Today is Small Business Saturday, a day that comes but once a year, encouraging us to support independents by doing our Christmas shopping with them. It holds a similar mission to Just a Card, a cause that urges us to buy even one greeeting card to help small businesses.
In that spirit, we've pulled together a list of some of our favourite Christmas cards, created by independent artists, designers and makers. You'll be sending your loved ones something bespoke while "doing your bit" for your fellow creatives. Perfect.
Sarah Neale is the talented person behind The Ink Draw, an online shop that sells greeting cards, prints and artworks. The Melbourne artist is someone we recommended to follow on Instagram this morning. Here, we share a pack of four festive cards from her Etsy shop.
Annika Chicharro hand-makes super cute and funny greeting cards, including Bull-dolph which will appeal to dog lovers everywhere. We especially love Merry F**king Christmas, although the Christmas Log came a close second.
Victoria is a full-time primary teacher in London who loves to craft handmade cards during her spare time. She has dreams to write and illustrate picture books too. Give her some love by purchasing one of her many gorgeous creations via her Etsy shop.
Hannah Waterman brings you: fluffy baby grey penguins on a greeting card. What more do you need to put a smile on someone's face this Christmas?
Glasgow-based photographer Morag Perkins has created this beautiful and unusual greeting card for the photography enthusiast in your life, featuring rich purple Christmas baubles in a strip of film. Printed on high-quality cardstock with a semi-gloss finish for deep vibrant colours, and matt inside for ease of writing.
Based in Southsea, Sarah Fisher makes pretty paper goods, wedding invitations and accessories. For Christmas, you just have to get your mitts on these delightful Animals In Scarves cards, featuring original illustrations of – you guessed it – winter animals wearing scarves. Cute.
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a festive skating pigeon. Jessica Taylor's cards are from her original illustrations and are blank inside, so they work equally well as greetings cards or notecards. They are A6, 240gsm pre-creased cards that all come with a white envelope, each card has a matt finish.
Swedish artist Matilda Svensson prints her own festive artworks onto cards in a small print shop in Malmö, Sweden. We love this pack of three, including rocking robins, sleeping foxes and Swedish forestland.
This laugh-out-loud funny Christmas card by Micky Calf, a Manchester illustrator, is just one of many hilarious creations that you can find on his Etsy shop. From Christmas pugs and Mancunian legends to rude naked santas, this is where it's at.
Love them or hate them, Katie Abey pays homage to sprouts (yuk) with a gorgeous illustrated Christmas card. The Alfreton-based illustrator and "Hogwarts graduate" has loads of other designs too. Check out Tree Rex.
Amy Lambert is the smiling face behind Copperstone Creative, offering prints, patterns and stationery for all occasions. Support the Huddersfield maker by snapping up her cute Reindeer Christmas Card.
We all know someone who doesn't really enjoy the festive season... this is the perfect card for them. Courtesy of Nicola Allan, Grumpy Owl will put a smile on that scrooge's face. An artist and illustrator based in Edinburgh, Nicola also sells prints via Etsy.
Bewilderbeest is the snappily dressed, but slightly baffled creature, that has kick-started a whole series of other drawings, paintings, and creations by Iain Hamilton, a self-taught artist based in Suffolk. We just have to have this Highland Christmas Cow card.
Louise Slater is a London-based artist who graduated in Graphic Design from Northumbria University, specialising in printmaking and illustration. She went on to do post graduate studies at Goldsmiths College, University of London and taught art and design at several schools and colleges in London. Her greeting card designs are based on drawings and handmade limited edition lino prints, many of which are available to buy, including these stunning mistletoe Christmas cards.
Little Birds Talk – aka designer Laura Hawkins – urges us to pay some thought to the thousands of turkeys up and down the country with gizzards a quiver at the thought of a Christmas stuffing. Her colourful creations centre on our fine feathered friends, and are guaranteed to put a smile on your loved ones' faces.
Alon Avissar is a DC-based art director and designer with a passion for history, music trivia, Ninja Turtles and Sriracha. His love of nineties pop culture, proven through his rather nifty website design, is the inspiration behind this series of festive cards, which pay homage to the popular Netflix series Stranger Things.
Main image: Micky Calf's Christmas Pugs card
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