Every December, somebody calls us on the 18th hoping for a miracle. Sometimes we can help. More often the honest answer is “not on paper, not before Christmas”, which is why this list exists. Pin it to the fridge, or just read the dates.
The dates
| Order by | For |
|---|---|
| November 20 | Hanukkah photo cards, in hand before the first night (sundown, December 4) |
| November 26 (Thanksgiving) | Christmas cards, with a relaxed weekend left to address and mail them |
| December 3 | Photo calendars, delivered before Christmas |
| December 5 | Christmas cards, delivered to you before Christmas. The last safe day. |
| Mid-December | Return address labels, if you’re mailing your cards the week before Christmas |
| December 24 or 25 | A digital card. Really. |
Cards and calendars
Holiday cards and calendars go through three steps: we build your card and check every photo, you approve the proof, and our production department prints it and ships it to you. Ground shipping is free anywhere in the US. Allow about two weeks door to door, which is where December 5 comes from.
Calendars need two days more because there are thirteen photos to check instead of one or two.
One thing those dates don’t cover: you still have to sign, address and stamp the cards, and the post office is at its busiest. That’s why Thanksgiving is the date we’d actually circle.
Address labels
Return address labels are the one thing on this list we print right here in Fairfield. Once you approve the proof, they’re printed the same day. Pick them up in Fairfield, or they’re in your mailbox about two days later. Order them with your cards and you’re done in one go. Packs start at 90 labels.
For businesses: events, sales and holiday mail
If you’re promoting a holiday sale, a toy drive, a tree lot or a New Year’s Eve event, work back from the day the first person needs to see it:
- Yard signs and banners: order at least a week ahead. They print within a day or two, and shipping inside California is included.
- Flyers, postcards and door hangers: order two weeks ahead. Printing takes about four business days, plus shipping, plus the proof.
- Every Door Direct Mail: order three weeks before you want it in mailboxes. It prints, it comes back to us, and then the Postal Service delivers it on its own schedule, which in December is not quick. In Solano County we can take the bundles to the post office for you.
- Business holiday cards: same as family cards, December 5. A card to your customers that arrives in January isn’t late if it says Happy New Year.
Missed it?
Send New Year cards. Same designs, same photos, and they arrive after the December pile, so they actually get read.
Or send a digital card. Our digital cards go out by email, so there’s no shipping to wait on. Pick a design, add your photo and your words, and choose the day it goes out, Christmas morning included. When it’s opened, Pica, our pig, paints it right onto the screen. Your first one is free.
Talk to a person
Not sure whether something will make it? Call (447) 747-7181 or email hello@pressedpig.com and ask. A person answers, and we’ll tell you honestly.