Our 2016 Christmas Cards

Hey! TGIF, my friends. Today I’m sharing our 2016 Christmas cards! 

Before we get into our cards themselves, let’s talk about my Christmas card checklist. Ugh, I know. That sounds so boring, but I think it’s important and it’s something that I make sure I follow every year. It keeps me on track as I’m running around doing a million things during the holidays. 

1. Pick a photographer, schedule and do photoshoot
2. Find a card design and place order
3. Write message on cards and mail out to friends and family

1. Pick a photographer, schedule and do photoshoot

Picking a photographer is hard. You want someone who has a killer online portfolio, an editing style that you find aesthetically pleasing, and hopefully someone local to you. However, about all of that, you want a photographer who makes you and your family feel comfortable during the shoot. Someone who’s not going to make things awkward and will be able to showcase you in the most natural way possible. 

This is the third year that we’ve sent Christmas cards and I’ve never had a problem finding a photographer. I enlisted my good friend Danica to take our photos the first year, and last year I took the photos myself since it was a photo of just Pete {my mini dachshund, if you’re new around here!}. But since my friend Danica no longer lives in Pennsylvania, and I didn’t want to do another photo of Pete, I knew I had to find someone to take a photo of us as a family. 

I did some Googling, and came across Elise Cellucci. She had a great website and had raving reviews on her Instagram account, so I contacted her right away. She got back to me within a few days and after speaking with her, I knew she’d be perfect.

The shoot was at a park not far from our home, on a really chilly and windy day in early November {need to take these earlier next year!}. Pete was a pain during the shoot, as expected. Elise was very patient though, and knew how to get his attention. 

A week or so after our shoot, we got our proofs back and there were some really good ones to choose from. You’ll see which one we picked for our card later on in the post.

2. Find a card design and place order

After finding a photographer and doing the shoot, the next item on the to-do list was finding a card design. 

We ended up choosing the Wintertide card from Minted. This is the third year that I’ve ordered our cards through Minted {you can see our previous cards here and here}, and I can’t say enough good things about them. Aside from their speedy service and high quality products, below are four reasons why I personally decide to use them each year:

• They feature designs from artists all over the world, so you’ll definitely find something you like. 
• They offer FREE recipient addressing, which saves so much time.
• When you make an account, you can save all your addresses in their free concierge address book. That way, you don’t need to import new contacts every year. Also, you can upload them in basically any format, including Excel. What’s even more convenient is that Minted’s team will de-dupe your lists for you. So if you import a new spreadsheet, they will pull only the new contacts! 
• If you’re using a photo for your card, the “Find It Fast” feature is a lifesaver. It allows you to quickly see how your photo will look on each card design without you having to click into each one. 

Minted is offering a great deal until 12/5! Get 15% off if you use the code SNOW15. 

3. Write messages on cards and mail out

After the cards arrive, I always unbox them right away. Not because I’m worried how they came out, but because I like to have time to write a special message on the back of each one. This isn’t a necessary step by any means and a lot of people don’t do this, but I enjoy doing it.

When I was a kid, I loved checking the mail for Christmas cards. My mom used to tape them to the inside of our front door, and I would look at them every day and pick out my favorites. I enjoyed reading the notes inside from family and friends too! So, now that I send my own Christmas cards, I like personalizing each one a bit. 

I’m so happy with how our cards turned out this year. If you haven’t purchased your holiday cards yet, I highly recommend you check out Minted. I’ve gotten so many of my friends hooked on their products, and I know you will be too. Happy shopping!

Thank you to Minted and Elise Cellucci for providing product/service for this post.
All opinions are my own.