Sending the Perfect Christmas Card

Christmas cards have changed over the years. Now, frequently, it’s not just the card’s message that focuses on the family, but the card itself with pictures.

Many people still send traditional holiday cards, but many others use any of the many businesses that create cards from your pictures or allow you to create them.

Creating the Card and Printing It
I’ve used Shutterfly for a number of years now, so that’s where I turn each year to make my holiday card. They, like many other retailers, offer such a large variety of options and price points, that it’s very easy to find what you want. I’ve also seen some cute cards from Tiny Prints.

What site or business do you use for your cards?

Getting the Picture
But before you can create the card, you need the picture or pictures. I have a cousin who takes his family on a nice vacation every year and every year their card is a photograph of all the kids on the vacation. I like the fact that I get to see the kids and see something about what’s going on in their lives, even if it’s just where they went on vacation that summer.

I’ve been trying, when I can, to be at least a little festive in my pictures. Last year, I managed to get the tree up early, pulled out all the potential holiday outfits that fit my son and tried them on him with a Santa cap I'd knit, posing him in front of the tree in an antique high chair that was my grandmother’s. I took a lot of pictures and finally hit on a great one for our card.

What do you use for holiday card pictures? Do you take the picture yourself or have someone else take it? Do you have a perfect location for taking holiday pictures?