The first time I came across a personalised Christmas card was back when I lived with my parents, sent from some distant relatives in the USA. I was a teenager, maybe 14 or 15, and I remember thinking what a self-indulgent practice it was. I couldn’t imagine why you’d want to send out a card to your friends with your face on it.
Fast-forward 16 years: 3,000 Instagram selfies later and here we are, fully immersed in the era of over-sharing. I LOVE SENDING THINGS WITH MY FACE ON!
In all seriousness, I think it’s lovely way of connecting your family with others. My cousin’s wife Beccy is brilliant at sending out personalised thank-you notes after her daughters’ birthday parties (my kids love receiving them), and my friend Lizzi is the best at sending cards specific to you that will bring a smile to your face. This year, after a particularly challenging couple of months, she sent me a card that featured a photo of me trying to dry myself in one of those Dyson Airblade hand dryers (there was a cocktail-on-dress incident). It made my week, and even now I keep it in a drawer in the kitchen for when I need a pick-me-up.
Now, I haven’t got around to sending out photo Christmas cards yet, instead panicking and last-minute ordering a hundred of the cards designed by Elfie at school (though I’m sure last year’s resembled a pizza rather than anything festive). But this year, with plenty of time to go before the final Christmas postage, Snapfish got in touch and asked us if we fancied having a go at making our very own family card.
They wanted us to have a think about our favourite celebrity Christmas card and re-create it (and you can do the same by winning £25 Snapfish credit – keep reading to find out how).
We decided to go all Hugh Hefner, pop our pyjamas on and rope in our pets – i.e. our favourite stuffed animals. Here’s the man himself with a bunny (and a puppy), though I stopped short at the silky PJs and instead went to M&S.
One of the things I love about working on this kind of project is the memories it leaves you with. The photographs we have ended up with from sitting and having a cheesy photoshoot together for half an hour: if it wasn’t for the Christmas card we were creating I wouldn’t have done this little snap session, and I’m very happy that we did. I’ll be able to look back on these lovely photos of the three of us for years to come.
It’s not just the posed pictures, either. Some of the best images were the outtakes. This one is currently making me smile as my iPhone’s wallpaper. Of COURSE Hux clonked himself in the eye with a space rocket the morning before, meaning he has a lovely shiner to look back on in years to come:
(What do they say? Never work with children or pets?!)
Here’s Elfie’s favourite, as I jumped in front of the self-timer. It’s probably not going to make it to our 2016 Christmas card but gave us a good laugh…
I think we did a great job. Elfie and Hux were on a bit of a high as they’d been bought spanking new PJs for the project (I’m not above bribery – Elfie’s are here and Hux’s here). They seemed to be enjoy being a little bit cheesy for the camera as much as I did! I kept it simple and had us snuggle up on the sofa – something we do A LOT of – and added in the poinsettia for that little extra bit of festive cheer. Here’s the best of our Playboy mansion-esque bunch:
Making up the cards was super easy. I simply edited my original photos in PhotoShop,HP10 0TT to Snapfish, selected the style of card I fancied, uploaded the image and sent them off to be made up. I tried a few different styles with my favourite being the first I reckon (‘Merry Christmas: stylish frame‘ it’s called), though if you had an image with a solid block of colour at the top I think the second (‘flurry Christmas‘) would also be brilliant:
I quickly processed these through the Snapfish online system and bobs your uncle, they’ll be with me in less than a week! I don’t know about you but I’d be all-out delighted to receive one of these as a Christmas card ;)
Have a go at creating your own Snapfish Christmas card – mine will be on my Instagram as soon as it arrives! I hope you have just a ridiculous and fun time as we did making memories…
Snapfish are kindly giving away £25 online credit to a MTT reader so you can trial the service for yourself. All you have to do to enter is tell me the kind of Christmas card you’d send in the comment box, and record your details in the Rafflecopter widget below: good luck!
Thank you Snapfish for working with MTT.
Competition is UK-only. Competition closes at midnight on 28th November. Snapfish/Edelmen are responsible for the delivery of the prize. Winner will be notified via email within 3 days.
Your pictures look super cute! Your two look so sweet in their PJs.
I’d like to send a Christmas card showing the exciting chaos our new 8 week old son has brought to our home! I’m thinking he’ll look all cute in the foreground, I’ll be looking tired with a sick stain on my Xmas jumper and my yawning husband will be trying to stop the cat climb the Xmas tree… all complete with three cheesy grins, of course, because this is our first Christmas together!
we usually send funny ones
I will be sending fun ones
Probably ones featuring my new dauschaund puppy!
We make cards. I am following https://twitter.com/alicej_t on Twiter. The name to follow in the rafflecopter didn’t look right?
Ones that my daughter has made
I will send childish fun ones such as of teddy bears in tinsel
i send ones with cats on
A traditional christmas scene
I’ve got a few funny ones and a few cute ones, I will send each depending on the person. :)
The cheapest ones
I always try to send funny ones if I can find them
We send different ones to different people. We make them ourselves but are a bit camera shy so the older rellies will get a nice landscape pic from one of our autumn/winter weekend walks – bonus if we find somewhere with snow. Friends will probably get the cat looking grumpy with a photoshopped Santa hat on (no chance of actually getting one on him!).
I like to send charity cards
I like to send cute ones :) x
Hopefully some Snapfish ones!!
As few as possible – save the trees! :)
Whatever is left over from last year, advantage of having a lot of elderly relatives they never remember :-)
I get the kids to make a few with hand prints
I always make my own so it’ll be a decoupage Christmas scene :)
Some cute and funny cards
I will send traditional cards to a few close family members living overseas.
Otherwise I donate to charity instead of sending cards.
I generally send cute ones with snowmen, reindeer etc
I don’t send many – mainly just neighbours and family x
Traditional ones to family and friends
I always like to send glittery cards!
I’ll be sending ones from the RNLI because living near the sea I like to support them
Funny
Festive
Funny ones
A handmade one from my son :)
I send charity cards from Save The Children – I only send to people I don’t see regularly and usually enclose a hand written letter too, particularly to the older recipients.
I like to send a funny card to my closest friends & family but am careful not to make them personal…you can load yourself up with a whole sackful of trouble if you offend anyone at Xmas time ;)
One with a cheesy family photo!
None, they take too long to write out.
a standard one
none, find them pointless
lots of handmade ones x
wallace and gromit ones sold at john lewis x
Not sure, haven’t seen any I like yet
Always joke ones
i like traditional ones x
I tend to send unusual ones or funny ones but have some traditional ones for traditional family members
I like traditional cards
I usually get a mixture to be honest. Kids ones for the school freinds, traditional for neighbours and personalised for close family and freinds.
Charity Christmas cards from Bolton Hospice
We dont really send out cards, never have but we make ones with our daughter for family members and she does get a pack to hand out to her school friends.
I dont send cards but the kids do and they make cards for the grandparents and dad
Traditional ones
A winter scene card!
Funny one
I’m not sending Christmas cards this year as I’m donating to the local food bank
something funny
one with a design by my son
We made handmade ones for family members
no xmas card s this year giving a donation to Cancer Research instead
My kids make most of them! They absolutely love it so it’s a tradition that we do every year now :)
I have ordered some xmas cards from my childrens school, they make Christmas cards and they are printed for us to buy
Personalised cards with my little boy on them
I get generic store bought ones for most people but close family and friends get customised ones :)
I will be sending special ones to my close family members and friends and ones I bought from pets at home with hamsters on to other people. Would love some from snapfish with my pets in though! :) x
I normally send photo postcards
We will send a funny family photo card of my children
Macmillan cancer charity cards this year.
We usually send ones to family that the children have made x
I will be sending funny cards
I love cards with Robins on them, so will be sending them!
A Home Made Personalised Christmas Card :)
None. I’ll send Xmas messages via email and whatsapp instead.
The ones my daughter made :) By the way, all of you look so pretty :)
A traditional Christmas card.
Simple traditional cards this year
We made homemade ones this year
I always try and send ones with animals on (usually cats!).
Always cards with plenty of glitter!!
We’ve got some very glittery cards this year!