Aitch
“In Britain, we have a strange way of showing we care. We don't buy cards that say I Love You, we buy cards that say Happy Birthday You Old Bastard. and stand-up legend Romesh Ranganathan (pictured) has built a career on this exact brand of aggressive endearment, the art of being incredibly blunt because you’re comfortable enough to be your worst self. Romesh and I share the same Sri Lankan Tamil background, which proves that no matter where you're from, tapping into British wit is a powerful tool for building an audience. The two cultures certainly have more in common than most people are aware – playful banter is part of how we meet and greet close family and friends.”
Arrthi Little, owner, Arrthi
Today’s Titters
“My favourite comedian is still Peter Kay and top comedy TV is Peter Kay’s Car Share (pictured) which I have, and will continue to, watched over and over again.”realities of motherhood.”
Anne Barber, owner, In Heaven At Home, Market Harborough
“Nonsense, silly observational stuff, unexpected punchlines are still my favourite. Bob Mortimer is not only a national treasure but his style, absurdity, silliness delivered in his warm, humble and cheeky way absolutely cracks me up. I regularly fall down the rabbit hole watching old Would I Lie To You? clips as well as his hilarious Instagram posts. The TV show Last One Laughing was yet again a masterclass and a top giggle. Joe Wilkinson (pictured) is also very high up on my giggle-ometer – best stand-up I’ve ever seen – and I will forever miss the wonderful Sean Lock Ben Hickman, head of crayons, Brainbox Candy
“I’m always a fan of Tim Key and not too long ago saw his feature film that he wrote with Tom Basden called The Ballad Of Wallis Island (pictured). Really funny but also very heartwarming at the same time. Strongly recommend!”
Iain Hamilton, owner, Bewilderbeest
