Holiday cards start with the people and moments you want to share. Maybe you already have the family photo picked out, or maybe you’re gathering favorite snapshots from throughout the year. Either way, you want a card that brings it all together and feels like something you’d be happy to find in your own mailbox.
Shutterfly and Minted both have beautiful holiday card collections, with quality paper, foil details, and designs for different celebrations and styles. Minted’s collection features work from independent artists, including distinctive card shapes and letterpress designs. Shutterfly puts more of the focus on your photos, with tools that help you personalize the card, add more of your year, and take care of the details that come with sending it.
Edit the picture you really want to use, add more photos and stories to the card, and keep your entire photo library ready for future projects. When your card is finished, Shutterfly can help you collect addresses, print your envelopes, and mail each greeting for you. Here’s a closer look at Shutterfly and Minted holiday cards and what each one offers.
Shutterfly vs. Minted holiday cards at a glance
| What matters | Shutterfly | Minted |
|---|---|---|
| Holiday card designs | Wide selection of photo and non-photo designs for Christmas, holidays, New Year’s, religious celebrations, milestones, and more | Wide selection of photo and non-photo designs created by independent artists |
| Photo editing | Standard editing plus AI-powered tools that can expand photos, change backgrounds, open closed eyes, and adjust faces | Standard tools for cropping, rotating, zooming, auto-enhancing, and applying filters |
| Photo storage | Free unlimited photo storage with an active account, so photos can be reused across cards, gifts, photo books, and other projects | Storage for up to 200 photos |
| Ways to share more | Flat, folded, gate fold, and tri-fold cards, plus free back-of-card customization | Several card formats and specialty shapes, with back customization available for an additional cost |
| Addressing and mailing | Easy Address Collector, free recipient and return address printing with custom envelopes, and Mail for Me® Service | Free recipient address printing, paid return addressing, address collection tools, and Mail It for Me on select orders |
| Paper and printing | Five main paper choices, including recycled, shimmer, and double-thick cardstock, plus foil and no-mess glitter designs | Seven paper choices, including recycled, pearlescent, cotton, and extra-thick stocks, plus foil-pressed and letterpress designs |
Both offer plenty of beautiful holiday card designs
Shutterfly and Minted both offer large holiday collections with photo and non-photo designs, traditional Christmas greetings, festive foil details, modern layouts, and cards for sharing milestones from the year.
Shutterfly’s collection includes personalized holiday cards, Christmas cards, New Year’s cards, religious Christmas cards, Hanukkah cards, Kwanzaa cards, Diwali cards, Feliz Navidad cards, pet holiday cards, and year-in-review designs. You can find cards for one favorite picture, a collection of candid moments, or a holiday message without a photo.
Minted’s collection features work from independent artists, with many designs available in different colors, sizes, and shapes. Artistic typography, illustration, and distinctive silhouettes are an important part of its assortment.
More advanced photo editing with Shutterfly
Your favorite photo doesn’t always arrive perfectly cropped and ready for a holiday card. Someone may be standing too close to the edge, the background may pull attention away from the people in the picture, or the photo may not quite fill the space in the design you love.
Shutterfly includes the familiar editing tools you’d expect, including cropping, rotating, zooming, repositioning, auto-enhancing, and filters. Its AI-powered tools can help with changes that would otherwise require a different photo or editing program. Expand Photo can extend an image to better fill the layout, while Transform includes tools for changing a background, opening closed eyes, helping turned faces look toward the camera, and adding artistic effects.
Sometimes the photo you love most isn’t the easiest one to work with. Shutterfly’s AI tools give you more options before you decide to swap it out for something else.
Minted offers standard tools for cropping, rotating, zooming, auto-enhancing, and applying black-and-white or sepia filters. Those may be all you need when your photo already fits the design well.
Shutterfly keeps your photos ready whenever you’re ready to create something new
Holiday cards may be where your photos start, but they’re rarely the last thing you create with them. The family picture you use this year might show up in next year’s holiday card, become an ornament for the tree, make its way into a photo book, or end up on a gift for grandparents.
With Shutterfly, your photos stay in your account and are ready whenever you want to create something new. Active customers receive free unlimited photo storage with at least one purchase every 18 months, so there’s no need to reupload the same pictures every time you start a new project.
Minted allows customers to save up to 200 photos. Shutterfly offers free unlimited photo storage for active customers, making it easier to keep photos organized and ready to use throughout the year. When it’s time to create next year’s holiday cards, a photo book, a calendar, or a personalized gift, your pictures are already there waiting for you.
More space for photos, updates, and holiday messages
If your holiday card is more than a single photo and short greeting, Shutterfly gives you more room to work with. Along with flat and folded cards, Shutterfly offers gate fold and tri-fold formats that create additional space for family photos, year-in-review updates, and longer holiday messages.
Every Shutterfly holiday card also includes free back-of-card customization. Add another favorite photo, create a collage, share highlights from the year, or continue your design onto the back of the card without paying extra.
Minted offers several card formats and distinctive shapes, including arch, wavy, marquee, rounded, and mini scallop designs. Back layouts for photos and text are available as well, though adding customization to the back of the card comes at an additional cost.
Between multi-panel formats and free back-of-card customization, Shutterfly gives you more room for photos, updates, and year-in-review moments.
Shutterfly makes holiday card mailing easier
Creating the card is usually the fun part. Keeping track of addresses, preparing envelopes, buying stamps, and getting everything into the mail is where holiday cards can start feeling like work.
Shutterfly helps simplify those steps. You can collect addresses from family and friends through a text or email, save them in your Shutterfly address book, add free recipient and return address printing with custom envelopes, or use Mail for Me® Service to have your cards addressed, stamped, and mailed for you.
Minted also offers recipient address printing and a Mail It for Me service on select orders. Customers can upload spreadsheets, import contacts, or request addresses through a text or email link. Return address printing is available for an additional cost.
From collecting addresses to getting cards into the mail, Shutterfly helps take care of the tasks that tend to pile up during the holiday season.
Paper, foil, and finishing details
The paper and finishing details you choose can change the feel of a holiday card just as much as the design itself.
Shutterfly offers five high-quality paper options, including Standard Smooth, Signature Smooth, 100% Recycled, Pearl Shimmer, and Luxe Double-Thick cardstock. Foil-stamped and personalized foil designs are available in several colors, and real no-mess glitter cards add sparkle without leaving glitter everywhere.
Minted offers a variety of high-quality paper stocks and specialty printing techniques, including foil-pressed and letterpress cards.
Shutterfly works better for smaller holiday card lists
Not everyone sends holiday cards to 25 people. If your list is mostly immediate family, close friends, or a handful of relatives, ordering a large batch can leave you paying for cards you don’t need.
Shutterfly lets you order as few as one holiday card, while Minted requires a minimum order of 25 cards. That makes it easier to send cards to a smaller group, reorder a few extras later on, or replace cards after your original order arrives.
Should you choose Shutterfly or Minted holiday cards?
Minted is known for its independent artist designs, specialty card shapes, and letterpress printing. If those details are at the top of your wish list, there’s a lot to love in its holiday card collection.
Shutterfly shines when your holiday card starts with the photos. Whether you’re working with one favorite family picture or a year’s worth of memories, Shutterfly gives you more ways to make those photos work. AI-powered tools can help improve an image, free back-of-card customization leaves room for more photos and updates, and your pictures stay ready for future cards, gifts, photo books, and keepsakes.
Shutterfly also helps with the part of holiday cards that tends to take the most time. Collect addresses through a text or email, add free recipient and return address printing with custom envelopes, or have your cards addressed, stamped, and mailed for you.
From making a favorite photo work to getting every card in the mail, Shutterfly helps you create and send holiday cards with more of the personal touches you want and less left on your holiday to-do list.
FAQs
Where is the best place to order photo holiday cards online?
Shutterfly is a popular choice for photo holiday cards because the experience is built around your pictures. AI-powered editing tools help you make the most of a favorite photo, while free back-of-card customization and multi-panel formats create space for additional photos, updates, and family highlights.
Why choose Shutterfly for holiday cards?
Shutterfly helps you create holiday cards that feel personal from start to finish. Along with personalized designs and premium finishing options, Shutterfly offers photo storage, address collection, envelope addressing, and mailing services that make it easier to turn favorite photos and memories into holiday cards you’ll be excited to send.
Which company is better for holiday cards with multiple photos?
Shutterfly gives you more room for additional photos and family updates with gate fold, tri-fold, and folded card formats, plus free back-of-card customization. If narrowing down your favorite pictures is the hardest part of creating a holiday card, those extra spaces can come in handy.
Which holiday card company makes addressing and mailing easier?
Shutterfly can help with the parts of holiday cards that usually take the most time. Collect addresses through a text or email, print recipient and return addresses on custom envelopes, or use Mail for Me® Service to have your cards addressed, stamped, and mailed for you.
Where can I order a small number of holiday cards?
Shutterfly lets you order as few as one holiday card, which is helpful if you have a smaller mailing list, need a few extras, or want to reorder later. Minted requires a minimum order of 25 cards.
