Christmas cards are one of the things many people look forward to the most in December. Turn your holiday greetings into a family Christmas craft or photo session for a standout custom Christmas card from your family.
Tired of being Little Miss Predictable with your nativity scene Christmas card or posed portrait shot of the kids? Here are some new twists on custom Christmas cards so you can send the most holly jolly wishes to your nearest and dearest.
Old school photo session
When faced with a selection of Christmas cards, do you opt for the off-color cartoon or the impressionist-inspired snow scene? If you’re the former, you might be just the candidate to show your humor in a sure-to-be memorable ugly Christmas sweater photo in front of the tree, says Christie Clancy of Clancy 214 Photography.
Kid-designed cards
Put the holiday greetings in your kids’ hands for a true custom Christmas card. Purchase blank cards and let them draw or color one-of-a-kind Christmas trees, angels, stars or renditions of Santa Claus. Have a particularly talented artist among your crew? Have him create a design, then make color copies of it and paste it to each card for a Christmas craft that does double duty as fine art.
Christmas crafts for kids: 6 Easy homemade gifts >>
Subtle but effective
“Get some action shots of the kids decorating Christmas cookies or making ornaments for the tree,” suggests Clancy. Doing the picture-taking yourself? She recommends setting your camera to “auto” or “sport” to help reduce the chance of blurring. But if a bit of a blur is your goal, “focus on the unexpected — like the icing on a cookie — with the kids in soft focus in the background,” Clancy says.
It’s a tech-savvy Christmas
Do you make good use of the creative programs and software on your computer? Then you’re probably into modern Christmas craft ideas. So invite your kids to develop your family’s custom Christmas card design with a computer program like HP’s Magic Canvas, which lets users draw and color on a touch screen.
Christmas cards of the future
Have your kids take some pics for possible feature on your Christmas card — the angles from which they view life adds a whole new perspective to photo-taking. Want to make an even bigger impression on your Christmas card recipients if you’re sending a photo card? Take a few seconds to jot a one-liner on the back at the very least and have every member of your family sign the card. Yes, the photos often speak for themselves and the cards are printed with your selected greeting, but nothing says “Merry Christmas” like a handwritten hello.
12 ways to recycle Christmas cards >>
Sure it’s easier to just go to the local discount store and snatch up a few boxes of cookie-cutter cards, but if you can, put a little extra effort into it this year. You probably won’t have to spend much more than you would on boxed cards and involving your kids in this Christmas craft turned custom Christmas card will show them the importance of reaching out to others at this special time of year.
More custom Christmas cards and Christmas crafts
Christmas card etiquette
Christmas card pictures shouldn’t ruin your holiday spirit
How to make homemade Christmas cards
Leave a Comment