How to keep to the letter of Christmas card etiquette

The annual missives are a minefield of social politics, explains Nuala Woulfe

It’s that time of year again, when if you’re a woman (and it is mostly women) you’ve started the drudgery of writing the annual Christmas cards. The ordeal is something akin to rewriting your wedding gift thank you notes and, if you’re married, your Himself has possibly duped you by now into writing his Christmas cards as well.

But writing Christmas cards is not just a mildly tedious annual activity, writing Christmas cards is a dangerous social minefield where, rightly or wrongly, you can be judged and if you fail or offend you might just find yourself being crossed off other peoples’ Christmas lists the following year.