Pamper Yourself this Holiday Season
There’s no stress quite like the one that comes from creating the holiday Christmas Card. For some friends and relatives who live too far for visits, your holiday card is the only glimpse they have of your family, and what they’ve been up to for the last 365 days.
I’ve always looked at the holiday card as the pivotal year-end point to review, not just the high-points of our lives, but to share the funniest moments from our lives together. No letter — just brief highlights from the year. So, needless to say, creating the Christmas Card is a high point of stress in my life; the traditional photo cards are too small for our words, and I end up designing my own card every year.
Parent Bloggers Network asked me to try Minted, an on-line stationery designer known for their artistry, exquisite printing and superb papers. Minted uses independent designers that I could never find on my own, and stationery brands you can’t find from mainstream retailers.
When I clicked on the holiday card selections, I was truly amazed to see a unique card design, that incorporates five pictures, (including the main large one on the front), with room for a paragraph under four of the pictures. This “yearline” design (see photo above) fit my needs beautifully — as I could write a brief, humorous summary for each of the four pictures; Minted grouped each section by the four seasons. If you prefer the traditional Christmas letter, this format is also offered, and looks like this:
I chose my card, (which, after you’ve seen the designs, you’ll see was not easy). My selection was the Holiday Delights Holiday Card by Oscar+Emma Design. Next, I simply uploaded the five photos I wanted. As the files were uploading, a message from Minted popped up, explaining that their professional designers would take care of cropping and resizing my images to fit into the card. What a relief!
The Next step was to type in the text I wanted for each of the four sections. Of course, my text didn’t fit. Instead of asking me to “edit” what I wrote, the Minted designer simply worked with the text formatting and design so that the finished card would accommodate my words; without looking cramped.
There’s also a place to add your family’s name, greeting style and color. Once I was done submitting the photos, entering text, and choosing my options, I saved them, and placed my order.
No less than 24 hours later, I received in e-mail from Minted with my Christmas Card proof attached for my review. My card required the Minted designer to do quite a bit of tweaking; changing the “circle” pictures to “squares” and changing the fonts. She presented me with two versions to pick from. My choice was made, and final edits were sent back. The process was effortless, easy, and fast.
I received my completed Christmas Cards in ten days; and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet. I opened the box to find beautiful cards — I mean gorgeous cards– the kinds of cards you typically find in the form of a wedding invitation. I’m in love with my Christmas cards.
These cards, naturally, are quite expensive. However, the entire design, and ordering process from Minted truly made what once was such a stressful nightmare every year, a breeze. I may actually have time to make Christmas cookies this year. Still, remember this; for some of your friends and family, your holiday card is perhaps as close as they’ll get to your family this year. Make it count.