The Minted Holiday Card Awards

It’s Lisa here, with holiday greetings! So I have this thing with holiday cards–I LOVE THEM! I love creating and sending them, and I seriously love getting them. I get excited to check my mailbox during the holiday season, knowing that every 5×7 envelope will bring me a smile. I have always liked holiday cards, even before the dawn of easily customizable ones. Back in the day, I would search stationary stores for a box of the most beautiful, beglittered winter scene cards I could find. The first photo card that I sent out was way back in 2004, the year Stew and I got married, when I printed a bunch of copies of my favorite black and white wedding photo (a candid of us walking out of the church right after the wedding), and individually stuck them onto red frame cards with silver borders. They were so pretty and simple, but it was tedious to assemble them all. Thankfully, now that there are sites like Minted, it is so easy to create stunning personalized cards.

Oh, how I adore photo cards! We have moved around a lot, so it is truly a joy to see pictures from friends and family, near and far, smiling with their growing children or out having fun in their travel photos. We have high wainscoting in our dining room, and the top ledge of it is the perfect place to display the cards we receive. By the time Christmas arrives, the line of cards completely encircles the room, and it’s nice to sit down for dinner with my family surrounded by the cheerful faces of those who mean the most to us.

I always enjoy the process of creating our holiday photo cards as well. If you didn’t know, aside from doing the photography for the blog and some art photography (which you can see here), I also do family photography. In the fall, I get busy with family photo sessions, because everyone wants beautiful pictures for their holiday cards! I love putting families in settings where they are surrounded by nature or interesting architectural elements which, while providing interesting visual texture and color to the composition, really create a lovely frame to highlight the family itself. Of course, for my own family pictures, I look for the same kinds of settings. When choosing outfits for my kids (or my whole family, when I manage to actually get a family shot of us–not easy, since I’m usually behind the lens!), I try to avoid clashing colors and discordant patterns, so that everyone looks cohesive. Once I’ve chosen the photos that I plan to use for my holiday card, I start searching for designs.

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My favorite site to search for designs is Minted. One feature that I love using on Minted is the tool that allows you to see your photo in all the card designs at once. This quickly helps me narrow down the gazillions of choices, because certain colors and designs quickly jump out at me as being harmonious with the photograph. I tend to look for colors that somehow tie in to the picture, and designs that work with the image (for example, the design layout mirrors some element of the photo composition and therefore frames it nicely, or if there is text, it is placed well on the photograph, etc.). I personally like the simplicity of a single photograph on the front of the card, and then the surprise of several additional photographs on the inside or back of the card. I am also partial to having some foil or sparkle detail because it just feels special and festive to me. So these are all the things I think about when creating our family’s card.

However, that’s me–there are so many customizable options these days to make the feel of your card perfect for you! For instance, many (or maybe most?) of the cards on Minted have multiple greeting options such as holiday greetings, Christmas greetings, and often even New Year’s greetings, usually all within the same design. Also, for most designs, you can choose to have a flat card with multiple photo and text layout options for the back, or a folded card with multiple different photo and text layouts for the inside. And there are even more customizable options for you to explore. However, before you even get to all those options, you first have to pick the design, and the sheer number of card design choices can get overwhelming. So, to help you on your merry quest, I’ve sorted through them all and chosen my favorite Minted designs.

Photo source for below photos is Minted.com.

And the Minted Holiday Card awards go to…..

For Best Clean and Simple Design

Don’t like fussiness and just want the focus to be on the photograph? Try Simply Serene.

For Best Crisp and Modern Design

I love how the O in JOY makes the perfect frame for smiling faces in the Delicate Joy design.

For Best Multi-Photo Design (it’s a tie!)

Have so many great pictures you just can’t pick one? Joy-Ful and Captured Joy both showcase all your favorite moments without looking cluttered.

For Best Sparkly and Festive Design

Wonderland brings the snowy magic of the season to your photograph. Chose the glitter foil options for extra festive sparkle.

For Best Traditional Holiday Motif Design

If you like details that capture the spirit of holiday decorations, let Christmas Blessings festoon your picture.

For Best Cute Holiday Design

A Christmas tree design is used in a fresh way in Under the Tree. With just the right picture, such as in the example, the effect is charming!

For Best Novelty Shape Design

The delicate design of Doodle Snowflake makes a lovely wintry frame for your picture, and Grandma and Grandpa will love that this keepsake card can be hung on the tree.

For Best Non-Photo-But-Still-Personal Design

If you don’t want to use a picture but still want to give your card a personal touch, try the Custom Foil Map design. You can remind friends and family just where they can find you for a visit!

Check out all the other gorgeous Minted designs here. So now it’s time to go forth and create a beautiful card to spread some cheer to your loved ones. Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out my Holiday Gift Guide post from earlier this week to help you get started on your shopping! Wishing you peace, love, and joy this holiday season!