Christmas Card Time!

Since we had Quinn and then added Keely to the family, the yearly ritual of sending Christmas cards has become a lot easier. What better way to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" than with one or more pictures of the cutest kids (in my biased opinion)? Picture cards are my favorite to receive in the mail, so naturally they would be my favorite to send. And these days, the options are really unlimited. A few years ago, I discovered a site called Shutterfly. This is just one of many sites that you can use to upload photos to create picture gifts. And once I discovered this site, the others just melted away. The choices are seemingly unlimited. The first hard part of sending a picture card is to take and edit the perfect picture(s) of our kids. Then the job gets harder -- but not in a bad way, there are just so many choices. It is so hard to pick just one! I always play around with so many options and have trouble deciding. That's where I call in the reinforcements (aka James) to make the ultimate choice :)

I played around with the cards available for 2011 and in just a few minutes was able to make three draft cards. The photos I've used are most likely not what you will see in the final version...but I think they will do the trick if we get lazy and decide not to take any fresh pictures of the kiddos. (note: Keely will most likely demand new pictures in her Christmas dress...when I mentioned using these old snow pictures, she was very upset!)

These are such a limited view of all the cards available on the site -- there are several different types including stationary, folded and flat, different sizes including 4"x8" and 5"x7", and a choice of 1-6 or more photos. With so many cards to choose from, you can see how the options become limited only by your own imagination!

Cards are not the only thing that I have used Shutterfly for in years past. Each year I make a calendar of the past year's pictures of the kids to give to their grandparents and other family members. These are such a simple, inexpensive -- but often the most favorite -- of all gifts on Christmas morning. The calendar choices on Shutterfly are also seemingly limitless, with so many backgrounds and photo combinations available.

Another product that I have also used and loved the result are the photo books. I used this choice for a keepsake of our 2009 two week vacation to North Carolina, Washington, DC and Blacksburg. In a day and age where printed photos are quite uncommon, I love that we can pull out this book and glimpse some of the scenes from this amazing trip.

So if you haven't already, go check out http://www.shutterfly.com. It's fast, easy and ultra user friendly. I just know you will love it! I know that I am going to have fun making not only this year's Christmas cards but also many photo gifts in the years to come.

If you are a blogger and would like to win 50 free Christmas cards, click here.

Happy Shopping!