The worst Christmas card fails come down to a few repeat mistakes: a prop that steals the whole picture, a pose that looks like a hostage photo, and a background that dates the picture right away. Fifteen awkward Christmas photos follow, after a quick look at how the card got started and why we keep sending it.
Updated October 27, 2026.
This time of year your mailbox fills up with cards from family, friends and a few people you never hear from the rest of the year. The worst ones usually come from that last group. Yeah, there’s probably a reason you don’t talk to them anymore.
Look through enough old holiday cards and the awkward ones pile up fast. The pattern barely changes from decade to decade. The smile is held a beat too long, somebody is looking at the wrong camera, and the photographer is the only person in the house who is not embarrassed. It’s the same mood as a family in matching ugly Christmas sweaters. Anyone who has ever tried to get a whole family to look at one camera at the same time knows how it goes: somebody blinks, somebody sneezes, and somebody wanders off.
Where the Christmas Card Came From
The first Christmas card you could buy was ordered by Henry Cole in London in 1843, and John Callcott Horsley designed it. Two batches totaling 2,050 cards were printed and sold for a shilling each. The picture showed three generations of a family raising a toast, with scenes of charity on either side.
Louis Prang’s firm began selling Christmas cards in America in 1874. By the 1880s it was printing more than five million a year using a color printing method called chromolithography. Hallmark’s founders, Joyce Hall and his brother Rollie, began marketing their cards in 1913. By 2005 an estimated 1.9 billion cards were sent in the United States. The photo card is the newest chapter, and it gave us everything below.
Most of us have a stack of these on the fridge or in a drawer, some we love and some we can’t quite explain. If you want more holiday fun, try these iconic Christmas movie moments or the best Christmas TV episodes.
Christmas Card Fails With Odd Props and Poses
What’s not to lovingly admire? Somebody really did sit down and plan this one.
I think we know where their Christmas dinner is coming from.
How do you spell JOY?
I think it was the baby in the cardboard box that set this kid off.
One of those branches is wilting fast.
Christmas Card Fails Nobody Planned
You’ve been warned.
Family togetherness. Almost every family has at least one person who’s only smiling because someone off camera said to.
Bummer.
He’s doing his best to keep it together.
Let’s not be at each other’s throats again this Christmas.
Costumes, Backgrounds and One Monkey
The 90s background makes the shot. Nobody picking a backdrop back then thought it would date the photo, but here we are.
Nothing says Christmas like a monkey in a dress.
Temporarily blinded by joy.
The costumes need to be back before 5:00.
It’s really about the kids, right? Most of us have been the kid who was just told to smile and go along with it.
Christmas Card Fails FAQ
Who sent the first Christmas card?
Henry Cole ordered the first Christmas card you could buy in London in 1843, and John Callcott Horsley designed it. Two batches totaling 2,050 cards were printed and sold for a shilling each. The picture showed three generations of a family raising a toast, with scenes of charity on either side.
When did Christmas cards reach America?
Louis Prang’s firm began selling Christmas cards in America in 1874, the first printer to do so. By the 1880s it was making more than five million cards a year with a color printing method called chromolithography, which earned Prang the nickname father of the American Christmas card. Cheap copies eventually pushed him out of the market.
How many Christmas cards are sent each year?
The most-cited US figure is 1.9 billion cards sent in 2005. The estimated number of cards received per household fell from 29 in 1987 to 20 in 2004. Both numbers are now two decades old, so read them as a snapshot of those years rather than a current count.
What makes a Christmas card photo go wrong?
Props that take over the frame, a forced pose held too long, and a busy background are the usual causes. Every photo above has at least one. Someone in the picture who doesn’t want to be there shows up on camera, so a short session with a relaxed group beats a long one with a plan.