Dear Friends,

Did you know that Christmas Card Day is on the 9th December? Would you like to help us bring back the good ol’ days of postboxes brimming with Christmas cheer and goodwill?

Please help us celebrate the tradition of sending cards this Christmas, not only for the joy and excitement of sending and receiving them, but also to remember the great philanthropist, Sir Henry Cole, who invented the idea and who played a big part in setting up our postal service, together with Sir Rowland Hill.

We’ve all understandably cut back on the number of Christmas cards we send each year because of our busy schedules, as well as the cost of stamps, but we’re just asking that however many you are sending that you send them on Tuesday 9th December in honour of Sir Henry Cole and #ChristmasCardDay.

I’m going to start writing mine very soon but the plan is to save them all up and take them with me to send them from the nearest postbox to Brompton Cemetery where we’re heading on another pilgrimage (of sorts) to find Sir Henry’s grave to let him know that the practice of sending Christmas cards and festive joy still matters, and that his efforts to make an affordable postal service haven’t been forgotten. We’re hoping any postal services that have benefited from the tradition of sending Christmas cards will help to recognise his amazing legacy too.

We’re very excited to hopefully be meeting Henry’s GGGG Granddaughter on the day and hope Axel Scheffler, and Tristram Hunt from the V&A, which Henry founded, might come along too, and with any luck the Interim CEO of Royal Mail, Alistair Cochrane, and by some small miracle, Emma Thompson too because it was her fabulous book, Jim’s Spectacular Christmas, that alerted me to Sir Henry Cole’s invention in the first place. Fingers crossed!

We’ve got an amazing set of stampers to decorate all our envelopes with as well – no pressure to buy them, but just to say we get 10% commission on any sold to help keep the Society going, and any commission from the Sir Henry Cole and Jim stamper (designed for us by Axel Scheffler) will go towards postage stamps for schools. I think Henry would’ve approved.

(Click HERE to find our collaboration page on The English Stamp Company website)

Let’s try and send as many Christmas cards as we can on the 9th December! Christmas cards in November always feels a bit weird but those in December are perfect. There’s no pressure for them all to be delivered by 25th December (we’ve got a bit crazy about that), as I know posties are under so much pressure at this time of year, and also I always like to stand by the 12 Days of Christmas which starts on Christmas Day, not finishes on it. I don’t even mind if Christmas cards turn up in February, but that’s just me.

It might be that your local postbox has reached capacity when you go to post your cards but that’s the perfect opportunity to find the next nearest postbox or even one off the beaten track and give it (and the postie) the thrill of mail at collection time. Click HERE to find your local postboxes – just enter the postcode and search.

Don’t forget you can send Christmas cards for FREE to Royal Mail Customer Services, so if you can’t afford any stamps you can still take part. Do write to Alistair or Daniel, one to wish them a nice Christmas, but also to remind them we need affordable stamps. Here’s the address – no stamp needed as it’s a FREEPOST address:

So what do you think? Shall we see how many postboxes we can fill with Christmas cards and make a big fuss over the man who invented them? If yes, then it would be lovely to see any cards in progress or places they were sent from on the day or any with our lovely Christmas stampers on. Just tag us in @letterappsoc with the hashtag #ChristmasCardDay.

And I don’t know about you, but I find a handwritten letter in a Christmas card one of the best presents of all, if you’re stuck for ideas.

Thank you so much!

Dinah