Observed annually on the first Saturday in October, World Card Making Day is a holiday that encourages everyone to make their own cards. Anyone who has recently walked into a store to price holiday cards knows how expensive they can be. We recently wandered into a store and saw a holiday card that cost well over $10!

Well, let us tell everyone that making a card will be a lot cheaper than that, and it will be a lot of fun as well. So, let’s all gather a few basic materials, roll up our sleeves, and get to making some fantastic holiday and/or birthday cards.

The History of World Card Making Day

Holiday cards have been around for a long time now. Some of the first ones were created by Europeans during the 15th century. That is when greeting cards and Valentine’s Day cards first appeared. During the 19th century in the U.S., Valentine’s Day cards began to gain popularity as they could be produced cheaply.

In 1840, the postage stamp was introduced, and this allowed many people to send holiday cards to one another quite easily through the mail. In 1843, the first known Christmas card was published in London.

Sir Henry Cole hired artist John Calcott Horsley to design a holiday card that he could send to his friends. In 1856, Louis Prang, a German immigrant, opened a lithographic business near Boston. This would be the beginning of the American greeting card industry.

Nowadays, greeting cards are big business, and it’s estimated that Americans spend almost $7 billion a year on them. It should also be said that over the last few years, a lot more people are beginning to make their own greeting cards, which has been made easier thanks to improvements in printing and page layout software.

This is probably why World Card Making Day was made into a holiday, although we must admit that we’re unsure of when this holiday was created or who created it.

Observing World Card Making Day

World Card Making Day can be observed by people taking the time to design, make, and send out their own holiday cards. Sure, people can go into a store and buy some pretty nice holiday and birthday cards, but making your own just adds a personal touch that can’t be matched. Anyone observing this holiday should also take the time to spread the word about it using the hashtag #WorldCardMakingDay on social media.