Cards
NEW RELEASES: Panini, Topps spread holiday cheer with Christmas-themed card and products for your wish lists
It's the time of year when everyone in the card collecting community is making holiday wish lists, putting rookie cards, autograph cards, jersey cards, parallels and anything they're heart desires on their lists.
Luckily, we are here to recommend a few holiday-themed products that are so enticing they might make their way onto your shortlist for the holiday season.
2025 PANINI ABSOLUTE NFL
First up is the incredibly fun 2025 Panini Absolute NFL Countdown Calendar.
These advent style calendars have been all the rage the past few holiday seasons. With eye-catching graphics in the wildly popular KABOOM! fashion, these colorful, cartoonish and elongated boxes jump off the shelf.
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Upon opening you'll see multiple KABOOM! graphics and 24 slots, each containing one three-card pack. Each pack offers one base red and green parallel, one rookie red and green parallel, and one insert, on average.
I managed to track one down and couldn't help but dig right in. In hand, the red and green design looks more like plaid and after my first few three-card packs, I didn't have much to show for my efforts. By the fourth pack, I had a nice Cam Skattebo rookie.
I was in complete shock when I opened my sixth pack and saw the unmistakable shiny KABOOM! design. I had pulled the Indianapolis Colts league-leading running back Jonathan Taylor's horizontal KABOOM!, which completely made my day.
Throughout the rest of the calendar, I pulled most of the big rookies in one form or another, including former Penn State star Abdul Carter, Giants quarterback sensation Jackson Dart, both Browns rookie QBs Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, and a handful of others.
Honestly, it didn't matter much after hitting that KABOOM! So I will be the first to tell you that these are absolutely worth the $55 price.
2025 PANIINI MOSAIC NFL
If you are looking to fill some space under your Christmas tree, Panini also offers the 2025 Mosaic NFL Player Ornament cards.
Mosaic, a wildly popular mid-tier product, puts a twist on the card collecting holiday season as each smaller-than-a-blaster box includes 10 total cards in one single shiny pack. You can hope to receive one of six featured player ornaments, specifically Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott and rookie Travis Hunter, as well as the ability to chase a wide range of autographs and gift-worthy SPs and SSPs.
We hope your appetite is big as you can also find an ultra-rare Cookies parallel. Many of the old standbys are included, too.
If you attend church prior to Christmas, make sure you look for the fitting Stained Glass inserts, Micro Mosaics, and more.
For right around $10, this is a great, affordable sports gift for anyone on your list.
2025 TOPPS HOLIDAY BASEBALL
While Panini has a great lineup of goodies for Santa to drop off, Topps releases enough holiday-themed products to fill the entire space under your Christmas tree, too.
2025 Topps Baseball Holiday makes its way down the chimney again this year, featuring a 200-card base set from Topps Series 1, Topps Series 2 and Topps Update with each card being seasonally updated with cheerful holiday designs that bring the festivities to the diamond.
Collectors can look for parallels such as Holiday Plaid, Holiday Lights and Glitter Holiday to freshen up those base Topps cards.
In late October, holiday-themed products started hitting the shelves in the form of Collectors Tins and the ever-popular Advent Calendars. The tins are just as it sounds, a bright red and green shiny ball with one 59-card pack nestled inside.
The popular calendars offer 20, five-card packs with the chance for various inserts, parallels and packs from past years.
In late November, Topps Holiday Mega boxes started finding their way to store shelves. Mega Boxes offer 10 10-card packs and boast three image variations, six base glitter parallels, one blue metallic glitter parallel, one light blue and white glitter parallel, and an autograph, relic, relic autograph or base Topps Chrome variation, on average. The Megas will eat up about $50 of your gift-giving budget.
Across all versions of these products, collectors can expect to find an array of autographs, rookie autographs and holiday-themed memorabilia cards featuring game-used memorabilia die-cut in the shape of Santa's hat, stockings, Christmas trees, and more. Don't forget, those die-cut ornaments that have been a staple of Topps Holiday products for years. This year, they're in the shape of presents with your favorite big leaguer shown in a Santa hat in the foreground.
Speaking of die-cuts, also keep an eye out for Making the Nice List, featuring statistical leaders from the 2024 season.
Between Mega Boxes, Advent Calendars and Tins, there's plenty to choose from for any collector on your gift list.
HOLIDAY HOOPS
Not to leave basketball out of the holiday cardboard mix, with the triumphant return of an officially licensed Topps product, the NBA puts its very own holiday twist on cards. Admittedly, it's very similar to the Topps Baseball products, but we do have a few crossovers, no-look passes, and other tricks up our sleeves.
Topps Flagship gets the holiday treatment with the 200-card set being offered in a number of glittery colors and metallic finishes. There's no shortage of inserts with Making the Nice List showing up one in every two packs and the unique Evergreen inserts found 1:6.
Mega Boxes offer some chillier inserts with Hidden Elf and Frostbite Finishers being unwrapped at a naughty rate of one in every 200 packs.
Collectors will be excited to see a nearly 100-card autograph checklist, but they won't be easy to find coming one in every 379 packs.
Expect several cookie-cutter themes, including Holiday Relics, Player Relics, Holiday Shaped Relics, and Dual Relics throughout the product.
Be on the lookout for some festive Cooper Flagg finds as this product is found in two forms—a 10-pack, 10-card-per-pack Mega Box and a 24-pack Advent calendar.
