How to collect addresses for Christmas cards

Most card lists have a few gaps every year: a cousin who moved, friends from a new job, the neighbors who left in spring. The quickest fix is one short message to everyone you're unsure about, sent early enough that answers arrive before you start writing. Mid November works well.

What to ask for

• The name for the envelope. Ask how they'd like it written. "The Nguyen-Smith Family" is easier to get from them than to guess, and the addressing guide shows the options.
• The full postal address. Street and number, apartment or unit, city, state or region, postal code. For someone abroad, the country on the last line.
• Nothing else. Phone numbers and birthdays are nice to have, but every extra field makes people hesitate, and you don't need them for a card.

Copy-paste message

Short and personal gets the most answers. Two versions:

Hi! I'm sending holiday cards this year and want to make sure yours gets to the right place. Could you add your address here? It only goes to me. [link]

Updating my card list before December. If you've moved or I might have an old address, could you fill this in? Takes a minute. [link]

Send it one to one, or to a family group chat. In a group chat, a link to a form is better than asking people to reply with their address, because then nobody's address ends up in front of the whole group.

Ways to collect them

Ask in messages and copy the answers

Fine for five people. For thirty, the copying adds up, and typos creep in.

A shared spreadsheet

Everyone types into the same sheet, which means everyone can also read, and change, everyone else's address. Avoid it for anything bigger than one household.

A general form tool

Works, but you set up the fields yourself, and the answers land in a separate spreadsheet you then turn into labels.

A card list with an address link

The card list on this site gives you one link. Each person sees your name, a name field and an address field, and a note that only you see the address. Answers go straight onto your list, where you tick off cards sent and received and print address labels (Avery 5160, or A4 3 x 8 with 70 x 37 mm labels). No account for you or for them.

Be careful with addresses

• Tell people who will see their address and for how long. It is the first thing a careful person wonders about.
• Keep the finished list to yourself. A printout of every address in the family is worth a little care.
• Delete what you no longer need. An address someone gave you for this year's card doesn't have to sit in an old spreadsheet forever.

Next step: what to track on your Christmas card list, with a blank list to print. The USPS last mailing dates are on when to mail Christmas cards in 2026.