So, it’s week two of oh! ho! ho! And I’ve had a fun bloggy week! It’s been cool to interact with some new “faces” and I’ve really enjoyed your comments about my trash can and carpet. Highly entertaining.
But let’s get back to the real issue–Christmas. It’s a mere 6 weeks (give or take a few days) till Christmas! And the one thing I look forward to as the holiday approaches is Christmas cards! I like them all–the plain old cards with foil snowflakes on the front, the photo cards from Wal-Mart and the homemade crafted scrapbooky cards. I keep my Christmas photo cards up on the fridge all year. It makes for a messy fridge–but it’s homey and fun to remember all my loved ones all around the country. Out of the 24 pictures on my fridge 14 of them live out of state. That’s the blessing & curse of living in 5 states in the last 9 years.
I try to do something different with my Christmas cards every year. Ok, when I say “try”, what I really mean is that I’ve always waited too late to do my Christmas cards every year and end up doing something different on accident.
One year we did the newsletter. You know, used the template in Publisher and had a column about me, a column about Les, a column about our job. The next year we did the old Wal-Mart picture card. I wish I still had one of those because it was a good picture of us! Last year, I heard about someone who let everyone in their family pick a Top Ten List of their year. So, we did that. I made it all pretty with some digital scrapbooking stuff. And it looked good, if I do say so myself.
2006 was a huge year. Lydia was born, my dad was diagnosed with cancer, both my grandmothers died, we quit our job, put our house up for sale and moved. So, condensing a year into a Top Ten was pretty easy–and a lot shorter than the book it could have been. But I think this would be fun for a big family–letting everyone pick their top ten events.
Of course, I couldn’t figure out how to print that thing at a decent price, so we ended up sending this instead:
That was a pretty good trade, huh? She’s a cutie.
This year, I’m still trying to decide what to do. I was thinking about The Twelve Months of Lydia (a la The Twelve Days of Christmas) and having 12 pictures of Lydia through the year. Or maybe a digital slideshow on a disc with our favorite Christmas song instead of a Christmas card. Or one of my new favorite ideas is sending a postcard with a Christmas Card Blog address. I could upload as many pictures as I wanted. People could leave comments and it’d be cheap and easy! And as usual, I found some cute homemade ones on Family.com–aybe when Lydia’s older.
But if I was rich–I’d send these cards:
Or maybe these. Or these. No, wait! These! These are the most amazing pop-up cards from Robert Sabuda. He is a New York Times Best-selling author/artist for the best pop-up books EVER. Including some amazing (and my favorite) Christmas books. I’ve been trying to collect one every year because they are kinda expensive. (I hit up all the stores after Christmas to see if they are on sale. You have to be quick, though because they get snatched up quickly!) I just think these are great conversation starters for guests and they somehow capture the magic of Christmas. I can’t wait to share them with Lydia!
Onto the giveaway, I was thinking about making asking you to write a post about Christmas cards and linking back to here. Then I’d judge and/or randomly pick someone to give the prize to. But honestly, how long of a post can you write about Christmas cards (besides this monstrosity)? So, just leave me a comment and let me know your Christmas card plan–do you do ’em? when do you send them out? do you do a picture? what’s the best cards you’ve sent or received? Or whatever. And I’ll pick a winner and announce it on Friday.
Oh! You want to know what you win? One pack of Robert Sabuda’s Christmas cards. It’s only 8 cards but they are MAGNIFICENT (and they cost $20!). I’m already jealous of whoever is going to win them. If you win feel free to send one back to me as a thank you. KIDDING.
Happy Oh! Ho! Ho! Thanks for playing!
We definitely do Christmas cards in our home. I used to love ordering cards from a group that I think makes the coolest cards around, and it supports campus ministries. They are CCO (Coalition for Christian Outreach). Their cards are some of the most thought-provoking, theologically right-on stuff, and they are hip. (http://cards.ccojubilee.org/collections/christmas/) And I am not remunerated for my gushing!
Anywho, lately, we’ve been sending out the proverbial snapfish pic o’ the fam cards because people would really rather see Lil’ Bug than get all theologically-rich.
Every year I swear I am going to send homemade Christmas cards, but then I never get around to it.
This year I have a plan though. I am going to have each kid draw a Christmas picture, scan the drawings in, and then print on card stock.
I love Christmas cards. I usually do several different exchanges every year so we get a ton of them in the mail. We hang a pretty ribbon along our banister and hang the cards from it. I also tuck the really pretty ones on table tops here and there, or in wreaths, etc.
We’re doing “handmade” cards this year – I’m trying to get them done asap, before I don’t feel like moving around much any more! On white cards (purchased at Michael’s), I printed a black and white Christmas picture on the front of the card (a snowman, a tree, a glove, an ornament, etc). Then I gave my 22 mth old a red and green crayon and let him go at it! He’s colored about half the cards so far! And then, as soon as I can think of something clever to say inside, I’ll print up a greeting inside, stick in a family picture, and send them off!
We definitely do Christmas cards…We actually just had our family pictures done Saturday, so if you don’t mind, say a little prayer that we have at least 1 useable picture?haha With a one year old, I’m a bit unsure! I’m gonna use Wal-Mart this year because they are cheap and convenient for us. I’m not the most creative person in the world, so it’s one thing I can mark off my list early! And we usually send them out (with Christmas stamps of course…gotta have those!) the day after Thanksgiving! Thanks for the chance to win some beautiful cards!
I’m chronically awful at sending out cards and gifts!! I’m slowly getting better at it. These cards would definately help :0)
Fun!!!
I send out cards the first week of December! I know, that’s probably early, BUT I think that it helps get people in the spirit!!!
Every year we do a photo card. Our family is just so spread out… and they all enjoy getting an updated photo.
I personally make all my own Christmas cards — I’m into Stampin’ Up and all that — which I send primarily to just my friends. Our family (really, just my father) sends out a newsletter every year. Everyone in the family, but my father, HATES it. You know those stereotypical newsletters where the sender tells every little detail of what they’ve done for the past year? That’s our newsletter — only on steroids! My mother and I have given up trying to get my father to cut down his 8 page (front and back!) newsletter to just one page — it’s his baby and he’s going to give birth to it every year whether we like it or not. 😉
I love Christmas cards and I think its such a shame that more people don’t send them. It’s becoming outdated and I think that’s sad.
I send them out every year.
I love Christmas cards. I usually buy photo cards half price after Christmas and use them the following year. This year I was hoping I would have time to make some cute Christmas cards using lance’s fingerprints (snowmen and reindeer) but I don’t know if he will be that cooperative. I have a card tree to display cards and I keep them in hopes that one day I will find a way to reuse them.
I have always done Christmas cards and I like to send them out right after Thanksgiving. I am looking for a different approach to cards this year, maybe some homemade cards or photo cards, but I am not sure yet. I love stringing my cards from one wall to the other right by the hallway so everyone can see them.
To be honest we don’t do Christmas cards. I kind of view them the same way I do scrapbooking, which is why get started with something that huge! In a way it sets a precedent, then people expect them every year. Nope, not for me.
However, I do like getting cards from friends. Hypocritical, I know! I like the Christmas letter and I also like the picture cards, but only if the whole family is pictured (I like to see the parents as well as the cute little darlings!) 🙂
I wrote here:
http://mommymandy.blogspot.com/2007/11/oh-amanda-week-2.html
For the past 5 years, I’ve had a family member or my camera’s timer take a family picture and then I make a card from Snapfish.com. Usually mine are sent last minute the week before Christmas. I think one year they even went out after Christmas.
I love sending and receiving Christmas cards. I have always gone and bought a whole bunch of different designs at Walmart and send them out. A couple of years I have sent a family letter and I always send any professional pictures we have taken that year. I have lots of ideas I would love to do if I had more money to do them.
We do cards, if I have my act together I do a photo card or just some plain ones my girls pick out at the store.
christmas cards are one of my favorite bits of the holiday …. and i always send out some sort of letter ….. not the usual type … but a q and a …. or once i sent a table of questions and each of us (five) filled in the gird with our answers…. best event of the year …. worst of the year … favorite tv show ….. last years it was all numbers …… like some magaizines do ….. like:
87: number of pictures taken to get one decent shot for the christmas card
4: number of us who took up tennis this year
99: number of spelling tests i quizzed children for …..
so, always a pic … and always some computer generated something or other …. and i have NO idea what this year will be …. i usually work on it the friday or sat. after thanksgivning …..
tra la la … i can’ t believe christmas is so soon !!!
I love doing Christmas cards, and I like receiving them even more! Most years I pick a design with a snowman because I just love them!
This year though I think we’re going to do a family photo with our cards since Jackson is here (and let’s face it, who doesn’t want to show off their cute kid?) 😀
I would really love to win this though, I would send these extra special cards to my immediate family! Thanks for the chance to win them!
I’d love to win! Christmas cards are the best way to wish a Merry Christmas from one side of the hemisphere to the other!
How cool! I wanna win! I’m so excited for my christmas cards this year. I’m going to get Tera to take a picture of me with all the kids at Thanksgiving. It’s going to be a “Merry Christmas from Aunt Staci” card!!
well, i usually make cards, but haven’t gotten many done this year and the ones i have done are going first to the bazaar at church to raise money for missions, and if they all sell then oh, I have to make more or just do something different…i’ll just say their nice cards were sold for missions…so they get some cheap ones we had left form other years! We’ll see!
I plan on heading over to Berry Patch Farms soon. They have a wagon with Christmas trees in it to pose in front of. I saw someone do it last year when we were both ordering our Christmas cards digitally. I loved it and can’t wait to do it. BTW, I totally want to win this one.
Since my hubby’s a web developer/graphics designer. He’s very very creative so every year we send something unique. Our first year was a news letter. . complete with recipes, word find, and art work from my oldest. The Second year we did a cd slidshow with music of our events Last year we had just moved to a new house and our third was just born. I was recovering from a c-section so there were no cards last year. I’m not sure what we are going to do this year but rest asured it will be designed by my hubby.
I’ve started giving out cards in the last couple of years. My mom, a friend of mine, her mom and myself have started getting together each year (this will be our third) to make our Christmas cards. We all make something for lunch, bring Christmas music and just inspire each other. Last years cards were my favorite to date because I decided to make a card with a family picture on it. Unfortunately the year had passed without any great pictures of our family. So I decided to put a picture on it that depicts our life…chaos. It was a random snapshot that Jer’s dad took of us in the leaves in fall. Jer’s butt’s in the air, My hair is over my face, Ella is jumping and Aidan is the only one sitting nicely for the picture. Very fun. We got great response about how unique it was. This year, no family picture but I think the cards I made are pretty funny. So that makes me happy…making people smile at Christmas : )
I just snap the best pic of our son I can get in his little red rocking chair in front of the fire place…and upload to Snapfish and let them take care of things. Hee-hee!
I’ve done digitally made cards for the last 2 years, and will probably go the same route this year. It’s just so much easier for me. I tried handmade cards one year…actually got them all made, but never sent them out. And I tried for 2 or 3 years to send out the same cards. LOL
The hardest part tho is trying to get a picture of all the kids together looking remotely in the same direction. It’s always fun trying, anyway!
BTW, I’m LOVING reading your blog. Especially loving all the Christmas talk. It’s my favorite time of year, and I can’t get enough!! 😀
I do send Christmas cards (they’re usually the store bought kind… I would love to make them but generally don’t have the time/energy that I think it would require). I do write a Christmas letter (I keep it to the front of one page to cut down on printing and boring our readers to tears!). I generally send a lot more cards than I receive but I mark that down to my husband and I’s frequent moving in the last five years. Hopefully now that we have settled (somewhat permanently… we are still looking to buy a house and then we’ll be settled) our numbers will increase. I am sure that there are some special people on my list who would love these give-away cards! Thanks for the opportunity to enter to win them!
Yep, we do ’em. They are different every year. We’ve done everything from the cheap party store cards, to the picture card, to the newsletter, depending on what kind of year we’ve had! 🙂 I try to send them out near the middle of December, but you know…I lost my address book last year, so there were about 15 cards that sat on a shelf until I FINALLY gave in and threw them out last year. I plan to be more diligent this year and gather addresses early!! 🙂
I try to do a handmade card for family and close friends and to others a newsletter of sorts, usually with a picture. Often, though, they are not actually Christmas cards because I do them the second or third week of January. Takes some of the stress from Christmas and brightens up a dreary January.
I usually do a family letter, and include a picture. Sometimes all of that is in a card, sometimes not. But I’m trying to go less expensive this year. I thought about making Christmas postcards, with a picture on one side and a tiny letter on the other side. I don’t know, but I’ve got to get it in gear soon, because I hate waiting until the last minute to send my cards out.
This is my first year doing photo picture cards as its Connor’s first christmas. We did the standard Santa w/ baby and baby in present box LOL. Sooo adorable. You are linkied to my contest blog btw too 🙂
I design and create Christmas cards as part of my business.
But I never get my own cards sent out.
EVER!
Blessings,
k
Oh I’m bad some years and wait to see who writes us then respond to those, but most years I actually do get them out that first week of December. I keep my list pretty short though, not like my sister who has a hundred on her list.
The past two years I have addressed and STAMPED the cards with photos inside and forgotten to mail them…I found them in FEBRUARY and still sent them because they had photos inside I wanted the recipients to have, LOL. I am determined to break that tradition this year, though it IS a running joke:)
We usually take a family picture and make photo Christmas cards. We usually end up doing this way too late then rushing to get them out! : )
We send out cards. Some years I make them all, and others I will grab box from the store.
I always send cards out. Usually I take a photo of the boys and have cards made. This year I’m hoping to hand stamp my own cards but we’ll see how fast the time goes by! 😉 Added a link to you on my blog!
Those are beautiful. Honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing yet. I can’t decide if i want to send homemade cards or do something online. I’d better make up my mind quick.
We send Christmas cards. I start right after Thanksgiving and do a few each day to make it more manageable. We include a letter sumarizing our year and put pictures on it.
My mom is usually the one who sends the Christmas cards. I’m a university student, so I’m home for the holidays every year anyway (and writing exams at about the time the cards should be sent) and haven’t yet reached the point where I want to send cards on my own. I imagine I will eventually.
I do sometimes make cards for my mom to send. When I was a kid we used to cut up the past year’s cards and reassemble them – we ended up with some odd combinations, like a snowman stuck in a tree, and sometimes we tried to write funny captions for them. Last year I found some nice little dark blue wallpaper samples at the hardware store, stuck them to them to the fronts of plain white cards, and made a bunch of tiny paper snowflakes to decorate them with. Not especially sophisticated, but it made for a relaxing afternoon.
I always do tons of cards every year. And mostly we include school pictures for everyone. (or the special value walmart portrait collection if someone is not school age) If Im up to, I write a news letter of things that have gone on during the year. (This year was a big one for us so Im gonna have to try really hard to get that newsletter done.) I like to get my stuff out early in Dec. (Im likly to be the first card anyone receives!)
Last year was the first year that I actually accomplished Christmas cards! We did a variation of the ‘newsletter’ but only used pics and captions…we figured that people would rather look at pictures of us than read about us… It was hit!
Xmas cards are such a funny thing. Since having MLO (my little one) I have done photo cards of her with a little newsletter thing in it (boring typed note on Xmas paper or something). Everyone (especially those far away) want to see what she looks like and hear what has happened.
The pop-up cards look great and I could send them to local people who see MLO all the time and know what we are up to.
I think I still have last year’s cards in the box… maybe I’ll get them out this year…