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Rock the Holidays with Gorgeous Christmas Cards

Rock the Holidays with Gorgeous Christmas Cards

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Creating Your Christmas Cards

Nothing really says Christmas to me like eagerly checking the mail in December to see who sent us Christmas cards! It’s like getting little presents in the mail! Each one is a surprise. They are different sizes, colors and highlight some of our closest friends and family.

In my family, we like to display our holiday cards on our front door. Some of my cousins hang Christmas cards on their tree. A few of my Aunties put them in a basket or on their table. I keep this in mind when creating our family Christmas card.

When I saw the new Gatefold Christmas Cards at Shutterfly, I knew that’s what I wanted to do! My kids got a kick out of opening and closing these cards. Plus, it works well taped up to a door, standing on a table or attached to a tree. And there are tons of fun designs and layouts!

Choosing the Right Photos

I’m kind of obsessed about my Christmas cards now that I have kids. More and more of my friends and family are taking breaks from social media.

For a lot of them, it’s the only photos they see of my family each year. So, I spend a long time choosing them carefully.

Shutterfly gatefold Christmas cards

This woodsy layout really complements our tree farm family photos.

Since my family travels a lot, we often use photos from our adventures. We’ve been lucky enough to travel to Paris, Disneyland and Maui this year. But, I really wanted to highlight our love of our home here in the Pacific Northwest.

So we did a photo shoot at one of our favorite PNW Christmas tree farms, McMurtrey’s Red-Wood Christmas Tree Farm.

My husband and I wore neutral colors and dressed the boys in brightly colored plaid shirts. This allowed the kids to “pop” in the photos. I mean, people really are only looking at the kids anyway! We also brought along some props because they are fun!

Shutterfly offers an assortment of Christmas card layouts.

This photo captures our family so well and we can easily cut it out and keep it up all year.

I ended up featuring a couple of family photos in prominent spots. Sometimes people cut out photos in Xmas cards so they can display them all year. Then, I picked out a few of my favorite parent/child shots. And then I gave the people what they wanted: photos of just my kids.

Adding that Extra Something

If you’re like me, you like to get the most bang out of your buck. We usually do a photo shoot or take photos at one of the many Christmas events we attend.

But, after we create our Christmas cards, the photos usually just sit on my computer.

Shutterfly photo ornament

This ornament made me smile when I hung it on our tree and I’m already looking forward to unwrapping it next Christmas!

However, with just a few clicks, I can use the same photos to create Christmas stockings, holiday pillows, or personalized Christmas tree ornaments!

One year, we even made my Dad a fleece blanket with our holiday photos on it! Creating these holiday items extends the life of our Christmas cards and it makes me happy every year to display them!

It also would have been super easy to add the photos to a photo book. I can imagine creating a photo book featuring holiday photos from the past 5 years.

Or making a Christmas carol book with photos of my kids dressed in holiday sweaters.

Ooh! A book of all my kids’ Santa photos throughout the years would make a fun grandparent gift in a few years!

Why I use Shutterfly

The biggest thing I’ve noticed about being a Mom of two little kids is that there just isn’t enough time each day. I love making my Christmas cards using Shutterfly because it’s easy.

All I need to do is choose my layout, fill in my name and upload my photos. I was able to create this card in 4 minutes. Yes, I timed it. And I felt like a rock star getting to check this off my holiday to-do list!

Shutterfly photo ornaments are completely personalizable.

This ornament sums up my life with a 4yo and 1yo and I want to forever remember their laughter at this moment!

Plus, Shutterfly offers customizable Christmas tree ornaments. It’s my favorite way to create keepsakes of my favorite holiday events with my kids. It has become a tradition for us to put our Santa photos on ornaments so we can marvel at them every time we decorate our Christmas tree.

But, what I like most about Shutterfly is that they really “get” Moms. Not only do they have Christmas cards, but they have New Year’s Cards.

And Valentine’s Day cards for those of us with crazy busy holiday schedules. So, if sending out family photos is important to you, there are a lot of options!

Thanks to Shutterfly for providing product for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

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How to rock your Christmas cards this year[mailerlite_form form_id=3]

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Anna

Saturday 16th of December 2017

What a brilliant idea for Christmas! I would love to try making Christmas cards with my daughter. Love it!

marciecheung

Sunday 17th of December 2017

Thanks! My son had a great time choosing our card layout!

Melissa

Friday 15th of December 2017

I really like the photo ornaments! Nice job. Shutter Fly is a great company to work with!

marciecheung

Friday 15th of December 2017

The photo ornaments turned out so well! I give them as gifts, too!

Amber

Thursday 14th of December 2017

What a beautiful family! These turned out so good for your Christmas cards.

marciecheung

Friday 15th of December 2017

Thanks! They turned out so cute!

Mimi

Thursday 14th of December 2017

These look so cute!! We don't really do christmas cards here but these look amazing

marciecheung

Thursday 14th of December 2017

It's a fun way to stop and reflect on our year!

Jen E.

Thursday 14th of December 2017

Shutterfly is the best! They always have great promos, and such creative ways of customizing your photos LOVE it. I was just thinking of how I don't send cards, but would really enjoy getting back into it. We have tons a photos, so it just makes sense.

marciecheung

Thursday 14th of December 2017

I've gotten 10 text messages in the past few days of people saying how much they love our card. It makes me feel so good to spread a bit of joy!

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