The Evolution of Holiday Cards

The Festive Season and The Hobby

Holiday cards have been around for more than a century, with some of the first being released by brands as festive advertisements. Over time, holiday-themed cards became part of the story of Topps, with some early examples including promotional greeting-style cards. Of course, as the years have unfolded, the production and release of holiday cards have become more and more a staple of the Topps annual calendar.

With the releases of Topps Holiday Baseball and Holiday Basketball, we have some present-day examples to look at — sets that are designed to celebrate both The Hobby and the holidays. With the festive season fast approaching, let’s take a walk through the history of holiday trading cards.

Santa Claus: King of the Holiday Hobby

Starting in the late 19th century, Santa Claus began to emerge on cards. Issues like this early Woolson Spice Santa card were often advertisements or marketing efforts pairing a particular business to the card.

An Ohio-based spice and coffee company founded in 1864, Woolson Spice’s Santa cards offer some of the earliest examples of the Holiday Hobby. This card features Santa surrounded by children, with the message, “The Woolson Spice Co. Wishes You a Merry Christmas.”

1890 Duke Holidays

In the late 1800s, Duke was a major player in the tobacco card world. The 1890 N80 Duke Holidays release was a 50-card set that was not specific to the festive season, but rather was designed to celebrate a variety of holidays from around the world. These included the Fourth of July, George Washington’s birthday, the French Grand Prix horse race, and of course, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

These vintage cards remain fairly accessible, with the Thanksgiving Day card above selling through Fanatics Collect in 2024 for $132.

Holiday-themed tobacco cards continued to be released through the early 20th century. One example comes from London in 1936, when R & J Hill put out a Crystal Palace Souvenir Cards tobacco set that included a “Christmas Entertainments at the Palace” card.

Two years later W.A. & A.C. Churchman released a humorous Christmas greeting card featuring Santa Claus on a smoke break.

Giving the Gift of Topps

A holiday-themed baseball card trend emerged in the 1960s and ’70s, with retailers assembling ‘Rack Packs’ highlighting the season through festive packaging that showcased Topps Baseball cards. These repacks would use holiday-style designs, making them ideal gifts for collectors.

As the years went by, holiday cards appeared within Topps releases. Examples include this Christmas Celebration card released in the 1971 Topps Brady Brunch set, showing the famous family around the tree, as well as a 1989 Topps Ghostbusters II card titled “Merry Christmas, New York!”

Early Topps Christmas sets didn’t feature holiday-themed cards, but rather, they included Topps Baseball factory sets in more colorful, festive wrapping. These were released by the company in time for holiday gift-giving.

Santa Claus Gets His Set

With trading cards becoming an ever-more-popular holiday gift, it was only a matter of time before the holidays and The Hobby came together in set form. Enter the 18-card 2007 Topps Santa Claus set. The cards, which included an auto and a relic (featuring Santa’s suit), featured 10 base cards built off designs of iconic years in Topps.

Perhaps the most recognizable is this Mantle-esque Santa Claus card that led off the set, featuring the big man doing his best Mickey, bat across the shoulder and all.

Topps Holiday Arrives

By 2016, the convergence of Topps, trading cards, and the holiday season took another leap, with the debut release of Topps Holiday Baseball. The set blended designs from Topps Flagship with themes and elements built around the holidays.

The initial set was released as a Walmart exclusive, but over the years, it has expanded across Topps retail platforms, as the demand for holiday-themed sports trading card sets grew.

For coming on a decade now, Topps Holiday sets have become staples, including early cards of some of the current Kings of The Hobby. This PSA 9 2018 Topps Holiday Bowman Gold Festive Shohei Ohtani Auto RC 1/1 sold for over $25,000 in March 2025 through Fanatics Collect.

Designs have expanded, as have the releases, which now include The Hoops Hobby with 2025-26 Topps Holiday basketball. Inserts now include unique die-cut ornament cards, offering collectors another way to build collections while celebrating the holidays.

Today, the evolution of holiday cards has gone on for more than a century, growing alongside the popularity of The Hobby.

Holiday Card Collector FAQs

• What counts as a “holiday card” in The Hobby?
  • A holiday card is any card designed around seasonal themes — Christmas, winter, Santa imagery, holiday greetings, or holiday-specific variations/inserts — whether vintage (trade/tobacco era) or modern (retail holiday sets).
• Why do collectors love holiday-themed cards?
  • They combine nostalgia and novelty — festive designs, fun variations, and a “limited-season” feel, while still featuring popular players and legitimate chase hits.
• When did Topps Holiday Baseball begin?
  • Topps Holiday Baseball debuted in 2016, helping establish the modern template for a holiday-themed sports card set.
• What should collectors chase in modern Topps Holiday products?
  • Start with favorite players and rookies, then look for holiday-specific variations, numbered parallels, autographs/relics, and themed inserts (like ornament-style designs).

Key Facts

• Origins: Holiday trading cards date back over 100 years as festive ads and tobacco-era collectibles
• Iconography: Santa Claus and winter imagery became early staples of holiday card design
• Topps History: Topps has embraced holiday themes through gift-ready packaging and special releases for decades
• Modern Era: Topps Holiday Baseball and Holiday Basketball bring seasonal designs into today’s Hobby
• Collector Appeal: Holiday sets mix festive fun with real rookies, stars, and chase-worthy hits

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