One thing is for sure - getting Holiday cards out on time takes some preparation! Here are some of my lessons learned to ensure they get out on time (or early!), with ease and at a great value!
1) Schedule time on your Calendar Now!
I like to get our cards mailed out by the Monday after Thanksgiving. The past few years we have done professional portrait sessions. Either way, if you do photo cards and do not want to be in a scramble to get them sent out, you've got to either have your photos ready or plan your portrait session around late October to Mid-November. I put a note on my calendar around mid-October to schedule our portrait session.
2) Prepare your Supplies ahead of time.
Make sure you have adequate amounts of stamps, envelope stiks (to save from all the licking!), return address labels, stickers, and whatever other embellishments you like to use. I like ordering stamps from www.usps.com. Stamps will arrive in your mail box for only $1 shipping. A dollar well spent for the convenience factor! I also like ordering festive return address labels from www.Vistaprint.com. Great deals! Please note though - if you want to pay the minimal amount of shipping, allow a lot of time & choose the slowest shipping method.
3) Address Labels
I have a whole separate category for address labels. This is going to be a project for me to take care of in January so I don't end up just hand addressing the cards like I've done the past 2 years! Probably one of the easiest things to do is to create an address label template, update it with address changes, and additions and print out. Make sure you have enough labels when you check your supplies ahead of time. I am going to update my labels now, print them out for next year, and put them in my Christmas folder. If I have any additions by the time Christmas rolls around, it will most likely only be a few that I have to hand address.
4) Card Options
There are so many options for cards! If you do traditional non-photo cards, or the cards you can slip photos in, shop the after Christmas sales for the best deals.
Another exciting option is Send Out Cards. You open an account, set up an address book, and can send cards out right from your computer! No trip to the post office required - all of the cards are printed from their facility & mailed out for you. So easy! You can make custom photo cards as well - create one Holiday card, and with just a few clicks that card will be sent to everyone in your address book! I use Send Out Cards throughout the year to send cards for all occasions and to save me trips to the post office - you can also set up reminders for Birthdays and other special occasions. For more info., please visit my friends website: www.sendoutcards.com/4theboys
Some other online photo card websites I like: Shutterfly, Erin Condren, and Tiny Prints. They offer some really unique and beautiful designs. Be sure to check out www.RetailMeNot.com to check for any current deals & offer codes they have.
If you are looking to save a lot, Costco has probably the best deal out there. Look in their November coupon book for a $5 off coupon on Photo Greeting Cards. Trick is, you have to have your photos ready and complete your photo order before the coupon expires around the end of November. Hence, the planning early with the photo sessions! With this deal, you get 50 Photo Cards plus 4 Photo Card Calendars for $9.99! (Regularly $14.99) They come with silver lined envelopes and you can order additional cards in groups of 25 or 50.
5) Displaying Holiday Cards
There are many options for displaying cards; on the fridge, hung up, in a basket. I have kept mine in a Christmas themed metal basket hung on a hook in my entry way. However, my kids will be a little older next year, and I am hoping to display them on a ribbon on my doorway. Some great examples of card displays can be found Here. If you have a Pinterest account, pick your favorite displays, pin them, print them out & put in your Christmas folder for next year.
I hope this has helped inspire you to simplify your Holiday Card process! Happy New Years & Happy planning! :)
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