Holiday Card Ideas?

now, thi sis just my feelinsg..I hav emany freinds that I do nto see now due to where I live and that they are still on the West Coast, so it sad fo rme when I just get a card with the kids on it as I want to see the Parents too!

A family photo is always enjoyed and something to frame..I hav enot see some friends for years and do not know what they look like now! lol

Hi M.,

Any setting would do. My only suggestion? Make it candid. If the girls are having a good time it will show. Keep the clothing simple. The littlest could even go topless. I would not get formal with expensive dressis etc. Little bare feet are adorable, as is messy hair.

What you are looking for? Shining eyes and pure joy! How about taking some shots of them playing dress up with some of the holiday decor (garland etc.) let them enjoy holding and "decorating" themselves with some safe decorations. While they are having fun, snap lots of shots, then go through and delete, crop, etc. Silly, mischievous shots are always fun.

J. L.

Hi M., I have had a few people feeling as you do. I'm a Stampin Up! demonstrator and I have just created a card this week for this purpose. I also have decided to use it for some of my cards this year and I will attach a family letter ontot he back of it. I'm in RI but have family in MA, Southrbridge, Sturbridge and Charlton. I'm doing a party in Dudley in November and don't mind the travel. I'm not exactly sure where your located but you can always check the website to find someone closer to you if you'd like. When I get my card all finished I can email it to you. The website has lots of great idea as well. My website is gemd.stampinup.net-I hope it's okay that I send it to you. You can look at the idea book & catalog from my sight. I hope this helps.

Hi M.! When my one and only daughter was little I used to make my own cards (by hand back then, before Photoshop!) but I always had fun putting just a picture of her cute face on something else, like an angel, a gingerbread cookie, an elf etc. People really appreciated the cards and I felt like I was giving everyone a little gift.

I once saw a card with the little girl of the family, holding up a sign that had all of the details of her birthday party, Date, time, place, etc, and said Please come to my 1st Birthday party.....You could do the same with Christmas, have your children out in the snow, with a handpainted sign that says Happy Holidays from us. Then goto your pharmacy and just make 30 copies or whatever, it would be cheaper than carda, or printed photo cards. Good Luck and Happy Holidays..A.

Try having your kids color a picture of something they like to do our something with the family.

An idea that popped into my head is time consuming but I would think it's cute. Have your older girls "sign" their names on the card(with your help if needed) and use your baby girl's hand print as her "signature". You could still use the photo on the card if you wanted. Just an idea, hope you like.

My two girls have had a lot of fun doing our holiday photos over the years. Now they get excited to do it and I let them come up with the ideas themselves -- early buy-in makes for better pictures! Can't hurt to have a candy-cane handy as a reward when the photo shoot is over : ) I hang a solid colored tablecloth over our fireplace, red, white or black makes a crisp, professional-looking background (you could just as easily hang it on a wall)and have them sit on the hearth or on small chairs wearing holiday colors. One year they toasted each other with mugs of cocoa. Another year they each held their favorite dolls, sitting back-to-back with their dolls in their lap. A tea party in their holiday outfits is also very cute. Another year they were eating the candycanes! One time they climbed on top of their big favorite stuffed dogs. One year they were looking at a fat book of holiday stories together, and the lighting made it look very cozy. Bathtub shots (with lots of bubbles to cover private parts) and santa hats are very fun too. Some tips: do it when they're fresh, not too late in the day. Talk it up ahead of time so they can get excited. Make the picture about them, not fancy clothes or hair-dos unless they're already used to that. Simple solid clothing, colors or white work well, or holiday jammies. Have your husband there to help run crowd control since they're little and make them laugh right before you snap the pictures. Zoom in for a tight shot, the ones with too much background aren't as good. Take a deep breath yourself; if you get intense, they'll fall apart. Let them be creative and silly! Good luck, and happy holidays!

Hi M..
I design custom cards. I can work with an existing photo or talk with you and design something that reflects something that make christmas special to you and your family.

If you are interested you can contact me at ###-###-#### or visit my website to view samples of work I have done. www.wildindigocreative.com

E.

one yr i had my daugher draw a pic and used that as the front of the card. Maybe your kids could color a pic together?
H. C

M.,

I have some fabulous card ideas posted on my blog, www.stampwithnaomi.blogspot.com. I just recently ran a swap for these type of cards. I am also a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator www.naomik.stampinup.net . I would love to help you with your cards this year. I am located on Cape Cod. Please contact me If I can help you with anything.

Thanks,
N.
____@____.com

A friend of mine does New Years cards instead of Chroistmac cards. It's usually because she waits too long to do it and won't get them ouut in time. It's nice because the card come after all the Christmas cards.
I have 2 kids this year and think I'm going to use the picture of them in the pumpkin patch. In the past I've just sent a snap shot of my son with a card(it can be slipped into a photo album later and the card can be recycled).
There's no problem with the something that isn't original because people want to see your kids.

What I hate most about getting a holiday card is that the whole family is not in it. Don't these kids have parents I say??
What about a whole family pic from your backyard setting? No matter what you may think, people love getting these photos for Christmas, but most of all for me, everyone should be in the picture no matter where it is taken.

You could go to a professional. My husband has a photography studio on the cape and does a ton of Christmas pictures every year. Everything from outdoor fall leaves, to a winter scene in front of a snowy background (with photoshop snow effects). He offers custom made cards and collages as well. They really turn out great. www.northernimagesstudio.com

So many stores offer such great deals on pictures and to do cards with multiple pictures on one.
I only have one child but last year I had a blast doing her pictues. I had taken pictures of her snuggled in bed "waiting for santa", doing some craft project like glueing cotton balls on paper to make a snowman, painting, of her outside in her snowsuit on our first snow, helping decorate the tree, dressed in her christmas pj's sitting on the stairs with her stuffed animals, baking cookies, writing letter to santa. I know I took alot more, some came out better than others. I then loaded them on my computer and went online to the store of my choice and picked a card I liked and picked the pictures that I thought looked best. Some pictures looked staged but most looked very natural (as they were)...all in all its up to you. Have fun with them, think of things they love to do. Mine just happened to be very Christmas orientated.

Hi M. -

I think sending a handmade photo card would be a great idea. I am an independent demonstrator for StampinUp! and would love to help you come up with an idea for your own personalized cards. Your family and friends will love a card that is so different and not just a photo. If you are interested in exploring this avenue please check out my website (www.debiryan.stampinup.net) and send me an email.

D. Ryan
Independent Demonstrator
____@____.com
www.debiryan.stampinup.net

The card we got the most compliments was one year when it was just the three girls before their little brother came along. They always loved to help me bake - so I put red aprons on them, gave them each a mixing bowl with flour and a mixing spoon so they could pretend to be stirring the mix. I threw some cookie cutters on the table for effect. The girls loved it so much they had the most natural smiles on. Then afterwards we baked some muffins for real!