The Christmas card was invented by Sir Henry Cole in 1843 and featured an illustration by John Callcott Horsley. It is believed that he was inspired to come up with the Christmas card by examples of valentines days cards, which had been popular in England. Also, it was customary for pupils in English schools to produce Christmas pieces. These usually were large sheets of paper which the pupils decorated with colorful borders and headings, and then inscribed with Christmas greetings.

A batch of 1000 cards was printed by Cole and they sold for a shilling each. (In December 2005, one of these cards was auctioned for nearly £9000.) Cole commissioned artist J.C. Horsley to design the picture for his first card. The picture was based on the common medieval artistic device of a triptych which was a set of three illustrations. The central illustration was a jolly party of adults and children with plenty of food and drink. Underneath the picture was the greeting "Wishing a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you." Each side panel represented good works such as the clothing of the naked and the feeding of the hungry.

Early English cards rarely showed winter or religious themes, instead favoring flowers, fairies and other fanciful designs that reminded the recipient of the approach of spring. Humorous and sentimental images of children and animals were popular, as were increasingly elaborate shapes, decorations and materials. In 1875 Louis Prang became the first printer to offer cards in America, though the popularity of his cards led to cheap imitations that eventually drove him from the market. The advent of the postcard spelled the end for elaborate Victorian-style cards, but by the 1920s, cards with envelopes had returned.

Cards continued to evolve throughout the 20th century with changing tastes and printing techniques. The World Wars brought cards with patriotic themes. Idiosyncratic 'studio cards' with cartoon illustrations and sometimes risque humor caught on in the 1950s. Nostalgic, sentimental, and religious images are once again popular, and reproductions of Victorian and Edwardian cards are easy to obtain.

'Official' Christmas cards began with Queen Victoria in the 1840s. The British royal family's cards are generally portraits reflecting significant personal events of the year. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first official White House card. The cards usually depict White House scenes as rendered by prominent American artists. The number of recipients has snowballed over the decades, from just 2000 in 1961 to 1.4 million in 2005.

Modern Christmas cards can be bought individually but are usually sold in packs of the same or varied designs. A revival of interest in paper crafts, particularly scrapbooking, has raised the status of the homemade card and made available an array of tools for stamping, punching and cutting. Advances in digital photography and printing have provided a more technological way to personalize cards with photos, messages, or clip art. However, technology may also be responsible for the decline of the Christmas card. The estimated number of cards received by American households dropped from 29 in 1987 to 20 in 2004. Email and the telephone (especially celphones) allow for more frequent contact and are easier for generations raised without handwritten letters. Nevertheless, with 1.9 billion cards sent in the U.S.

From the beginning, Christmas cards have been avidly collected. Queen Mary amassed a large collection that is now housed in the British Museum. Specimens from the 'golden age' of printing (1840s-1890s) are especially prized and bring in large sums at auctions. Collectors may focus on particular images like Santa Claus, poets, or printing techniques.