Save Money AND Go Local: DIY Holiday Photo Cards

Holiday photo cards are big business. Whether using sites like Shutterfly or Tiny Prints, you’re easily looking at $50 (minimum) plus shipping to have the cards sent out to you. This year, our family got creative, shopped local and only spent half the amount we would have ordering cards online.

Step 1: Design the card. No need to freak out if you don’t have Photoshop. Free editing sites like PicMonkey are super user friendly and even offer holiday frames and embellishments to accent your design.

In the card above, we set our son up at his table with a plate of cookies, candy canes and milk, stood back and started snapping pictures. There was also a ridiculous amount of parental dancing and singing involved in getting the kid’s attention. As you can see from his expression, he was not amused, but that worked well with our design.

A little magic in the photo editing software and *boom* you’ve got a snazzy (and original) holiday card. Remember to save your cards in the size you want to print them in (4×6 or 5×7 are the most common), otherwise your design is likely to get chopped off when the cards are printed.

Step 2: Print the photos. You can do this one of two ways: print the cards at home, or send them to a local photo lab. Accurate Photoshop (524 5th Avenue) is a great and inexpensive option. We received 100 prints for $20.

Step 3: Get Envelopes. 7th Avenue Copy & Office Supply (315 7th Avenue) had both 4×6 and 5×7 sized envelopes available in open boxes. Grab as many as you need and pay per envelope. We snagged 100 4×6 envelopes for $10.  They also have a great selection of paper if you’re printing the cards at home.

Step 4: Prepare for Praise: Drop your masterpiece off in the closest snail mail box and wait for loved ones to ohhh and ahhh at both your creativity and ingenuity.

Keeping it local and saving money…you can’t get much better than that.