Shutterfly Christmas Cards

2007

2008

2009


Every year, we take a family Christmas picture. Some years we take it as early as October and some years its December.

But every year (well, for the last 3) we've had my parents help us take a bunch of pictures for Christmas cards.

We haven't had this year's picture taken yet, but I've already started thinking about the Christmas cards.

Mostly because the blog-o-sphere has been all abuzz with posts about Shutterfly's generous 50 free cards for bloggers who post about Shutterfly's Christmas offer.

I am SO jumping on that bandwagon.

I've used Shutterfly in the past to design and print our Christmas cards. Their service is easy and fast and relatively inexpensive. AND I get great looking photo cards while my buns are still happily parked on the couch. What could be better?

So this year, while I'm not quite ready to make my official final choice, I do have some ideas of what I think I want. And I had a ball looking through Shutterfly's extensive selection of creative and nice-looking cards. There are so many options! I could do this all day!


I kind of like the idea of these folded cards. They would give me space to write a personal message to the recipients on the inside and still also be able to include the year and our identities - I try to write who we are on the back of the cards somewhere.








I also aim more for the Christian themed cards than for the Make Merry types or other more secular greetings. Without getting all Christian and goopy on you, Christ really is the reason we're doing all this. I would probably have whatever picture on the card be in color. Since I'm overly traditional like that.







Again with the traditional family card. But I like the toile print on this one. It's ... different, if one can be different when ordering cards from a major retailer like Shutterfly. AND! There's a spot for the year on the front of the card! Saving me valuable writing time!
















I've seen at least 3 other bloggers feature this card. And I loved it. Because it gives the opportunity to do a form of the traditional Christmas letter without being all "And Susy continued in her 5 year all A streak at school!" that we all hate so much. A draw back to this one? I haven't the slightest idea what I would write in 9 of the 10 spots. I know I'd come up with something eventually and fill it all in and it would be fine. But then I will inevitably spend the remainder of the time slapping myself in the head for forgetting to mention this or that interesting thing that happened to us. And that's just crazy-making.














I still like the traditional ones. It hasn't changed in the last 5 minutes. Just thought you should know that. (Also? As I was sitting down to do this post, the power went out. Because someone drove their car into a utility pole down the street. We were power (and internet!)-less for 4 hours. I think that might have upset the delicate inner workings of my brain some. Making peanut butter and fluff sandwiches by candle light is not as romantic as it might sound.)

















I like the cards with multiple spaces for pictures. Because then I can do one of Mike and I and one of the girls together and one of the four of us. Or some combination thereof. Last year we some how managed not to get a picture of Mike and I by ourselves. But we have two of the girls together.







I really like this card. It's not traditional, yet it is all at the same time. I think it's the black.

And if Christmas cards aren't your bag, you could always do Hanukkah cards.

Another popular Shutterfly product in our house is the photo books. I did an alphabet photo book for each of the girls, featuring pictures of them and their family for each letter of the alphabet. They came out super cute and were really easy to do. One year I made photo calendars for the great-grandparents, featuring monthly pictures of the World's Most Adorable Children (TM).

So there you have it - a brief (or not so) run down of my thoughts on the genre of photo Christmas cards.

Do you want in on the 50 free card action? You can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly, too! http://bit.ly/sfly2010