Tis’ the season for holiday cards! It is time to decide if you are sending a cheery Christmas card to all of your family, friends, and neighbors. As you sit down to decide upon your card this year, I wanted to share a few tips to make the process a little less nerve-wracking.

The picture is the most important part of the card

A picture is worth a thousand words, therefore I like to let my photos do most of the talking when it comes to holiday cards. Listed below are some important things to think about when selecting photos to include on your card.

Make sure your photo is clear

First and foremost, is the photo you are sending out to all the people you care about a high-quality photo that looks crisp and clear? Nothing is worse than seeing that your gorgeous family photo looks pixelated and blurry on your cards. It is also frustrating to receive blurry photos in the mail when you want to see your loved ones clearly. An easy way to make sure you have crisp photos is to work with a professional photographer, which leads to my next point.

Plan a family photo session

Plan a family photo session with a photographer. It is rare that a candid photo on your phone is appropriate to send out on your holiday card. They rarely successfully show everyone’s faces clearly while including the entire fam in the picture. To remedy this problem, schedule a professional photo shoot with a photographer that is getting paid to make your family look good! It’s their job, therefore most of them are really good at it! Some ideas for the best locations for photos:

• Your home: your kids are comfortable there and you don’t have to worry about a tense car ride to a photo destination.
• The mountains: you can’t go wrong with a pretty mountain backdrop. Bonus points for cozy sweaters and scarfs!
• A Christmas tree farm: we did this for ours last year and LOVED it! They looked festive without being too over-the-top. You can see them here.
• Cityscape: change things up and hit downtown for a different vibe in your photos. This could be fun if you have previously done outdoorsy photo shoots in the past and are looking for something a little different. Britt and Sam did their engagements in the city and they are lovely, you can check them out here.
• A park: never underestimate the beauty of a simple park. Utah boasts parks with rivers, waterfalls, and majestic backdrops so we might as well put them to use! We both went with parks this year as the backdrop for our Christmas card photos. (Britt did hers in the summertime with sunshine and blooms at a historic park. I chose to do mine at a brand new park nestled at the bottom of a canyon with a river running through it and tons of foliage.)

Show your personality

Now, it is great and NECESSARY to pick a photo that shows off you and your family member’s personalities! Steer clear of anything too serious or stuffy. Think about the kind of photo you want to be sending, probably something to make whoever receives it smile!

Choose a card with a front and back

Use the advantage of cards with both sides! That way you don’t have to narrow your picture choices to just one. We usually have a picture of the entire family on the front and then a picture of just our little ones on the back. It is nice to offer variety without throwing in a 20 photo collage that looks messy.

Use technology to your advantage!

We have it SO easy these days with so many resources that make Christmas and holiday cards a breeze. Our personal favorite is Chatbooks (a Utah company) that specializes in photo books but also offers HUNDREDS of options for cards. Their cards are professional, pretty, and super simple to make. I am not kidding when I tell you that it took me less than 5-minutes start-to-finish to create my cards this year! Use promo code: TWINTESTED40 for 40% off your cards this year – woohoo!!

Celebrate Everyday Challenge

As part of our celebrate everyday challenge for November we wanted to dedicate one day to getting holiday cards done. Holiday cards are usually pretty simple but can get tricky when you don’t set aside time to get them done. I have been known to order mine the week before Christmas which ends up being completely nuts! So make today that day and feel even better about getting ahead of the game by using TWINTESTED40 for 40% off your cards! Then you can check that item off your holiday to-do list! Chatbooks added gold foil designs this year to their collection and they are GORGEOUS! Go check them out here.

Make a list and check it twice

I am married to an Xcel spreadsheet lover which comes in quite handy at times like this. Over the years he has curated our holiday card address list. He updates it when friends and family move and regularly adds people to the list. This makes the sending process so much smoother! And it is a relief not having to nag people for their address every year around the holidays.

If nothing else, have fun!

A mailbox full of holiday cards from family and friends is a happy occurrence. Know that you are sending out little bits of happiness that make people smile. If you love to write a 5-page letter with your card every year, please don’t let this guide stop you. If you love to include 10 photos, instead of just two – do it! Bottom line, do whatever makes you happy and let your personality shine through!

Happy card making!

For more photo tips you can check out:

Couples Photo Tips (with more than 10 million views!)

Family Photo Tips (with more than 6 million views!)

How to Make Your Toddler Smile in Photos (1 million views!)

Happy Holidays!