Christmas Card Address Labels: Print Your Whole List at Home

Christmas card address labels are the quickest way to send a full list. Printing the addresses by hand takes hours, and a handwriting mistake can send a card to the wrong house. Printed address labels are neat and easy to correct. You can print your whole list at home in one session, with a festive design, using a spreadsheet and a label sheet.

Christmas card address labels: start with a clean list

A good list takes the most time, but it makes printing quick. Use one spreadsheet with one row for each household. Add these columns:

• Name, for example: The Smith Family, or Mr. and Mrs. John Smith
• Street address, with any apartment or unit number
• City, state and ZIP code

Check each address once. Look for typos, missing ZIP codes and people who have moved. A short check now saves a card going astray. Remove duplicate rows, and sort by last name so the labels come out in an order that is easy to check.

If you send cards to people who have moved, ask them to confirm their address before you print. A quick message is often the easiest way to check.

Keep the spreadsheet after the holidays. Next year you only need to add new families, remove the ones you no longer send to, and print again. A tidy list is the part that takes time, so it pays to keep it.

Choose the right label sheet

Pick the sheet by the size of the address. The table below shows the common options. Sizes are for US Letter paper unless marked A4.

Buy one box of the sheet you need, and do not buy all the sheets for the season until you have tested one. Keep the box, so you can match the number later.

Add a festive design

Keep the design simple so the address is easy to read. A small border, a snowflake or a red and green accent works well. Large pictures can crowd the text and make the label hard to scan.

In LabelPeel, you can change the font, size, color and alignment. You can also add a logo or a picture. Use the AI helper to describe what you want in plain words, such as making the text festive or changing a color for one group of names.

If you use Word, go to Mailings › Labels, choose your product number, and type the address in the Address box. Word is simplest for plain text. For a picture or logo on each label, LabelPeel can add one.

Print return address labels

Put your return address on a smaller label. The Avery® 5167 sheet is a common choice, with 80 labels per sheet. Place it on the back flap of each envelope, or in the top-left corner on the front.

Print your return labels on the same day as the main run. That way you know the design matches. If you want the return labels in the same festive design, use the same font and color.

Print the test sheet first

Always print a test sheet. This step takes a few minutes and saves a whole box of labels.

1. Put a sheet of plain paper in the printer, at the same size as the label sheet.
2. Print one page with your list, using the same settings you will use for the real sheets.
3. Hold the test page against a label sheet, against a window or a light. Check that each label lines up with the printed text.
4. If the text is a little high, low or to one side, move the labels by a few millimetres, then print a new test.

Once the test lines up, print the full sheets on the label stock.

Print at 100% and check the margins

Set your printer to print at 100% or Actual size. If the print window has Fit to page or Scale to fit selected, turn it off. Scaling is the most common reason labels do not line up.

Use LabelPeel for the whole run

If your list is already in a spreadsheet, paste it into LabelPeel. It turns each row into one label on the sheet you choose, and it guesses which columns to use. You can change the columns with a tick list, or type your own wording with {Column} placeholders.

LabelPeel is free while it is in beta, and you can try it on the home page without an account. A print checklist reminds you to print at 100% and check the paper size. A test page helps you check the alignment, and Start at label N lets you finish a half-used sheet.

For a longer guide on printing labels from a spreadsheet, read how to print labels from Excel. For the sheet sizes, see the Avery label sizes chart.

Common problems

The labels are too small to read. Use a larger sheet, such as Avery® 5161 or 5162, or cut the design down to a border with the name in a larger font.

Some addresses are missing. Check that every row has a full address and a ZIP code before you print. A blank cell leaves a gap in that address.

The labels do not line up. Check that you printed at 100% and that the product number matches the sheet. Print a new test page.

The labels smudge. Let the ink dry for a few minutes before you touch the sheet, and check that the label stock suits your printer.

Cards went to old addresses. Ask for updated addresses from family and friends before you print. A quick check now saves a return to the post office later.

Final tips

Start your list early, check it twice and print a test each time you change the settings. A little planning means your Christmas cards go out on time, neat and easy to read.

For more on sheets and sizes, see the templates page.