Every year I keep saying I am going to simplify my Christmas card routine but it hasn’t happened yet. I thought about making a Christmas card that has a photo collage on the front and just adding quick note but there is something about getting a pretty holiday card with a family newsletter and picture that I just love. In this busy time we can get disconnected from certain friends and family and it is nice to hear what has been going on in their lives. We have received so many compliments in the past on our family newsletters. There are a few family members that follow the blog and know what we are up to but I don’t go into the kids lives completely here.
I thought I would share with you what we do for Christmas cards and I would love to hear from you about your process in the comments.
1. Gather Supplies
I keep all of our cards, pictures, pens, labels, and stamps easily accessible in one small bin so that I can work on cards when I get a chance and all of my supplies are right where I need them. I don’t have to go searching for anything when it is time to write.
2. The Cards
Every year we buy our cards from Hallmark. We have a rewards card and get a great deal. We always buy an ornament for each child there so we get our cards at the same time. In early November Hallmark has an open house with other savings so we just make sure to budget for Christmas cards and ornaments at that time. This year we bought 5 different boxes of Hallmark’s boxed cards. We like to mix it up a bit.
3. The Pictures
So far we just go to the local Portrait Innovations to get our pictures made. One year I would like to splurge and hire a photographer or better yet get a fabulous camera and do it myself. I use Portrait Innovations because it is quick, easy and we can get a lot of pictures for very little and printed out in an hour. I have been a procrastinator in this area in the past. I need quick and easy to get these cards done and out the door. This year the kids didn’t cooperate as well as I had hoped but on the bright side that made the picture choosing easier!
4. Who Gets What Picture?
When you give a person a photo of each child in a 5×7 one year and a 3×5 the next, it might mess up there presentation. Close relatives will actually hang your photos so make it easy for them and try to give them the same size and kind of picture every year. Then they can just replace the photo as new one’s come in. We wrote all of this information down last year but I made a handy Christmas Card & Picture Printable for this year. Just a simple list to help me remember. I try not to think to much into it and make it confusing. If I start taking my own pictures a majority of people will just get a 4×6 and that would make things so much simpler!
You can download the Christmas: Card & Picture Printable here.
5. Family Newsletter
Hubby usually writes the family newsletter. I write all the time and for some reason when I actually try to sit down and do a newsletter I can’t think of anything to say. Go figure. Try to think of your year in months and write a quick snippet of what happened throughout the year. I print our newsletter on festive paper from the local office supply store.
6. Addressing the Cards
I am adamant on hand addressing the recipient’s name on our cards. With the internet and computers everything gets so impersonal and well, typed out. I love getting a hand addressed card. It feels so warm and personal. I even use red and green pens. When someone gets a card from us they know we spent time on it. I keep a Group in my Address Book on my Mac for Holiday Cards. I just go through the list on my computer and write out the cards. For the return address I use labels. This year the label of choice was the holiday return address labels from Mabel’s Labels.*
7. Writing Out the Cards
Hubby takes his family I take mine. He doesn’t have as much time to spend on it so I try to address all the cards but he adds a note to his family’s cards.
Then we sign, seal, stamp and deliver!
If you don’t write to family members via snail mail any other time of the year, use Christmas to send a note of well wishes and catch people up on what is going on in your life. Although you might not hear about it right away it does make a difference.
What kind of cards do you purchase to send to family and friends? Do you add pictures? Do you hand address your cards or do you use a label?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
We created a special email account this year to send our Christmas cards from. I used Microsoft Publisher to create a spread of pictures, graphics, and text as saved in at a .jpeg, then we email the .jpeg to our friends and family along with a greeting in an email. For those who don’t have email, we print 4×6 “postcards” of our .jpeg and mail them with a handwritten greeting on the back of each card (saves money to mail as a postcard) along with their name and address. We have found this a much more economically viable option for us as we can then send our Christmas card to many more people, and then they can either print it out or save it to their computer – however they would like – and decide the amount of “clutter” they want on the fridge! :)
There are some years I do Christmas cards and some years I don’t. This year I’ve been doing lots of baking, so cards are landing by the way side. It’s fine with me. I’d rather concentrate on other things and not have a stressed out holiday. (I think it would be different if I had someone who really wanted to help send out cards.) Since we are not doing cards this year I am also not doing Christmas portraits… a relief to my family of three. Hopefully it will not be a disappointment to older relatives who will not be receiving pictures of the fam. :) Fingers crossed.
@juliebavi
{ 2 trackbacks }