One of the things about the holidays I enjoy most is receiving photo cards from far away friends. I love to see how my friends (or in most cases, their children) have changed from year to year. I also appreciate the time and creativity people expend creating their cards. Some friends really go all out, splurging on high end paper, professional photography and the like. Others simply insert a color snapshot into a standard holiday greeting card with a scribbled signature. It’s rare the number of friends who craft their cards by hand, but some still do!
With the popularity of social networking sites and other technologies that have made mass communication easy and cheap, I fear the holiday card may soon fall the way of the handwritten note. There seem to be fewer cards in the mailbox already this year. I know I’m streamlining my own Christmas card list in an effort to save a little money and I’ve probably been scratched off a few lists myself. I can practically hear my old college roommates saying, “I haven’t had a phone call from Erin in 2009. Scratch her.”
Usually I send around 100 Christmas cards and the postage alone could afford another gift under the tree or a donation to my local food pantry. Add in the cost of making a beautiful photo card—ranging anywhere in price from 50 cents to $2 each—and you can see the why the temptation to skip the cards can be so great. And yet I find cards are still a wonderful way to connect with friends and family so I am not ready to give in. When I made my card last week, I discovered a few tools for making the whole process a little easier.
1. Compare prices at online photo card shops before you start creating your card. I actually started making my card using iPhoto on my Mac because it was the fastest and easiest option. But when I went to buy the card, I realized it was going to cost me over $150, well over my budget. Then I checked out Shutterfly, where I have created my holiday cards in the past, and got the price down to less than 48 cents per card.
2. Search for online coupon codes and save. Retailmenot.com offers a host of coupon codes with a success rate for each. I get so many promotional offers in my e-mail every day that I can’t possibly use. Usually I delete them in an effort to clear out my inbox. But then when I do need a code, I can’t find it! Retailmenot.com is a great place to find codes that will save you money. I saved almost $15 on my card order using one of the active codes if found on the site.
3. Use free tools to manage your card list. WhitePages has launched a Holiday List Manager that helps you easily locate those lost contacts, add them to an aggregated holiday list, and when you’re ready, print labels. Check out Microsoft Office online for great holiday templates for your card list, return address labels, and much more.
4. Order Stamps online. The US Postal Service Web site sells Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza and winter holiday stamps from their Web site, saving you valuable time. Of course, you have to register with the site, which can take a few minutes (especially if your password doesn’t include 8 characters, one capital letter, one lowercase and one number) but I am not going to hold that against them!
5. Share your card on social networking sites. After your mailed cards have reached their recipients, post your card to Facebook or share a link to the online card via e-mail. This is a great way to reach those casual acquaintances and anyone you may have erroneously (or willingly) left of your mailing list this year.
Are you sending holiday cards this year? Are you scaling back in any way? What kind of cards do you like to send and receive?
I think I might make my cards as postcards to save on postage. Post card stamps are $.28 each, and regular stamps are $.44. I am also planning on creating my cards in iPhoto, and having them printed as 4×6′s, which can be very cheap. I will then print the message onto a label I’ll place on the back of the picture. I hope this saves me money!
We stopped sending Christmas cards years ago. Instead, we send a card or letter on Valentines Day or another time of year when something newsworthy has happened in our family. One year we sent Fourth of July cards to share the news that our son, an Army Reservist, had returned home safely from Iraq. There’s enough to do during the holidays without feeling like you “have” to send cards, too. Besides, if you send them at another time your friends and relatives might even have time to read them!
I love love love Christmas cards. They are happy and cheery and I hardly get any mail other than bills (only a few most are e-bills) or junk mail. I am not into the news letter because most of the people that are on my Christmas card list I talk to on a regular basis so they don’t need a recap of the year in the life of ME!
I don’t mind getting news letters if the writer is inclined nor do a mind just getting a signature scribbled on the card. They are all welcome in my house. I send my cards out generally the Monday (sometimes the Saturday if I am ambitious) after Thanksgiving. It really gets me into the spirit. I love the ribbons and the bows, and the joy of giving, and the songs, and the friends and family.
I went with 4×6 inch “cards” which was simply a family photo with a holiday border. I already had 100 free 4×6 credits with Snapfish so they ended up being free plus shipping! For the personal touch, I had everyone in my family write their greeting and printed them out on stickers which I placed on the back of every card.
I love Retailmenot and used them for ALL my online holiday shopping this year.
I also used RetailMeNot and I save a lot of money because of coupon codes and discounts. I know another site called Kind Coupons. It is a similar site and the amazing thing about it is it donates to charities.
I hope you never stop! this is one of the best sites Ive ever read. Youve got some mad skill here, man. I just hope that you dont lose your style beca
Every year I send holiday cards
It’s nice to get a personal written message from old friends. Calling on the phone can inconvenience people, since there is so much going on…and a Christmas card gives you a deadline as to when you absolutely have to write friends, as opposed to putting it off constantly. I’m always happy to hear from people. Best regards
After your mailed cards have reached their recipients, post your card to Facebook or share a link to the online card via e-mail. This is a great way to reach those casual acquaintances and anyone you may have erroneously (or willingly) left of your mailing list this year. – Amazing Idea !!!!!
Post card stamps are $.28 each, and regular stamps are $.44. I am also planning on creating my cards in iPhoto, and having them printed as 4×6′s, which can be very cheap. I will then print the message onto a label I’ll place on the back of the picture. I hope this saves me money!!!!
I actually started making my card using iPhoto on my Mac because it was the fastest and easiest option. But when I went to buy the card, I realized it was going to cost me over $150, well over my budget. Then I checked out Shutterfly, where I have created my holiday cards in the past, and got the price down to less than 48 cents per card.
heii Ms, thanks for sharing these tips for Managing the Card Chaos
pfffff… I can’t managing my Card Chaos but…….. i’ll hope your tips help me !! all the best
Others simply insert a color snapshot into a standard holiday greeting card with a scribbled signature. It’s rare the number of friends who craft their cards by hand, but some still do!
Compare prices at online photo card shops before you start creating your card !mm , think I might make my cards as postcards to save on postage. Post card stamps are $.28 each, and regular stamps are $.44. I am also planning on creating my cards in iPhoto, and having them printed as 4×6′s, which can be very cheap. I will then print the message onto a label I’ll place on the back of the picture. I hope this saves me money!