In places such as the UK and the US, greeting cards are a big business. They’re given for birthdays, engagements, weddings, new babies, for people moving home, as thank you messages, as condolences for those who are grieving and those in hospital.
A big favourite are cards with tongue-in-cheek humorous messages, poking fun at the recipient, but all in good faith to make them laugh.
Spaniards on the other hand don't really do greeting cards, and the few that are available in your average papelería or stationery shop typically are usually quite plain, tacky and old-fashioned.
For this reason, it’s very hard to find decent cards in Spain if you are accustomed to giving them and family back home expect to receive them from you.
You can always make your own, but this requires a lot of time and a reasonable artistic ability.
Luckily, there are several physical and online stores in Spain where you can find a decent selection.
Etsy
Etsy is great for handmade gifts of any kind, including cards and the website even has its own Spanish version. As well as highly artistic cards, you’ll find ones that can be customised or even cards you can buy in bulk, such as a box of Christmas cards.
As these cards are usually handmade, however, they can be more expensive than your average greeting card. To help keep the costs down, make sure you have the ‘Spain’ filter clicked when searching so that you’re not paying extra for cards to be sent from other countries.
El Corte Inglés
Spain’s famed department store El Corte Inglés is usually a go option when you can’t find what you’re looking for anywhere else. You’ll find a selection of simple cards here, but what they do best are elaborate pop-up cards, particularly good for kids' birthdays.
Carrefour
The home and clothes wear department of Carrefour has a decent card selection for various occasions including birthdays, weddings, and new babies. There may not be a huge variety in every category or many humorous options, but what they do have is decent-quality images.
Be aware, if you’re thinking of these cards for friends and family back home, they generally only have ones in Spanish, or Catalan, if you live in Catalonia.
There are a number of places to buy cards in Spain. You can even order them online. Photo: Annie Spratt / UnsplashFunky Pigeon
Well-known UK online greeting card company Funky Pigeon has the option of shipping cards to Spain, but be aware they can take between 7 to 10 days to arrive. Also, depending on the price of the cards you order, you may end up paying a little extra in tax when they arrive.
Alternatively, if you’re sending your cards directly to recipients in the UK, you can order them straight to addresses in the UK.
Funky Pigeon has a huge array of options for every type of occasion you can think of and all can be personalised. They are particularly good for funny and jokey cards, but have a good range of sweet and sophisticated choices too.
Flying Tiger
Danish variety chain store Flying Tiger is great for cards depicting various holidays, such as Christmas. You’ll also find cards a lot cheaper here than anywhere else, starting from just €1. If you want to get a bit creative, but don’t want to make your own cards from scratch, then they also have DIY cards that you can decorate with stickers – great for getting the kids involved too.
Flying Tiger has 58 branches across Spain, located in most of the major cities and more than one in big cities like Barcelona and Madrid.
Lovely Story
Lovely Story is a good Spain-based online option for cards. It's ideal if you're looking for Spanish friends and family as cards tell stories about family members and friends you buy for. There are also congratulatory cards wishing Felicidades (Congratulations) to various members of the family, which you could customise for various occasions.
Amazon
And yes, of course, there’s always Amazon. Amazon Spain is actually a great option if you want to buy packs of cards to keep at home for whenever you need them. There are cards for all holidays including Easter and Christmas or just to say thank you, as well as nice cards without writing that you can send for any occasion you wish. They also have specialised big pop-up cards.
Casa del Libro
Book store Casa del Libro has the best range of picture cards available if you don’t want writing on them. This could be good if you don’t want Spanish phrases for friends or family back home and so that you can send them for whichever occasion you feel is the most appropriate. There are 47 bookshops located across the country.
FNAC
If you’re stuck and can’t find cards anywhere else or don’t have time to buy them online then FNAC has some good, but limited choices. Most of these are created by the MR. Wonderful brand and are all in the same style. They’re good for sweet cards for Mother’s and Father’s Day for example, but don’t have options for many different occasions.
Buy in bulk when you visit your home country
If all else fails, then Granada-based blogger Molly Piccavey writes on her blog: "My tip is to buy all the year's greetings cards when you travel to the UK. Spend an hour in the card shop and choose all the birthday cards and anniversary cards that you need for the year ahead".
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