A card for 1 January 2027 is a different object from a Christmas card, even if you take the photo in the same kitchen. Hogmanay (31 December 2026 into the 1st) is midnight, a crowded doorway, first-footing, and the slightly stunned picture you take after the bells. On Ottermagic you upload that photo, or a clearer one from any well-lit afternoon, run Style Swap or Face Swap, preview until it looks like them, then order a printed A5 or take the e-card. Printed cards are 148×210mm folded, 330gsm gloss, envelope included, made to order in the UK, then posted with Royal Mail in around 3–5 working days (UK) or sent by airmail in around 2–3 weeks (US).
The evergreen how-to, including style notes that do not care which year it is, sits in New Year and Hogmanay Style Swap cards. This page is the 2027 date: what to put on a card that says the new year, when to order around Christmas week, and how far ahead US shoppers need to order a printed card.
Christmas Style Swap remains a separate job: Style Swap Christmas cards. Do not recycle the jumper shot unless that is the joke, and even then change the words inside.
Start at Ottermagic.com.
What “2027” is doing on the front
Relatives keep dated cards. A New Year front can be the people, with 2027 in the message, or a scene that already feels like midnight. You do not need a template with giant numerals if the inside says it clearly.
Style Swap restyles the real photo: two of you on the step, a kitchen at 00:20, a quiet 1 January walk. Photobooth, Sketch, Watercolour, Classic Cartoon, and Retro Halftone suit this week.
Face Swap puts a face into a finished scene. Useful for costume energy, a mock-heroic countdown, or a joke about who actually stayed up. Lucky Leprechaun is a costume-style example in the live set; browse and skip anything that still looks like Christmas leftover.
Pet Swap if the household animal is the one who will still be awake at 1am, or the one everyone will see first on New Year’s Day.
Text Swap for “Happy New Year 2027, Priya” when you have no photo. Other shops, Lookalikey included, may have a deeper wall of text-only New Year designs. If you have a picture, Style Swap and Face Swap are the stronger Ottermagic reason to stay.
Live styles: Brick, Chibi, Emoji, Anime, Watercolour, Caricature, Cartoon, Classic Cartoon, Action Figure, Clay 3D, Retro Halftone, Retro Game, Royal Portrait, Pixel Art, Bobblehead, Sticker Sheet, Tarot Card, Photobooth, Sketch, Lucky Leprechaun.
Skip the look you already used for the Christmas round if you want this card to feel like a new object. Photobooth for the party. Royal Portrait for a quiet couple at home. Sketch for a 1 January thank-you. Pixel Art and Retro Game if they still count down on an old console. Clay 3D and Bobblehead when the group chat already has a running joke.
Write 2027, Hogmanay, or Happy New Year in your own words. US notes can say New Year’s. Scottish households can say Hogmanay without tartan in the template; the photo of that kitchen is enough.
Hogmanay 2026 into 2027, versus a generic New Year
Hogmanay has its own manners. First-footing, a dark-haired guest at the door, a short walk between houses, a song nobody remembers all the verses to. A Face Swap into a finished scene can carry that joke if you know the household. A Sketch of the two of you on the step can be enough if you do not want a gag.
If you are sending south of the border, or to the US, “New Year 2027” is the phrase most people will search. The photo can still be a Scottish kitchen at midnight.
A 1 January 2027 thank-you (for the bed, the breakfast, the lift home) often wants Watercolour or Sketch more than Bobblehead. Preview both.
Burns Night is later in January and has its own UK piece: Burns Night, St Andrew’s Day, St David’s Day. Do not mix haggis into a Hogmanay card unless that household would.
Lunar New Year 2027 is a different calendar and a different article: Lunar and Chinese New Year Style Swap.
Timing: Christmas week eats working days
This is the awkward bit. You want a paper card in someone’s hand before they go out on the 31st, and the country is already full of parcels.
Printed UK A5 typically takes around 3–5 working days after you pay. Dispatch is within one working day, Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays. Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day (and any substitute days) are not ordinary print-and-post days. Standard post is untracked.
If you want a printed Hogmanay card in the house, order in mid-December, not on the 29th. Ottermagic does not promise same-day printed cards.
Royal Mail’s published last posting dates for Christmas 2026 (they note these can change) are: 2nd Class Friday 18 December, Tracked 48 Saturday 19 December, 1st Class and Tracked 24 Monday 21 December, Special Delivery Wednesday 23 December. Confirm on Royal Mail’s last posting dates page. Those dates are about Christmas delivery, not a special Hogmanay service. They still tell you when December post gets unreliable. A New Year envelope posted after those dates is a hope, not a plan.
| When you need it | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Early December, printed object in the house for the 31st | A5 print (Royal Mail around 3–5 working days), or poster/canvas | A5 print by airmail (around 2–3 weeks) |
| Mid-December, printed object in the house for the 31st | A5 print (Royal Mail around 3–5 working days), or poster/canvas | E-card, then print locally |
| Between Christmas and New Year, still willing to wait on post | Read the live estimate; holidays eat working days | E-card |
| 30 December, or already the night | E-card | E-card |
| Thank-you in the first week of January 2027 | Printed A5 if you have the working days; e-card if they leave town on the 2nd | Printed A5 if a mid-January arrival is fine; otherwise the e-card |
The e-card is a hi-res, watermark-free download as soon as payment goes through. Use it for anyone already inside the last few days of December, and for US shoppers once the date is less than about three weeks away.
US printed cards are made to order in the UK and sent by airmail, untracked, in around 2–3 weeks door to door. December post is slower everywhere, so for a US card on the table on the 31st, aim to order in early December.
Posters and canvas are available if the midnight portrait should stay on a wall. Check Ottermagic.com for live details.
Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day). Checkout is in pounds in the UK shop and dollars in the US shop.
Photos from a dark party (and the morning after)
Face the camera for Face Swap. A three-quarter angle can still work for Style Swap. Turn a lamp on. Keep one or two people large in the frame.
Glasses are fine if the eyes are still there. Heavy sunglasses at midnight are a choice; the swap will keep them.
For pets, wait until morning if you can. A startled cat at 00:02 is rarely a good crop.
If everyone is in party hats, that can become part of Photobooth or Cartoon. If the hats hide the hairline, take one without.
A clearer photo from any day in December is allowed. The inside can still say 2027. Christmas-party lighting advice also lives in how to choose a photo for a Face Swap or Style Swap Christmas card.
Guests can preview without an account. Proofs are watermarked until you buy. Retry until you would send it.
What to write for 2027
Short is easier after a long December.
- “Happy New Year 2027. This is us at the bells (almost).”
- “Hogmanay from the step. See you in the year.”
- “Thank you for the bed on the 1st. Love from both of us.”
- “2027. Same people. Slightly more sleep, we hope.”
Leave the A5 blank if handwriting is the point. Printed messages help when the card is going in the post while you are already on a train.
Ready when you are
Make a New Year 2027 or Hogmanay card they will keep after the wrapping paper is gone. Upload a photo, try Style Swap or Face Swap (Pet Swap if the animal is the story), and stop when the preview looks like them. Print an A5 (148×210mm, 330gsm gloss, envelope; Royal Mail around 3–5 working days in the UK, airmail around 2–3 weeks to the US), look at posters or canvas, or take the e-card if you need the file today. Start at Ottermagic.com. Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day).
FAQ
Is this the same as a Style Swap Christmas card?
No. Christmas cards are a December mantel object. New Year 2027 and Hogmanay cards are for the bells, the party photo, and the week after. You can use the same live styles. Pick a different photo.
Will a printed Ottermagic Hogmanay card arrive before midnight on 31 December 2026?
Printed UK cards typically take around 3–5 working days, and late December is full of non-working days. Order in mid-December if you want paper in the house. If you are already late, use the e-card.
Can US customers get a posted New Year 2027 card?
Yes. The US shop sends the printed A5 to US addresses by airmail, around 2–3 weeks door to door, so order in early December for the 31st. After that, take the e-card (hi-res, watermark-free download) and print or send it locally.
Can I put two people on a New Year Face Swap card?
Use a design that expects two faces, or make two coordinating cards. Do not force two heads into a one-face crop.
What if I only have a Christmas-party photo?
You can still Style Swap it. Say New Year 2027 in the message so it does not feel like a leftover Christmas card. A fresh face-on snap from any well-lit room is better if you can take one.
Do I need a photo at all?
No. Text Swap will put a name or short greeting on a designed card. If a photo exists, Style Swap or Face Swap usually makes a more keepable front.
