11th Annual Holiday Card Exchange is Now Live!

Ho, Ho, Ho, the 11th annual Holiday Card Exchange is here! Come and join the fun to send and receive holiday cards with your fellow LibraryThing members.



Here's how it works:

• Mail a holiday card to a random LibraryThing member.
• You can mail a handmade or store bought card. Add a special note to personalize it.
• You’ll get one from another member. (Only that member will see your address.)
• In order for cards to be delivered correctly to you, you must include your real name in the address box when signing up: use whatever matches your mailbox. (Only your matches and LibraryThing staff can see your address details.)

Sign-ups for the Card Exchange CLOSE Thursday, December 5, 12:00pm Eastern (17:00 GMT).

We’ll inform you of your matches within an hour or so after signups close, so you can get those cards in the mail. Let us know if you have any questions. Happy mailing!

Sign up for the Holiday Card Exchange

Yay - Got my packet of cards ready to go for addresses! Last year I got so sick at the end of November that I had no holidays & couldn’t do my cards, felt so guilty. This year I am already primed with cards, stamps, & pens! ;)

Hooray! I'm signed up, although with Canada Post on strike it may be a while before I can send or receive cards. Maybe they'll be "new year" cards :)

>3 tardis: I was about to come here to also mention the Canada Post strike. I'd like to sign up, but with no mention of it elsewhere, I wanted to be sure people knew about it and that it's ok for us Canadians to still sign up!

Guess since tardis has, I could just go ahead, too. :-)

>4 LibraryCin: I don’t mind getting holiday cards late - they make January and February more cheerful. :)

Indeed, cards in Jan & Feb are extra cheery!

I would love to participate this year again however, I am uncertain how long the Canadian postal workers will be on strike......

>7 figsfromthistle: A few of us have signed up, anyway. :-) People seem ok if their cards might come late.

>8 LibraryCin: good to know. I will sign up as I have enjoyed this tradition.

I was hoping to get my cards out this afternoon but it looks like they haven't closed the sign-up yet which means it will be a while before we get our names and addresses. Any estimate of when that might be?

>10 ILuvBookplates: In the first post of this thread it says noon Eastern Time today so we should have our matches an hour or so after that.

Any updates? I was hoping to get my cards in the post this morning ☺️

>12 Keith_Ldn: No email or message announcing the names and addresses are available now but I did notice that you can no longer edit your sign-up info such as number of cards and whether you will send internationally or if you are willing to accept a card from the LT staff. I am hoping this means we will see something in a little while.

>13 ILuvBookplates: Good news, hopefully won't be long 🤞

Hello All! Thank you for your patience! Matches have now been made, and messages are going out to notify all participants. You should now be able to send out those cards!!

Please post any questions here, and happy card making and sending to all!

As before, the math of the thing made is so some people are giving or getting up to two different from what they wanted. Last year a bug meant a single member gave out a few cards, but got FIFTY cards back. For good or ill, I fixed that bug :)

>16 timspalding: I have the same address (and name) twice -- with an withheld LT name. Did they register twice (different accounts, same address) or was there a hiccup in the algorithm?

>16 timspalding: One of my card recipient addresses has this note:

Note: Due to a clerical error, this member was slated to receive more than 50 cards! If you sent them a card, that's great. If not, we already have them covered, and your card is extra and optional.

So are you sure you fixed the bug?

I think I got the same folks like last year. Including the guy with 50+ cards.

That's a mistake, isn't it?

>19 PersephonesLibrary: I was looking at my list and I have a few of my frequent flyers but I have quite a lot of new names this year...

>20 AnnieMod: Okay. I don't mind sending to the same people. I was just wondering- especially because of the German user with 50 cards.

I've posted messages to all my recipients except the one who doesn't accept messages that due to the Canada Post strike my cards may be later than usual.

>22 tardis: Oh, that's a good idea. I should do that, too.

Note: Due to a clerical error, this member was slated to receive more than 50 cards! If you sent them a card, that's great. If not, we already have them covered, and your card is extra and optional.

Ah. No. That message is from last year. This year they don't have extra. I'll send out a note to people NOT to skip them.

Shouldn't have hard-coded that message…

I have mailed my cards. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all.

Yay! I love this activity every year. It brings me so much joy to send out holiday cards and if I get late ones, I don't mind one bit as it is always fun to get mail. My cards are almost ready to send out. Happy holidays everyone!

This is my favorite annual event! I have every card from every person from every year I've participated. I even have a few favorite cards still up from last year 🙃 Thank you for putting this together again this year! 🎄✨️

My 19 cards are finished and will be mailed on Monday. Merry Christmas!

>28 bookofsecrets: 19?! Amazing! I am already proud I sent my 3 cards on Monday. :)

If you need any extras sent I can volunteer.

Got my 10 in the mail today

I can send extras, too, if needed. US only though, since I already went to the post office

>29 PersephonesLibrary: I started writing them early, a few each night. I remember last year, I wrote all 20 at once, and that was too much!

>33 bookofsecrets: That's a great ideal! I will try to think of that next year!


I received my first card today! Thank you kindly for the lovely card and bookmark, Stefanie from L. (Germany)! There was no LT handle so I want to let you know this way. Thank you!

My post office is not accepting cards to be sent to Canada so am going to try again - if someone knows that the strike has ended would be great to announce so I can target my additional attempts :)

>35 Cfraser: I'm not sure where you're at, but I know USPS isn't accepting any mail to Canada; they provided this link to Canada Post for updates on the strike.

>35 Cfraser: I'm in Canada and have a few cards to send when the strike is over. Hopefully I'll remember to pop back over here to mention when that happens.

Looking forward to receiving my first card!
If anyone has a spare card that they wouldn't mind posting to a UK address please message me.
My sister has had a rough year with various medical issues and a few extra cards would really bring a smile to her face! Thank you 😊

>38 Keith_Ldn: Keith, I gladly send a card if you like. I hope it will arrive in time.

I got my first LT holiday card yesterday and it is lovely!

There’s no mail at all in Canada?

My first two cards received from the USA, beautiful 😍

I'm also in Canada, and planning on sending my cards whenever the strike is over.

I received my first card yesterday!

>41 dianeham: The USPS wouldn't take my card to Canada. I got a stamp for it though, so I'm ready.

All of my cards are on their way (may take a while as they're all international)! Happy Christmas all.

Thank you to keith_Ldn and tina1969 for the lovely cards which arrived in this morning's Christmas post.

Word is that the federal government is going to legislate Canada Post back to work, which will be nice for those of us who want to mail things, but less so for the employees, who are likely to get shafted. As you can tell, I have mixed feelings.

Received my first holiday card ... and it was from an author whose books don't appear on LT but they want me to push my public library to get them. Ummmmm ... 😶

>47 tardis: Well, that's too bad.

>48 seongeona: I'm not sure how I feel about that...

>47 tardis: Yeah, I was hoping the government wouldn't step in (as much as I want to send out Xmas cards, etc).

>36 amanda4242: thanks for the link. I will monitor

>35 Cfraser: Canada post workers are back in the job tomorrow. I will be sending my cards on Wednesday

>52 figsfromthistle: I hope there was a good outcome. Thank you for the update, I’ll get mine out, too

>53 Copperskye: it's not 100% yet. It's not a happy outcome for the workers as they've been ordered back to work. They are taking today to see if there is anything they can legally do. (Currently watching the news and this is what they just reported.)

>53 Copperskye: I think they settled on 5% until May and if they are unable to negotiate a deal for the next four years between now and then, another strike will happen.

>48 seongeona: Your card signer used the greeting card exchange to plump up their book sales?

Got two cards today!

>54 LibraryCin: >55 figsfromthistle: No, not good…

>56 ILuvBookplates: It seems so. Pretty card, though.

>48 seongeona: How tacky!

>60 amanda4242: It was a bit disappointing

>58 Copperskye: In any case, if things actually are working again "as normal" (I'm sure it will take a good chunk of time for them to catch up with the backlog), I plan to get my cards in the mail tomorrow.

>48 seongeona: I received the same, sounds like from the same person. Agree it was disappointing but thankfully it isn't my only card. Hopefully you'll receive other cards that will make you smile. :)

>52 figsfromthistle: thanks. I will try again on Friday when I am near the post office again

For what is is worth, USPS are still saying not to send to Canada: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/canada-suspension.h... and Canada is still on the suspension list: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/

received 2 of my cards and love them both.
wondering if the card from Sheryl C26 in PA is a handmade card?
I make cards too!

Re: Canada Post: TECHNICALLY, Canada Post will not be accepting new domestic mail and parcels until Thursday, December 19. They also say they won't start accepting new international mail until December 23. All my card exchange cards are international - 9 to the US and one to France.

I went to the local postal outlet today to get stamps, mail cards, and mail a parcel to my mother. The staffer (an employee of the drugstore where the outlet is located, not Canada Post) accepted everything even though she said they weren't really supposed to. So, I figure it may all just sit there for a few days, but at least it's out of my house.

I have received 4 lovely cards!
Thank you Grace in MA, Elisabeth in NJ, Taryn in TX, and Maxwell in CA.

>67 tardis: Thank you! My cards are all to the US. I was originally planning to go to the post office today, bit it's cold and I don't drive. I had also heard that Thursday would be the first day for accepting mail. I didn't know about Dec 23rd for international, though. I thought I might try again on Friday... I might still at least go pick up the stamps I need, even if they won't take the cards until next week.

>63 beaniebear: I'm sure there will be several of us. It was a pretty card, though, and made me feel nostalgic about my childhood Christmases. I remember my family getting cards that looked just like it back when. And I have received, yes, others since then that are wonderful. 🎄

Hallo zusammen, ich bin der Typ aus 2023 mit den 50 Karten. Tut mir leid, dass ich im Vorjahr für Verwirrung gesorgt habe, lag nicht in meiner Absicht. Schade wenn ich dadurch in diesem Jahr weniger als die zehn Karten erhalte, für die ich gemeldet habe.

Good news about Canada Post, and I really hope the workers get a decent result in the end. Even in these digital times a functioning postal service to every address is one of the signs of a civilised society. Long may it continue!

I received a nice self-designed card from Germany and got all my cards on their way.

With Canada Post up and running (but not accepting new mail until today, I believe), I am hoping to get to the post office tomorrow (Friday). I also need to pick up additional stamps, so I am a bit concerned about how long the lineups will be!

>74 LibraryCin: I have a stack of old stamps that due to a recent change in postal services here, can only be used for international mail. So in a way it's basically free for me to send these cards.

I also had some nice cards that came with envelopes. I just hadn't seen / noticed that the envelopes were black. So I had to search in my house for some white labels so I could write an address on the envelopes. So all in all it was quite fun to send the cards this year :-)

>71 zyypresse: No one thinks it was your fault. Hopefully you were blessed with extra joy and enjoy your cards this year too.

>71 zyypresse: 🙂 Ich hoffe, Sie haben sich über die nette Überraschung letztes Jahr gefreut. Ich bin sicher, dass Ihre Karten für 2024 bald eintreffen werden. 🎄

Received 3 LT cards yesterday! Such fun. To my new friend beaniebear@LT, please stay in touch!!

Received nice greetings from Sharon in CO and Tracey in CA. Thank you both!

Thank you Melinda for the card and origami crane!

Received 2 wonderful cards this week :D Thank you so much to belladonna624 and beaniebear and happy holidays to you both!

I received my first card! Malinda from Massachusetts (no LT name) sent an adorable sleepy puppy card.

Three more cards received today, Christmas Eve - wonderful!
Thank you so much to everyone for helping to make this a very festive season :)

We got back home last night, so I've just received some of my LT cards. Thank you to Carrie Lowe (cbl_tn) and Kat (Hazey Recollect)!

Yippee! I got some holiday cards yesterday and am so,so happy!

Thank you Melinda from VA for the cute origami crane; Robyn from TX for the beautiful card; (ehuizar for the book suggestions and bookmark); Paula from WA for the stickers; (serious Grace for the awesome tree ornament); Angela from TN for the adorable card; Wendy from KY for the fabolous tissue holder; (leximarolf for the stickers and beautiful bookmark)

Found another card in my post box today! Thank you so much to Literate.Ninja for the cute little owl and for the library sticker :D