Christmas cards were once only exchanged by royals. James I of England and Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales exchanged Christmas greetings in the 17th century.
Commercial Christmas cards would not be exchanged until 1843. Christmas cards as we know them were invented in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole, a civil servant for the post office. The cards, however, were expensive and only exchanged by the wealthy.
Read more about the first Christmas cards in NewsBank’s article
If you want to learn how to make your own cards, look for these books at Rockwall County Library that will give instructions on various techniques.
Goldschadt, Sarah. Craft-a-Day: 365 Simple Handmade Projects. Crafts are organized by month of the year.
Hancocks, Amanda. Handmade Greeting Cards For Special Occasions.
Robertson, Jeannette. Greeting Cards From A to Z. Crafts are organized alphabetically by technique e.g. border, deckle edge, mesh.
Watanabe, Judi. The Complete Photo Guide to Cardmaking. Techniques include origami, quilling, pop-up, stamping, and more.
Visser, Carla. Handmade Personalized Photo Gifts. 75+ DIY gifts and keepsakes.