Corporate Holiday Greeting Cards: A Business Gifting Checklist Before You Order

October feels early to think about holiday cards — until you remember that "send cards to 200 clients before the second week of December" is a deadline that sneaks up fast once design, proofing, and printing are all stacked in front of it. If corporate holiday cards are on your list this year, here's what's worth sorting out before you place the order, not after.

Format and envelopes, the short version

Custom greeting cards come flat or folded on 14pt coated cardstock, and envelopes aren't automatically bundled in — they're an add-on, so confirm that's covered before you're a week out from mailing with a box of cards and nothing to put them in. We've gone through the format and envelope details in full in our greeting card guide; the short version for holiday orders is: folded gives you more room for a cover design plus an inside message, which is closer to what people expect from a traditional holiday card than a flat one.

One thing specific to a coated holiday card: that smooth finish looks great printed but isn't the friendliest surface for handwriting in ballpoint pen. Plan for drying time if your team is signing cards by hand, or build the signature into the printed design instead.

Think about quantity and timing differently than you would for a regular print order

Holiday cards are a once-a-year run, which means two things most businesses don't think about until it's too late. First, "how many" isn't just current client count — factor in referral partners, vendors, and anyone you'd regret leaving off the list, because reordering a small batch in mid-December is a much tighter turnaround than planning for it now. Second, if your design includes a specific year or dated reference, build in time for a proof review — a typo in a one-time print run isn't something you get to quietly fix next week.

Make it about more than the greeting

A corporate holiday card is one of the few pieces of print marketing people don't mind receiving. Use the space for more than "season's greetings" — a short thank-you for the year, a mention of what's ahead, or a small nod to how the relationship actually works is more memorable than a generic template, and it's the kind of detail that makes recipients actually read the inside instead of setting it on the counter.

The earlier you lock in format and quantity, the more breathing room you have for the parts that are easy to rush: proofing, approvals, and making sure the mailing list is actually current.