The Goods

The Best Literary Holiday Cards to Send This Season

Tirzah Price Jun 30, 2023

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Tirzah Price

Senior Contributing Editor

Most of Tirzah Price's life decisions have been motivated by a desire to read as many books as humanly possible. Tirzah holds an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and has worked as an independent bookseller and librarian. She’s also the author of the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries, published by HarperTeen, and Bibliologist at TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations. Follow her on Twitter @TirzahPrice.

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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!

Have Your Shelf a Literary Christmas ($6): 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

Holiday Book Shelf ($5): More holiday shelf goals!

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"

Snowfall in the Shire Card ($5): Can you imagine a cozier spot for the holiday season?

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!