As the holiday season approaches, it’s never too early to start thinking about your family’s annual Christmas card. Don’t let the hectic season let you get too carried away without having an opportunity to create your own Christmas cards. Making personalized Christmas cards can sometimes be a daunting task, but using Shutterfly’s easy-to-use card templates, it’s as easy as a few simple clicks. Spread the cheer this year with this comprehensive guide on how to make Christmas cards.
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Getting Started On Making Christmas Cards
When it comes to making Christmas cards that impress your family and friends, the key is to personalize them to you and your taste. Maybe you want a funny Christmas card with unique greetings that will make loved ones smile. Perhaps you like holiday cards with vibrant colors and personalized foil that will be sure to stand out among the stack. Or, maybe you’re the type that prefers a traditional family photo card. No matter what your style is, a Christmas Card personalized with holiday wishes will wow your friends and family. Follow this easy step-by-step instruction guide to make the best Christmas photo cards. Let’s get started.
1. Choosing The Best Christmas Card Photo
Browse through your photo library for the Christmas photos you want to include in your card. Include photos of your family, friends, and pets taken throughout this year. Have a favorite image you want to use from your social media pages? Shutterfly gives you the option to upload photos from either your computer, Google Photos, Facebook, and or Instagram accounts.
2. Deciding On The Best Christmas Card Theme
Pick a Christmas card template that you like the best. Scan through our variety of themes from First Christmases, Merry & Bright, Rustic, Religious, Snowflake, and many more. Take into consideration the card’s orientation and decide if you want the card to be vertical or horizontal facing. Think about your Christmas card’s format, if you want the card to lay flat or have folds such as a Gate Fold, Folded, or Tri-Fold. Consider how many festive pictures you wish to include so you can choose a custom Christmas card style that fits your needs.
3. Starting To Design Your Christmas Cards
Now, this is where the fun begins. Start by designing where you want to input your photos and text on the card. This is where you can experiment with different Christmas card template ideas and Christmas card designs. Utilize the space in the front and back of the card to include additional photos or special holiday messages. Decide between the different types of personalized foil colors, card sizes, holiday greeting messages, cardstock options, and card trims. Adding little details such as these are a great way to make your Christmas card more personalized and adds an additional special touch.
4. Custom Envelopes
Shutterfly gives you a variety of options when it comes to designing your card’s envelopes. Choose either a white or custom envelope for your Christmas Cards. Shutterfly can print the return and recipient’s address directly on the envelope with our free online address book service to make your Christmas card making a breeze. Browse the diverse selection of envelope slip in liners to add that extra touch and surprise when opening the envelope. To make things even easier, Shutterfly can even mail your cards out for you. Simply upload your address book to your Shutterfly account and select the Mail for Me option.
5. Finished Christmas Cards
Now your personalized Christmas cards are ready to be sent out and enjoyed by your family and friends. With a few easy steps, you created your annual Christmas card that you can save as a special memento for years to come.
DIY Christmas Cards
Make your Christmas card even more special by creating a DIY Christmas card with photos. Choose between our various DIY Christmas card templates and hand select all the details you want to include on your DIY Christmas card. This process is easy, fun, and uploading custom designs will make your Christmas Cards stand out from the rest. This DIY Christmas card would be a great way to include children’s artworks and paintings on your holiday card to let your loved ones see. Share your creative side with your latest one-of-a-kind DIY Christmas card masterpiece.
Which Holiday Card Is Best For Me?
A good way to choose the best Christmas card for your family is by choosing a card that represents your value as a family. Think about what message you want to convey when you send out your Christmas cards. Some Christmas card ideas can be a simple as spreading holiday cheer or as religious as including a proverb or bible verse. These cards are your way of wishing your friends and family a wonderful holiday. Browse through each of our Christmas card themes and greeting options to choose the perfect holiday card for you and your family.
Tips On Sending Out Holiday Cards
If you choose to send out cards yourself without using our mail-out service, it’s important to send them out in a timely manner. You wouldn’t want your Christmas Cards to arrive after Christmas day. If you choose to send out holiday greeting cards, it’s generally a good time to send those cards a week or two before Thanksgiving, this way, the card will be received at the start fall and winter holidays. For Christmas cards, it’s best to send them out in the first week of December.
It’s a hectic time during the holiday season for mailing and shipping, so it’s best to send cards out 2-4 weeks before the holiday for domestic mail and 3-4 weeks before the holiday for international mail. It’s better for the card to arrive before the holiday then after.
Wrapping Up
We hope after reading this step-by-step instruction guide that it will help you in creating your family’s Christmas card this year. Sending these heartfelt cards will not only put a smile on your face but it will put a smile on your loved one’s faces as well. Spread the holiday cheer by sending a Christmas card today.
