DIY Personalized Holiday Cards

There are an abundance of companies on line who would love your business for personalized holiday cards .If you have time to mull through hundreds of offerings, then you probably won't have time to make that fruitcake. To expedite your choices and allow some wassail time, check out these offerings. Many companies focus on a photo provided by you as the central focus of the card. To truly have a personalized card, you should consider using a photo. This does not need to be the traditional family shot, but can be anything through the year that was special such as people, animals, scenery or places. Being imaginative makes the card all the more special to the recipient.

A concern of mine in Internet shopping is the prevalent vagueness of shipping costs. Sites that make these costs difficult or impossible to find are noted. You may consider emailing the site to find out about shipping costs before you spend time shopping.

There are many different options in styles, such as flat, folded and postcard as well as different card sizes and if you are able to use only one or an assortment of photos. Some companies will address and ship your cards for you. All cards include envelopes. As you can see, the choices are almost overwhelming. So, pour a cup of cocoa, add extra marshmallows, and find the perfect site to order your personalized holiday cards.

www.vistaprint.com Choices include folded, photo, foil accented, 4 X 8 and caricature cards. Pricing begins at 10 for $3.99 (marked as a sale price with a crossed out price of $7.99, but since this is a discount house, the 'sale' price may be in affect all the time.) They offer a Low Price Guarantee and Satisfaction Guarantee. Shipping information could not be easily found.

The caricature options on this site are a hoot. You have many choices and many options for design elements such as hair, eyes, etc.

www.shutterfly.com Shutterfly is best known as a photo-printing site, so it's not surprising that all cards are

centered around photos. There are many styles and designs to choose from with both single and multiple photos and both satin and matte finishes. Although there are holiday specific cards, many of the designs could easily be adapted to that theme, so be sure and look around at all designs. Pricing starts at $2.49 per card, and goes down as your quantity ordered goes up. I could find shipping rates for photo prints, but not cards.

www.walgreens.com There were more options at this site than I expected. You may get flat cards, 4 x 8 or 5x 7. Single and multiple photos may be used. Flat cards are sold in packs of 20 for $9.99, while folded cards are $1.99 each. If you have a local Walgreens you may pick up your order, but if you would like them shipped the prices are easy to find,

www.astonishingcards.com Choices include photo based and non-photo based, and the site advertises free shipping on 50 or more. The company will address and mail the cards for you, and cards can have a full cover photo or have borders. Pricing for both photo and non-photo cards begins at $.70 for postcards, $1.46 for invitation size and $1.53 for regular size.

www.greetingcardscafe.com This company is based in Ireland, and all cards are printed there, but they do offer international shipping. The choices do not offer photo options, but have many cute personalized cards. I found the pricing confusing, as prices didn't seem to match in different areas, and I couldn't find shipping costs. As an interesting offer, this site will actually hand address your cards for you and send with an Irish stamp.

www.tinyprints.com Offerings include flat and folded photo based with single or multiple picture options. Folded cards start at $1.48, while flat start at $1.07. Shipping information was found, but no prices were listed. I found this site to have very creative and contemporary designs.

www.greatgreetingcards.com This site is purely art based, with no personal picture options. The art ranges from classic to religious to cute. Panel cards pricing is $19.95 for 25, $14.95 for 10. Folded cards have quite a variety of sizes and pricing, but examples are, 12 3.5" x 5" for $14.95 and 10 5" x 7" for $24.95.

Shipping information was found, but no prices.

www.picturemeperfect.com Lots of choices such as photo on vellum, cardstock or photo paper, illustration and text only and heirloom design. Some cards include ribbons, which will come unassembled unless you purchase the assembling option. Designs are contemporary and well done, and tend toward a handmade look. You get many color and font choices, as well as an option to order matching address labels. There is a minimum order of 20 per style, prices starting at .79 each. Shipping information could be found but no specific prices.

I have ordered from this company and found them helpful with a nice quality, and well done designs. My only complaint with them was that the photos, which are attached to the cards, had a slight curvature.