As you may have gleaned from various posts this winter, the APW staff gets pretty… into holiday cards. And for good reason. The holidays can be a hectic and sometimes even really stressful time of year for a lot of us, which is why getting snail mail can serve as a grounding reminder of the things that matter: family, friends… and our pets (because I’m one of those people).
Basically, getting holiday cards is one of the purest joys of my holiday season. But you don’t have to go to crazy lengths or set up fancy photo shoots to make them happen (your people just want to see your face). And that goes double if you’re one of the newly married who just got wedding photos back. Because spoiler alert: using wedding photos for your holiday cards is so easy it feels like cheating. So with that in mind, today we’ve partnered with Shutterfly to share four ways to make beautiful holiday cards without turning them a chore.
1. Pick a design that does the work for you: Lots of holiday cards you see online require a very specific type of photo to work (typically one with a lot of blank space at the top for all that fancy text). But Shutterfly’s built-in layouts do the work for you by making their holiday card designs compatible with lots of different photo types, from selfies to snapshots and pro photos. Pro tip: If you’re not sure which ones will do the work for you, pick a layout that has more going on than just a photo with text over it (like the ones above).
2. Look for newlywed cards: Why reinvent the wheel? Shutterfly now has holiday cards specifically designed for newlyweds! Decorate them with your wedding photos, engagement photos, or even pictures from your honeymoon. Less thinking about what to say on your card = more time spent deciding on important things (like what color envelope you want).
3. Help them help youL: Remember when I said the holidays can get kind of crazy hectic? Well, pre-printed envelope addressing is pretty much the only way I’m able to get holiday cards out the door each year. But Shutterfly takes it a step further. Not only can you opt to add envelope address printing to your holiday card order, but for a small fee, Shutterfly will address and mail your cards out for you. Which is like a tiny holiday gift unto itself.
4. Keep it simple: I’m totally guilty of overthinking holiday cards. (Just ask the four smoke grenades sitting on my kitchen counter right now. It’s a long story.) But the truth is, the fun of holiday cards is just in opening something up from someone you love, and getting a small update on their lives. Maybe with a photo. So don’t be afraid to keep it super simple. Heck, you don’t even need to send a full card. Shutterfly now offers ornament cards that feature your photo and a short message, which you can hang up in your home, or on your tree if you have one.
So if you were hoping to send out holiday cards this year, but then got stuck/procrastinated/psyched yourself out of it, now is the time to let yourself off the hook and just have some fun with things already. And with Shutterfly, you can do just that.
This post was sponsored by Shutterfly in partnership with BrideClick. Shutterfly offers hundreds of stylish holiday card designs, plus unique print options, premium photo books, and home decor. Thanks Shutterfly for helping make the APW mission possible!
