Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it’s time for Christmas preparations to begin, and I’m beside myself with excitement. I love Christmas, I love Christmas music, I love Christmas decorations, I love baking (and eating!) cookies, I love giving and receiving presents, I love spending time with family. I can’t wait to dive in!
My first Christmas-related project is our family Christmas cards, which are always a load of fun for me to put together. I’ve been using Shutterfly’s Photo Christmas Cards for a few years now, and am consistently thrilled with the the ease of use of the website, the assortment of designs available, and the quality of the final product. This year’s selection of designs is amazing – a wide array of beautiful designs, some fun and different, some traditional – there’s something to please everyone!
A family photo + family letter combo? Love it!
A pretty, traditional design to delight all of your family and friends!
I’ve also decided that I’d like to design a photo calendar this year, possibly one for my husband and I and then copies for each of our close family members. You can now place photos on specific days in the calendar, which is a great idea for marking birthdays and anniversaries.
How much fun would it be to use last year’s blizzard photos to grace the January calendar page? Or photos from our family vacation to Emerald Isle to help set the mood for summer 2011? Throw in shots from family get-togethers and it’s a gift fit for everyone you love!
And of course, once Christmas is over, we launch into New Year’s. Can you believe it’s going to be 2011? Weren’t we supposed to have flying cars and robot maids by now? Crazy! My husband and I used to get together with friends every year for New Year’s, but since the little one came into our lives, we’ve done quiet, cozy nights at home with the family. This year we’re talking about a hybrid celebration – an easy night at home with great food and fun movies, but asking a couple of friends over for a low-key celebration together. And of course, Shutterfly has some great New Year’s Eve invitations to choose from!
These damask invitations would be perfect for an elegant dinner party with friends!
I’ve designed a few different versions of our Christmas cards and can’t decide which one, which is the only downside to Shutterfly’s wide variety of options.
I love the green damask band on this one!
And I love that this collage card allows me to use even more of my favorite images from our family photo session!
What to choose, what to choose? Which do you like?
Disclaimer: Shutterfly is gifting me with 50 free cards in exchange for my writing this post. This has in no way influenced my opinions and rave reviews for Shutterfly’s services, which I have been using happily for years now.
