15 Artistic Holiday Cards To Inspire This Season

The holiday season is a great time to reconnect with friends and family. Sending holiday cards is a great way to keep in touch with loved ones. With the right holiday card design and message, Christmas cards can be inexpensive personalized gifts for the holidays. A photo gift, created quickly and painlessly from online holiday cards, can make great personalized gifts.

The holidays can be busy and exciting, but the added pressure of Christmas gifts and holiday card giving can be stressful. That’s why we have compiled this helpful guide to help you with making your own holiday cards and custom photo gifts. Photo holiday cards make great custom photo gifts and help keep loved ones in the loop about what’s happening in your life.

Read on for some artistic holiday card design ideas, guidance on when to send out Christmas cards, and some example greetings to help you craft the right message for unique holiday cards.

Artistic Holiday Card Ideas | When To Send Holiday Cards | Holiday Card Messages

Artistic Holiday Card Ideas

Woman looking at hanging holiday cards.
A photo gift is a great way to capture family memories. Photo holiday cards, in particular, make great gifts. Custom Christmas cards will look great on loved one’s mantelpieces and help them stay updated on what’s happening in your life. Stuck in a creative rut? Here are a few ideas for unique photo holiday cards:

  1. Christmas trees. A photo collage in the shape of a Christmas tree can be a festive way to celebrate the winter holiday season. This photo gift is a great way to share a panoply of family memories with friends and family.
  2. Snowflakes. An elegant snowflake print card is perfect for a wintertime greeting.
  3. Fine art holiday prints. Framed holiday prints make great custom photo gifts. You can send loved ones a favorite art print or framed family photo as an artistic alternative to a holiday card. A great photo gift for close friends and family members, custom photo gifts are a step up from photo holiday cards.
  4. Watercolor Christmas card. Vibrant watercolor print text adds a modern twist on a timeless holiday greeting.
  5. Festive holly Christmas card. Share a seasonally appropriate photo holiday card emblazoned holly print for a festive touch.
  6. Joy and Peace holiday card. Showcase your favorite family photo on an elegant photo card wishing loved ones a peaceful and joyous holiday.
  7. Wreath holiday card. A monogrammed winter wreath against a snowy backdrop can make great personalized gifts for friends and family in your life.
  8. Accordion photo collage holiday card. This card offers a foldable accordion-style format which can allow you to feature a few different great photos.
  9. Customized message holiday card. Add your own personalized message to online holiday cards, which can showcase a favorite photo, for an easy personalized snail mail gift.
  10. Photo grid holiday card. Customizable online holiday cards allow you to add eight of your photographs from your favorite events over the past year.
  11. Plaid Christmas tree holiday card. With online holiday cards you can customize yourself, you can send a rustic Christmas greeting.
  12. Peace, joy, and love. Sometimes, less is more. A simplistic photo message will convey season’s greetings with simple symbols.
  13. Christmas tree word art card. Design a Christmas tree made of word art to let your customizable photo gift make a real statement! Upload four photos that allow you to express your family’s creativity and holiday flair.
  14. Chrismukkah card. An amalgamation of Christmas and Hanukkah, a Christmukkah card is the perfect interfaith holiday greeting.
  15. DIY holiday card. Get crafty with ribbons, bows, glitter, glue, and cardstock for your own custom holiday card creation this holiday season.

When To Send Holiday Cards

Person holding holiday card.
Figuring out when to send holiday cards can seem daunting. In general, you will want your recipients to receive your Christmas cards before Christmas, but not too much earlier. The best time to send Christmas cards is the first week of December, or before Thanksgiving, if the recipient lives overseas. This means that you should ideally get started planning your holiday card design in November or earlier.

  • When sending holiday cards, make sure to organize your list of addresses (and contact friends and family for their addresses if you don’t have them).
  • If you are sending the same card to everyone, come up with a holiday message that you like that will be used on all of your cards.
  • If you are sending different types of cards to different recipients (e.g., for different holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa), you can stay organized using an Excel spreadsheet of names, addresses, and card types and even card messages.

Make sure to sign your holiday cards with a warm closing. Remember to affix the appropriate amount of stamps to make sure that your cards will not be returned to the sender.

You may also wish to send thank you Christmas cards to thank loved ones for Christmas gifts. These should be mailed shortly after Christmas to ensure their timely receipt by holiday gift-givers.

Holiday Card Messages

Couple tying Christmas tree to roof of car.

Holiday card messages are a great way to connect with friends and family. Here are cheerful holiday greetings that can be included in your Christmas card:

  1. Merry Christmas from our family to yours.
  2. Season’s Greetings!
  3. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
  4. Wishing you peace, love, and prosperity this holiday season.
  5. Sending you joyful holiday wishes.
  6. Happy Holidays from our family to yours!
  7. Remember the reason for the season.
  8. May your holidays be blessed with peace, love, and joy.
  9. Have a great Christmas and a safe and happy new year!
  10. Have a healthy and happy holiday season.
  11. Wishing you holiday blessings this Christmas!
  12. All the best this holiday season.

Final Thoughts On Artistic Holiday Cards

While making your own holiday cards can be fun, you don’t have to spend time on messy arts and crafts projects to create the perfect holiday greeting card. Wow friends and family with your ability to craft unique and memorable holiday wishes with customizable artistic holiday cards. Custom photo gifts with photo holiday cards for friends and family are a creative and loving gift at any time of the year.