Christmas Card Planning {An Organized Christmas Part 9}

The Christmas photo deals are starting to roll in already! If you want to be able to take advantage of the Christmas card deals, you have to be ready for them. Once a great deal on cards shows up, you only have a limited amount of time to take advantage of it. Here’s our strategy for getting the best deal on Christmas cards.

The Photo

For every family who sends photo Christmas cards there’s a different idea of what type of picture makes the ideal card photo. Some people want to have a professional photo taken. Others opt for a collage of snapshots from the past year. We usually take a picture of Emma (or have my dad take one) in front of our decorated Christmas tree. No matter what your preference, it’s time to decide what type of photo you want to use.

The Clothes

Before we can even think about taking a picture for our Christmas cards, we need to make sure that we have the clothes that we want for the pictures. It could be something that we own already, or maybe we just need a small accessory to bring an outfit together. Maybe that means shopping for a new dress for Emma. Whatever it is, it needs to be done now so that we can get our photo done.

On a side note…. I’m big on using what you have if it still works. Emma wore the same Christmas dress last year as she did the year before that. It was a gorgeous dress, and it still fit. I highly doubt that anyone remembered that it was the same dress. Plus she got new hair bows to match it, bows she’s worn a lot since that time. What’s more fun than that!? Just remember, you don’t HAVE to buy a new outfit for the kiddos (or yourself) if you already have something that will do the job.

The List

Did you notice that the mailing list comes next BEFORE ordering cards? That’s because last year I had over 50 photo cards left over after we mailed ours. I can’t think of a good use for 50 photo cards, so that’s just a huge waste! Instead, it’s time to sit down with our mailing lists and figure out who we’re sending cards to this year.

We’ve lived and worked in a lot of places. That means that we know a LOT of people. In fact, one year we mailed out over 100 Christmas cards. We’re not doing that this year. Even if we score a great deal on cards, they still cost $.44 each to mail. And that can add up quickly.

So our big task this week is to sit down with our mailing list and see who we really want to send Christmas cards to. We’re in an interesting situation, because my old computer died and took with it our Christmas card mailing list spreadsheet. That means that we’re really going to be thinking through who we’re mailing cards to this year!

The Cards

Once we know how many cards we need, we can watch for the best card deals. Yes, I did type dealS… plural. I’ve noticed that most of the great deals that come around aren’t for as many cards as we need. So I order from multiple companies. I don’t think my aunt is going to care if my grandma gets a different card. In fact, I doubt they’re going to compare notes at all. So I will be piecing together our Christmas cards as deals come from different companies.

I also bought an Eversave deal for a Picboo voucher (expired now). I’m going to keep an eye out for these, because they’re more flexible than deals with deadlines. I got a $75 Picaboo voucher for $25. It’s good past Christmas, so I can save it if I find a better deal. These vouchers are fabulous, because they allow you to buy now and create your cards later.

The Stamps

This is also a great time to go and buy the stamps that you’ll need for mailing your cards. If you have a lot of cards to mail, you may be able to buy part of the stamps this week and part in a couple of weeks… still leaving you plenty of time for mailing.

The Mailing

For the past two years I’ve mailed our Christmas cards just a few days before Christmas. I’m guessing that with people being so busy right before Christmas, our cards didn’t get much attention. The benefit of sending cards earlier is that people have time to spend reading your greetings. (Plus it’s one less thing for you to worry about!)

I had a friend who opted for a unique mailing one year. Instead of trying to get her family’s cards out at Christmastime, she sent Happy New Year cards. If you want to avoid the holiday rush, that might be an option. I can tell you that their card got our undivided attention. In fact, I’m writing about it years later!

The Deals

So now that we have a game plan, it’s time to get those Christmas cards! I’m going to be posting some great card deals in the next weeks. You may want to bookmark my Photo Deals category of posts and check back for the best deals. Here are my favorites right now:

• 5 Free Photo Cards + Free Shipping from MyPublisher
• 20 Custom Photo Cards $3 (+$3.99 shipping) from InkGarden
• 15 Free Photo Cards (free in-store pick-up) from Rite Aid

I’m sure there will be more deals coming, so stop back to check for them.