Maltese pupils vie for official Christmas cards at Castille

By Tom Whitfield

Malta and Gozo primary pupils have until 23 November 2026 to submit entries to the seventh Kartolina Milied Christmas-card competition, launched by Special Olympics President Lydia Abela.

The Kartolina Milied announcement says the initiative gives young students an opportunity to create the official Christmas greetings sent by the Office of the Prime Minister. Abela, wife of Prime Minister Robert Abela, launched the seventh edition at Castille.

The official-card destination gives the project a public dimension beyond the classroom. The competition is open to all primary-school students from Year 1 to Year 6 attending schools in Malta and Gozo. Children are encouraged to submit festive drawings and heartfelt messages.

At the launch, Abela said children bring a unique perspective to Christmas. She explained: “It’s a time when the smallest things bring the greatest excitement, and when a simple drawing or short message carries an important meaning,” she said.

Arts Council Malta executive chairman Luke Dalli also emphasised the importance of encouraging creativity from an early age. The announcement gives no further quotation from Dalli and identifies no judging panel or assessment criteria.

The Kartolina Milied competition offers two award groups:

• Years 1 to 3, for primary pupils in the lower age band.
• Years 4 to 6, for pupils in the upper age band.

Awards will recognise the best artwork and writing in each group. The winning designs will become official Christmas cards sent to families and organisations in Malta, as well as to prime ministers and other dignitaries abroad.

However, the announcement does not specify how many designs will win or how the judges will choose them. The promise also concerns winners rather than every participant, which narrows the route to international distribution.

The submission arrangements are simple:

• Artwork can be emailed to [email protected].
• It can also be posted to the Office of the Prime Minister, Auberge de Castille, Valletta.

The deadline is Monday, 23 November 2026. The announcement does not set out a judging timetable, prize amounts or a publication date for the selected designs.

Another part of the plan promises broader visibility. The announcement says all submitted artwork will eventually appear in Castille Square, where the public can see the children’s work. It gives no installation date, duration or account of how the exhibition will be organised.

What does this change for Malta’s primary pupils?

It offers two forms of recognition within one school-level activity. A pupil can become one of the competition’s winners through the combined assessment of artwork and writing, while every submitted drawing will eventually reach a public exhibition in Castille Square.

For families, that means a child’s work does not need to win to enter the public display, although only winning designs will serve as official Christmas cards. The participation threshold is also genuinely broad: every Year 1 to Year 6 pupil at a participating school in Malta or Gozo can enter.

The unresolved details matter. The announcement publishes no judging criteria, winner numbers, exhibition schedule or explanation of how the cards will reach prime ministers and other dignitaries around the world.

The next checkpoint is the 23 November deadline; if judging rules and exhibition dates remain unpublished, the promise will stand or fall on whether the cards and Castille Square display actually appear.