5 Tips for Designing Your Own Holiday Greeting Cards

No you’re not reading this post wrong – it’s October and yes we’re talking about the holidays already! But take our word for it, now is the perfect time to start working on your holiday greeting cards. Especially if you’re planning to send cards to elsewhere in the world, you’ll want to get an early start so that they arrive on time. And getting them done early also allows you to spend a bit of time personalizing your cards to make them extra special!

Sending personalized greeting cards to family and friends is great way to spread some holiday cheer, and update everyone on what you’ve been up to over the past year. And while we love the internet, we think it’s better to skip the e-cards and go for traditional mailed cards for the most thoughtful and personal holiday message. Our LDExperts have rounded up their top tips for designing your own holiday greetings cards, to help get you started:

1. Be conscientious of your recipients’ traditions

As you’re going through your list of people you’d like to send greeting cards to this season, make notes of what type of holiday card should go to each person. Our Photolab has a variety of personalized greeting card options with Christmas, Hanukkah and general Winter-themed templates, so no matter what their family traditions, you can find a beautiful card to customize for them.

2. Pick a favourite photo (or two!) to personalize your card

Once upon a time, we would slide a print photo or two into a generic holiday card, as a way to keep our family and friends updated on how things have changed over the last year. After all, a lot can change in a year – whether it be a fast-growing newborn, a furry new addition to the family, or you and your better half celebrating your first Christmas together. Holiday cards are the perfect opportunity to share those important moments from that year with the people you love.

With our personalized greeting cards, you can take that all to the next level! Just choose a photo, or two, and add them to any of our greeting cards, through our Photolab site, in-store kiosks or through our London Drugs Photolab App. We have specially crafted holiday templates so you can simply drag and drop your photos, creating a perfectly personalized design in seconds. You know your mother-in-law will be impressed.

Some options for photos are:

  • A photo of your family from earlier this year
  • A photo from last year’s holiday celebrations
  • A styled photo from your own holiday photo shoot!

 

3. Share a special message from the heart

The key to a truly special holiday greeting card is a heartfelt message. Are they celebrating their first Christmas as a couple? Is their little one celebrating their first Christmas? Or maybe they’re away from home during the holidays? With our personalized greeting cards, you can add your own message for the recipient that is 100% unique, and touches on an aspect of their life. Create one individually for each person on your list – it’s guaranteed to make their mailbox a little merrier.

If you’re strapped for time, or aren’t one for words, even a simple message wishing them a wonderful holiday will go a long way. And you can easily order multiple copies to pop in the mail for all your family and friends.

4. Give your greeting cards a professional finish

Choosing a higher quality paper material won’t just wow your recipient, it will also be more durable, so they’re less likely to be damaged when sent by mail or when they’re opened.

When ordering double-sided cards, folded cards, or postcards from our Photolab, you can choose from either traditional card stock or one of our 6 specialty papers, which will give your cards that extra special touch – literally. Our specialty papers come in linen natural white, linen white, matte soft white, matte white, shimmer silver, and shimmer soft gold

5. Add your personal signature

Add a final personal touch by signing each card by hand. It might seem like a small detail, but it can really make your card stand out. Just make sure to give it a few seconds for the ink to dry, before closing your card and putting it in the envelope. You don’t want to smudge things, right at the very end!

 

Once your personalized greeting cards are ready to go, make sure to get them in the mail early! Ideally, you want your greeting cards to reach their recipients by early to mid-December, and the further they need to go, the sooner they should be put in the mail. Luckily, we offer Canada Post services at many of our London Drugs locations, you so can drop them off the next time you’re in the store!

Get a Jumpstart on the Holidays with Personalized Greeting Cards

The Holidays may seem like a ways away still, but every year the same thing happens: you blink, November is almost over, and you’re suddenly scrambling to get all your holiday to-do’s done. Why not make this the year you get a jumpstart, and save yourself the stress in December?

If there’s one item you may want to get working on sooner rather than later, it’s holiday greeting cards – especially if you’re planning to send them off by mail to friends and family. Rather than picking out a generic set of cards to share, our Photolab can help you create unique holiday cards that are completely personalized.

Finding the Right Photo

Lots of people share a photo or two of their family when they send out their annual holiday cards. It’s a chance to show your loved ones how your family has grown over the past year. You can choose a favourite photo you have from this year, or plan a fun photo shoot with your family to snap a special ‘holiday card’ photo. Get creative and have a theme, like everyone wearing red, or have some fun holiday props on-hand, like pre-wrapped gifts. If you get an early snowfall this year, why not take advantage and run outside for a wintery group photo?

You can also turn your old Christmas photographs into digital copies that can be featured on your greeting cards. We can digitize those photos for you with our Photo Scanning Box service. Just pick up a box from your local London Drugs Photolab, fill it with all your print photos, and bring it back the Photolab where our technicians will digitize the photos at high resolution. Your print photos will then be returned to you, along with a USB flash drive storing all your special photos. Then you can simply upload them to our Photolab website or one of our in-store Photolab kiosks to get started with customizing your holiday greeting cards.

Pick a Card Style

Our Photolab’s user-friendly website and in-store kiosks give you every opportunity to customize, which means you have lots of options when it comes to the style of your cards. First, choose between either flat or folded cards. Flat cards have an extensive list of options, including single-sided, double-sided, and postcards. You can even pick a postcard template that is ready to stamp and drop in the mail. If you’d prefer a traditional folded card, we have both regular and premium folded cards in both 5×7 and 7×5.

We are the only local Photolab to use premium card stocks, so your greeting cards are guaranteed to be entirely unique. To make your holiday greeting cards truly stand out, our Photolab also offers 6 specialty papers in addition to our card stock: linen natural white, linen white, matte soft white, matte white, shimmer silver, and shimmer soft gold.

Once you’ve picked your greeting card style, you’ll then be able to choose a template. We have a wide variety of themes available, including Christmas card templates and Hanukkah card templates. Or if you’re feeling extra creative, feel free to go complete-DIY with a blank card.

Write a Personalized Message

To make your cards as personal as possible, add text to any of our greeting cards. You can choose your preferred font and colour, and customize where it will appear. Type a simple season’s greetings that you can easily send out to all of your family and friends, or customize each card with a unique and personal message. Our LDExperts recommend signing the cards by hand after it’s printed, for an extra special touch.

 

Ready to get a jumpstart on your holiday greeting cards? You can save 10% on your order of greeting cards, calendars and photo books if you order between October 27th and November 1st, 2017. Click here to get started!

If you need some help creating your holiday greeting cards, our Photolab Experts can answer any questions you may have, and walk you through the ordering process. Just visit us at any London Drugs location, in the Photolab department.