Why a Physical Holiday Card Still Matters
In an era of group texts and automated birthday posts, a physical holiday card does something no notification can replicate: it proves you thought of someone specifically, wrote their name on an envelope, licked a stamp, and put it in the post. That sequence of deliberate effort is the signal. The card itself is almost secondary — what it communicates is: you are in my address book, and I keep an address book.
Choose the people you want to write to. This tool formats addresses; it does not assess relationships or determine the right number of cards. A short list of confirmed addresses is a useful starting point.
The difficulty is the logistics: collecting addresses, formatting them correctly for labels, keeping the list from year to year, and actually getting the sheets through a home printer without a fight. This tool handles the formatting so you can focus on the list itself.
Want to keep household addresses for the next occasion? Use the address-list workbook or CSV and confirm older addresses before mailing. Copy the recipients you want into this tool manually; the template does not import automatically.
Avery 5160 Mail Labels: The Standard, Decoded
Avery 5160 is the US de-facto standard for address labels: 30 labels per sheet, three columns of ten, each label measuring 2⅝ × 1 inch (66.675 × 25.4 mm). The sheet is US Letter (8.5 × 11 inches), which means it prints on any home or office printer with a standard paper tray. The same layout is sold under dozens of brand names — any "30-up letter label" or "Avery-compatible 5160" product will work with this tool's output.
The PDF this tool generates is built to the Avery 5160 specification: exact margin and cell geometry so labels line up with the adhesive backing. Text is sized to fit the label area with sensible margins, and multi-line addresses (name, street, optional apt/unit, city/state/zip, optional country) are stacked automatically. You paste plain text; the PDF does the alignment.
How to Print Labels That Actually Line Up
Label misalignment is almost always a printer-scaling issue, not a file error. The two settings to check before printing:
Disable "fit to page" / "scale to margins". Every major PDF viewer (Adobe Acrobat, Preview on macOS, Chrome's built-in viewer) has an option to scale the document to fit the printable area. This sounds helpful but shrinks or stretches the page, shifting every label row and column a fraction of an inch — enough to miss the adhesive. Look for "Actual size," "100%," or "No scaling" in your print dialog. On macOS Preview, choose "Scale: 100%". In Chrome, set "Scale: 100" and disable "Fit to page."
Use the correct paper size. The PDF is Letter-sized (8.5 × 11 in). If your printer defaults to A4 (which is slightly longer and narrower), it will scale the page to fit and misalign every label. Make sure the print dialog shows "US Letter" or "8.5 × 11 in." If you're outside North America and using A4 label sheets, note that A4 Avery-compatible products usually use a different layout (typically Avery L7160 or 3490, with 21 labels per sheet) — the PDF from this tool is Letter-only.
Mail-Merge CSV vs Printable List — Which to Choose
This tool exports three formats. Choose the one that matches your workflow:
Avery 5160 PDF — Use this if you have Avery 5160 label sheets (or a compatible 30-up Letter product) and want to print directly. No software required beyond a PDF viewer. Best for most households sending 20–150 cards.
Address list PDF — A clean, single-column list of all recipients: name, address, sorted alphabetically. Use this as a reference list for hand-addressing, as a backup you can file, or to hand off to a calligrapher. Works well for smaller lists or when you prefer to hand-address for a more personal effect.
Mail-merge CSV — A comma-separated spreadsheet with one row per recipient and labelled columns (name, line1, line2, city, region, postalCode, country). Import this into Microsoft Word Mail Merge, LibreOffice, Canva, or any platform that accepts CSV data sources. Best for large lists (150+), custom-designed envelopes, or when you want to produce addressed digital files rather than physical labels.
Privacy when saving and sharing
Entries are processed in this browser and downloads are generated here. “Save list in this browser” keeps your list in local browser storage until you clear it or remove browser data. Avoid persistent storage on shared devices.
“Copy link” includes the names and addresses after the #. That fragment is not sent to the web server in a normal page request. Analytics scripts stay disabled when you open a recipient link. Base64 is not encryption: anyone with the full link can read the details. Share it only with people allowed to see those addresses; this tool cannot revoke links you have already shared.
Older ?p= links remain readable. Their contents are sent to the web server in the initial request before the tool removes that parameter from the address bar. “Clear list” empties the input, clears the saved list and removes the list payload from the current address bar. Previously copied links, downloaded files and other history or backup copies remain.
Who Goes On the Card List?
Start with people you would like to send a card to, where that contact is welcome. They might include family, old friends, former colleagues or neighbours. You do not need to include every acquaintance or reach a prescribed number.
A holiday card is one of the lowest-cost, highest-signal relationship maintenance gestures available. It takes about two minutes to address an envelope and write a line or two inside. For someone who has moved away or whom you rarely see, receiving a card communicates something that a text or a like never does: you are still in my life, deliberately. If you want another way to organise your contacts, use the Dunbar Calculator as a reflection aid. Its groups are not a target for your mailing list.
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