The Trumps, Kardashians and Kate Hudson: A roundup of celebrity Christmas cards

Some are real royalty and some are reality royalty.

December 25, 2018, 10:27 AM
President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are seen in their official Christmas portrait in the Cross Hall of the White House.
President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are seen in their official Christmas portrait in the Cross Hall of the White House.
Andrea Hanks/White House/Polaris

Stars, they're just like us!

Whether it's the president and first lady or the first ladies of reality T.V., many celebrities are keeping the Christmas card tradition alive by sending holiday well wishes to friends and loved ones.

Some boldfaced names stuck with paper cards this year, but posted them on their social media accounts to make sure that fans that don't get a card directly in the mail will still feel in the loop.

Here are a selection of this holiday season's best cards and Christmas messages.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump released an official portrait, which showed the pair formally posing in a festively decorated hall, but that picture wasn't actually a part of their Christmas card.

The first family's card doesn't include a photo at all, but instead shows an embossed, gold depiction of the White House and the family's signatures on the inside. Barron Trump, the president's 12-year-old son, signed the card this as well.

PHOTO: The official White House Christmas card is seen, Nov. 26, 2018, in Washington.
The official White House Christmas card is seen, Nov. 26, 2018, in Washington.
REX via Shutterstock

Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence can be seen smiling in their Christmas Instagram post, which is formatted to look like a card.

"This Christmas, our hearts turn to gifts of family, friends, our freedom and the heroes who defend it...and the indescribable gift born in Bethlehem so long ago 'wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' Karen and I wish you and yours every blessing and a very #MerryChristmas!" Pence wrote in the caption.

Donald Trump Jr. shared his family's Christmas card, which features a number of pictures of his five children. He posted several other photos that didn't appear to make the cut in the formal card, and his separated wife Vanessa is included in two of those as well.

Two pairs of former White House residents didn't share their formal paper Christmas cards this year, but they did send a seasonal message out on social media.

Former First Lady Hillary Clinton shared a throwback picture with her Instagram followers Christmas morning.

The photo was taken during her husband's administration, and shows a then-teenage Chelsea going to hug her father, then-President Bill Clinton, while Hillary looks on.

Hillary Clinton credited the Clinton library for the photo, and in the library's post it notes that the photo was taken in 1995.

And former President Barack Obama posted an undated photo -- that also looks like it may have been taken in the White House -- on Twitter of him kissing former First Lady Michelle Obama underneath some mistletoe.

There was a lot of drama -- unsurprisingly -- around the Kardashian Kard this year, as the ruling family of reality TV speculated publicly about whether they would issue a Christmas card this year.

That worry ended up being folly. There was, in fact, a 'kard' in the end, though it didn't include every family member as it has in the past.

"This year we waited until the last minute to do a card," Kim Kardashian West wrote in an explanatory Twitter post. "Schedules we’re changing, my husband was in and out of town. But The day of this card last minute realized we were all together so we had all of our kids come meet us."

"Kendall and my mom rushed to a meeting after this shoot so this is what we have! As many of us as possible! From our family to yours Merry Christmas," Kardashian West wrote.

The final product included Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, and Kylie, and their respective children -- Mason, Penelope, Reign, North, Saint, Chicago, True, Stormi -- and their brother Rob's daughter Dream. Of the original siblings, Rob Kardashian and Kendall Jenner were both missing from the card, along with matriarch Kris Jenner.

The real royal family released the photos that they're using for their Christmas cards a few weeks before the big day, with Prince William and Duchess Kate posing casually with their children, George, Charlotte and Louis.

PHOTO: Britain's Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge, with their three children, at Anmer Hall in Norfolk in 2018.
Britain's Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge, with their three children, at Anmer Hall in Norfolk in 2018.
Matt Porteous/Reuters

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan shared a previously unseen picture from their May wedding, using that big day to help ring in the holiday season.

PHOTO: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex watch fireworks during their Wedding Reception at Frogmore House, May 19, 2018 in Windsor, U.K.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex watch fireworks during their Wedding Reception at Frogmore House, May 19, 2018 in Windsor, U.K.
Chris Allerton/Kensington Palace via Getty Images

Reese Witherspoon showed her crafty side, pinning a family picture in front of their Christmas treet onto some trimmings with a clothespin.

"Merry Christmas from my family to yours!" she wrote in the Instagram caption, pictured alongside her children Deacon Phillippe, Ava Phillippe, Tennessee Toth and her husband Jim Toth.

"On this Christmas Eve, I’m sending you holiday wishes for a day filled with love and laughter — the important things that remind us how blessed we all are. And I’m sending extra special wishes of light & love to anyone out there who needs it!" she wrote, capping the caption off with several festive emojis.

Kate Hudson went the non-traditional route, posting a stylized Christmas video on her Instagram.

The video shows Hudson, her boyfriend Danny Fujikawa and her sons Ryder Robinson and Bing Bellamy, wandering around what appears to be a Christmas tree farm. It's unclear when the video was filmed, but it was likely after her daughter Rani Rose Fujikawa was born in early October, though she was not shown in the video.

"From ours to yours, sending love through the insta-web...Happy Holidays," the caption reads.

It sounds like Busy Philipps had grand plans for her Christmas cards, but they never materialized.

"I ordered 250. I sent exactly zero. Merry Christmas from my family to yours," she wrote in the caption of her Instagram post that showed her family's Christmas card, complete with a picture from a trip to Disneyland.

Kelly Ripa had fun with her card this year, jokingly featuring her husband Mark Consuelos's fictional family from his television show "Riverdale" on the front, and including their actual family on the back, along with helpful captions to remove any confusion.

Kevin Hart got into the spirit with his multiple Christmas photo shoots with his children.

One Instagram post showed the comedian and his kids inside a snow globe.

Round two featured the family as elves in what almost looked like a movie poster.

"Yes I am the corny dad that does over the top holiday shoots with my family and I love it...Happy Holidays #Harts #Elves #LiveLoveLaugh," Hart wrote.

Jessica Alba's Christmas card -- which is the first to feature her nearly 1-year-old son Hayes -- was sponsored by Shutterfly.

Ashlee Simpson Ross's Christmas card was also sponsored.

As was her former brother-in-law's, Nick Lachey, whose card was shared online by his wife Vanessa Lachey.

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