Christmas Card Tradition
I know in a lot of ways, some of the things I do are old school, but there really is no school like the old school. In this regard, I have always sent Christmas Cards in the Fall. As an idea instilled in me by my grandparents, kind of like the idea that hand sanitizers are some of the best gifts ever, it is one of my favorite things about this time of year. Really, what other time of year does one look forward to checking the mail? Besides your birthday. Normally, I just get a decently priced pack of cards and a couple of books of stamps, but the cards I remember the most are the ones with cute photos (usually from people with kids). So this year I decided to try and up my christmas card game! Follow my journey:
Challenge: Send 40-50 Personalized Christmas Cards In Budget
Research:
Touchnote: This is an app that you upload photos and they turn it into cards and postcards. They even send it for you to the destination, as I usually use this to send photo cards to my nevada pen pal, I looked into adding the adddresses to the app and attempting to send the whole lot a christmas card from the app. 40-50 cards = $139. Now, this does mean they do everything, but damn.
Touchnote Cntd: So, I noticed a feature that says I could order the cards from them but send them myself, so I thought maybe I could have my cake and eat it too? I looked into this option....45 cards = $123 (not including postage of $35). Really, they price it well enough that IF I did go through them, I would let them do everything. But again, too much.
Vistaprint: This is a source I love to use for everything, and typically while still being a little on the expensive side, its great quality. So I decided to see what they would charge me, and note that this option is similar to the point above in which I would have to get postage myself. 45 Cards=$81 (not including postage of $35). Still too much, but at this point, if I wanted to have some fun with it, it obviously I would need to spend a little more than I typically budget for christmas cards.
Shutterfly: At this point, I decided to try the direction of: getting my own cards and getting the photos printed and put them manually. Shutterfly is a great place for inexpensive prints, only con being that shipping is a nightmare this year. So price for 45 photos = $15 (plus cards $15+ plus postage $35).
Shutterfly Cntd: For Shifts and Giggles, I also decided to price out if I had them make the personalized cards and send them to me. 45 cards = $78 (plus postage $35).
Final Comparison:
Touchnote: $139 OR $123+$35
Vistaprint: $81+$35
Shutterfly: $15 + $15 + $35 OR $78 + $35
My plan for this year:
Well, all that research made me just go into DIY mode. I would find the cards, take my own photos with new outfits for the year (for the furbabies of course) and keep it simple and as inexpensive as possible.
Final Outcome:
Cards: 30 cards = $20 (Costco) + 9 Cards = $1...$21
Postage: 2 Books of stamps = $34
Photos: 70 photos (Walmart) = $7
Total: $62
Aren’t my babies adorable? Isn’t it crazy how expensive it is? The price of convenience, takes away from the joy you would otherwise put into your card for someone else to open! I love sending them each year, and getting them back-displaying them in a christmas card holder! I usually keep them after the holidays are over too! If you are going to do it, I would suggest keeping the list of addresses and names in your phone or on a google doc-and making sure it stays updated as people move often! Or even get married, and have kids!
