Holiday Photo Cards

Over the past few years, holiday photo cards have all but replaced traditional Christmas cards-- at least in my circle of friends. Why? Because holiday photo cards are inexpensive to make or buy, they are convenient, and they are great way to show off your adorable children to all of your family and friends while sending a holiday greeting at the same time.

A few years ago, I made the mistake of booking a holiday photo session for my children at one of those pricey photo studios at the mall. Because the photos would be done in an hour, I figured I could just insert the wallet size photos in my regular Christmas cards and get them right out in the mail the next day. Unfortunately, my toddler son wasn't in the mood to pose for photos that day-- I was offered five shots of him crying and making miserable faces. And because it was only two weeks until Christmas, I didn't have time to schedule another appointment in time to get my holiday cards out.

My husband suggested that I take a holiday photo of the children myself. So I dressed my kids up in their Christmas outfits and sat them in front of our lit Christmas tree. Then I began snapping away. My son was much more comfortable posing for photos at home and I actually got a couple of good shots, so I was thrilled. Next, I downloaded my photos to an online photo site and got ready to order my prints. But then I realized that I would still be cutting it close-- buy the time the prints were mailed to me, I wouldn't have much time to get them sent out to all of our friends and relatives.

I perused a few more photo sites and stumbled upon the site for a major retailer. I found out that I could download my prints to their site and then pick them up at the closest retail location later that day. It was a great solution to my problem-- I downloaded my photos, picked a cute border for them and even had a holiday greeting and my family's names printed on them. My husband picked them up on his way home from work and I had all of my holiday photo cards out in the mail by the next morning.

If you would like to create your own holiday photo cards, just download your favorite picture to one of the many online photo printing sites. Some recommended sites include Snapfish.com, Shutterfly.com, Ofoto.com, Walmart.com, Searsphotos.com and Target.com. All of these sites offer a great array of holiday backgrounds and borders that will go great with your pictures. You can add in your own message and they will be sent to your home-- or, if you procrastinate like I did, you may be able to pick up your prints at a retail location (in my area, both Target and Wal-Mart offer this service).

If you would prefer to insert your favorite photos into holiday cards, check your favorite store for frame like cards with a 3 X 5 or 4 X 6 opening. Either way, sending a card with a picture included is a great way to keep in touch with your friends during the holiday season.