Now that November is here, I am ready to start decking our halls! While we won’t be gathering with our extended family this holiday season, I’m making sure that our home feels extra cozy and festive. One of the ways we stay connected with our loved ones this time of year is by sending holiday cards. So today I’m sharing six of my favorite holiday card ideas and tips!
This year, I worked with The Stationery Studio to create a beautiful card to send to our loved ones, near and far. The Stationery Studio offers a large selection of personalized holiday cards, whether you prefer funny or sentimental, classic or sparkly, horizontal or vertical, a single photo or many!
My Top 6 Holiday Card Ideas and Tips
1. Make Your List, and Check it Twice
I keep a spreadsheet of all of our friends and family’s addresses on my google drive, and update it throughout the year if anyone moves or we add someone to the list. This way, I can avoid the mass text while also licking envelopes and making sure I’ve thought of everyone. By making your list first, you also can accurately plan for how many family holiday cards you need to order, ensuring you don’t leave anyone out or have a bunch of extras leftover.
2. Take Your Family Holiday Card Photos Early
Every photographer everywhere is collectively yelling “YES!” to this one. If you plan to incorporate photos in your family holiday cards, make sure you leave enough turnaround time to make this possible. While I’d love our annual card to be outside with snow on the ground, the weather in Michigan is unpredictable, and many photographers are ramping up for a full schedule of family shoots in the orchard, holiday mini sessions, as well as weddings. I typically choose a family photo taken professionally over the summer or fall for our card, and add the holiday touches through The Stationery Studio’s gorgeous card options.
3. Design Online
One of the things that I love about the Stationery Studio is how easy it is to create your personalized design online. After choosing which photo I planned to use for our family holiday cards, I found this beautiful green floral frame border card. I love that it complements the colors in our photo and also matches with the color scheme of House of Navy. After seeing it together, you simply edit the caption to personalize for your family. From there, a preview will generate so you can approve the design.
4. Include Your Return Address
Chances are, you’ll be getting a few texts and emails for your address from family and friends this year so they can send a card to you. We have moved several times in the past years, so I always know I’ll be getting several asks to confirm where we are this holiday season. The Stationery Studio offers an option to include your return mailing address printed on the back of your holiday card. I love including this option so our loved ones have our address, as well as the peace of mind that if an address was incorrect, the post office will return to sender.
5. Order Your Family Holiday Cards Early
It may still be several weeks until the holidays, but I always recommend ordering your cards early. Often, you can find a discount code that is only available earlier in the season. I start sending our holiday cards the week of Thanksgiving, but order weeks before that to give enough time for printing, shipping, and addressing them. I try my best to organize and get ahead of projects in October and November to give myself more time to truly enjoy the holiday season with crafts, hot cocoa, and all of our family’s traditions.
6. Display Them
A few years ago, I started a holiday card tradition that I absolutely love. Rather than posting cards on the fridge as they come in and then recycling them after the holiday season, I keep them. Instead, I punch a hole in the corner of the cards we receive and loop them through ribbon to create a book that can be displayed on our coffee table throughout the season. I love incorporating these books as part of our annual holiday decor. It is so fun to look through and see our friends and family’s grow, and even pinpoint when we became friends or neighbors by seeing them added to the mix.
What are some of your favorite holiday card ideas this year? Let me know in a comment below!
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