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5 Tips to a Great Christmas Card
Sending a Christmas Card is a simple method to document and share your story with your loved ones each year. Whether you choose to include a lengthy write-up of the last year or only share a single photo, your Christmas Card can effortlessly communicate the story you want to share with all who receive it.
Choosing a Christmas Card design should be fun and spark joy. We print thousands of cards every year, and we know what makes a great card! We have compiled 5 tips to a great Christmas Card that can make this year’s card the best one yet! Keep reading to learn more about building your perfect holiday card:
1. The Photo
There are a few things to consider when choosing the type of photo for your holiday card. Whether you are hiring a professional photographer or setting up a tripod for an easy photo session, you’ll want to settle on a theme for your photoshoot and how that will define your Christmas Card. A photoshoot theme will impact the colors and style of your holiday card. Knowing what photo orientation you need for your card is equally important. Deciding whether you want to use a portrait or landscape photo will help narrow down what type of card you’d like to create before taking the photo. Many of our cards are designed in both portrait and landscape to fit your needs! You can easily filter which card orientation you want in the categories section on the left side of the card page.
2. Color
When choosing a theme for your photoshoot, be sure to consider the color palette you are creating. Reds tend to be the most difficult to match, however we offer a variety of color schemes that will compliment your photoshoot theme.
Pastel Color Palette
muted fall color palette
variety color palette
Pro tip: Brighten photos, increase saturation, and add a little warmth! Printed photos are going to look a little darker on a card than on a phone or computer screen. We recommend brightening up your image and increasing the saturation to make sure the photo looks the way you want it to! You can do this on our website by clicking into an image, and pressing “Edit”. You are then able to make different basic color adjustments by sliding the scale on various color settings.
Our cards are printed on our luxury press print paper, which is an ultra thick card stock. Since images tend to print a little “cooler”, or more blue, on card stock, you can also add a little warmth to the edit of your photo if you want to make sure it looks closer to the image on your screen.
3. CONTENT
Do you want to include a family yearly update on your card? Take into consideration how much text you want to incorporate into your card design, because that will impact what size of card you’ll need to fit everything. You may find a limited amount of space for text on single sided card or cards smaller than 5×7 inches. Our 5×7 folded card designs offer plenty of space to share a detailed collection of stories from the last year. You can use our Persnickety Prints editing tools to add text on the – 2 inside flaps and backside of folded cards.
Folded 5×7 cards are also a great solution if you’d like to share more than 4 photos. This is especially great for large or blended families that need the extra room to share many important photos. (see tip #4).
Bonus: With additional space, you can use a larger, bolder text that will be more easily read by older or tired eyes. . Shop Folded Cards >
4. Design
Simplicity is the key to a successful Christmas card. However we know how hard it is to edit down all the pictures and text you want to include in your annual update, so we’ve compiled a list of our favorite Christmas cards with collage designs. We’ve worked hard to design Christmas cards that balance fitting all the pictures you love with colors that will likely compliment your family’s photos.
Bold colors in your photos choices may cause some “clashing” with most holiday card designs, and it can be difficult to find a coordinating card theme. Don’t worry- we have an easy solution!
Try changing your photo to black and white! A timeless black and white photo will work with almost any card design. This tip also works well if you are including a group of photos that have multiple different colors and lighting. Applying a uniform editing style, even something as simple as making the images black and white, can elevate your card’s design!
If you want to go the extra mile and design your own custom Christmas card, keep it simple. We recommend using a design website like Canva, and utilizing high resolution graphics. As always, remember to include print bleed on any custom designs you make so no important elements are cut off on the image. New to Canva? Check out this easy tutorial.
Have your own design? Order Here >
Share the year in pictures
5. Share your story
We at Persnickety Prints are passionate about telling and preserving stories. We love the tradition of sending Christmas Cards and know that they aren’t just for couples with kids. Share your highlights this year that feature you! We recommend sharing travel photos, work accomplishments, or including your plant or your pets as paw-rents! Holiday cards are meant for sharing your life with those who are lucky enough to receive a card from you.
Every year we love seeing what you send to print; we can’t wait to see what you create and send out!
We hope these 5 Tips to a Great Christmas Card help you this year!
Christmas Card Timeline
You have your design ready, but are not sure when to order Christmas cards? We’ve put together a timeline so you can make sure friends and family will receive their cards.
Early October – Take family photos – typically it takes at least 2 weeks to receive all fully edited photos from the photography session. This is the best time to start gathering addresses for friends and family.
Late October – update your address book, collect addresses from friends and family before they get too busy with the holiday rush.
Early November – Order Christmas cards from Persnickety Prints and take our advice – round up, or order the extra card pack. Trust us, you’ll use it! There are always people you remember at the last minute who would enjoy receiving a sweet card from you.
Mid November – Mail the Christmas cards and feel a sense of accomplishment by crossing this off your holiday “to-do” list.
Early December – Friends and family will receive cards with plenty of time to display and enjoy this holiday season.
Time saver – Add your return address to the envelopes! You can include this additional feature to your card pack at checkout. Be sure to double check your address before submitting your order!
One of the many great things about Persnickety is our cards. Clients love Persnickety’s recycled thick paper quality and customization options. There are so many designs to choose from!
Share your holiday cards on social and tag us @persnicketyprints and use #persnicketyprintschristmas
Happy Holidays!