9 Bizarre Christmas Cards from the 1800s

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After the first Christmas card was sent in 1843, Victorians eagerly embraced the new tradition. Here are just a few of the wonderfully weird cards we tracked down.

1. Walking Robins


This card, circa 1870, shows "The Robin family" taking a stroll on Christmas morning. Victorians associated robins with Christmas, and often put them on their cards.

2. Snowball Fight

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Why is Father Christmas in a giant snowball on this 1879 card? There's no telling, but it doesn't look like it's going to end well.

3. Race to the Finish

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The Victorians loved natural history, which might explain why a mouse rides a lobster on this 1880 card, which wishes the recipient "Paix, Joie, Sante, Bonheur," or "Peace, Joy, Health and Happiness."

4. First Flight

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Just a child riding on a butterfly in this card, circa 1883. (In 2011, The Rock would reenact this scene in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.)

5. The Cat's Meow

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This 1885 card shows that the trend of festive animal attire isn't a new thing. (Although I bet my cats wish the only thing I made them wear was a ribbon).

6. O Christmas Tree

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Father Christmas gets an especially creepy rendering in this card, also from 1885.

7. Woof

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This disembodied dog head, delivering a goodwill message in 1899, is totally not weird at all.

8. So Foxy

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Foxes were cool way before The Fantastic Mr. Fox—at least if you're judging from this card, circa 1900.

9. Big Bird

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There's no date on this card, but we just had to include it anyway. Seems like Christmas in Australia could be very unpleasant—at least if there were emus running loose.