Planning Your Holiday Picture Cards

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Holiday picture cards are a fun part of the holiday season but getting all of them ready can be stressful. Planning ahead for Christmas cards can help reduce the stress. Basic Invite is sponsoring this post to help bring your these tips for stress-free Christmas cards.

Christmas will be here before we know it and now is the time to plan your Christmas cards. Planning ahead will help you get the best Christmas cards and reduce your stress.

I like to sign and address cards while drinking hot chocolate and watching a Christmas movie so it goes by quickly and is a more enjoyable experience.

My goal each year is to finish my Christmas cards by the end of October or very early November and mail them out right after Thanksgiving. Planning ahead makes this an easy task. Following some simple steps will help you reduce the stress associated with Christmas cards as well.

1. Plan your Christmas photo.

This needs to be done as early as possible. You need to decide if your photo will be taken professionally or if you will take it yourself.

If you are having it done professionally you want to book your session and plan out the look you are going for and outfits. If you are doing it yourself you need to plan the location as well.

2. Make your Christmas card list.

You need to know who you will be sending the cards to as well. If you have a list of who sent you Christmas cards last year that is a great place to start.

Figure out the total number of cards you need and be sure to include a few extras in case one gets messed up or you forget someone until the last minute.

3. Decide where you want to get your Christmas cards from.

I used to handmake all of my cards. It was nice to give people something really unique but it always ended up being very time consuming and stressful. I decided it wasn’t worth it.

I still like having unique cards and one way you can do that is by using Basic Invite. They have over 500-holiday card designs, including a great selection of Victorian Christmas cards that are beautiful, plus you can customize them with almost unlimited color choices. You get an instant online preview where you can change the color of almost every card element.

You can also order custom samples. You customize the holiday cards the way you want it and they will send it to you so you can be sure you are getting the perfect Christmas cards.

If you are having a holiday party they have great holiday party invitations. You can even customize them so they match your Christmas cards and they also have thank you cards available if you are like me and like everything to match.

4. Get your other Christmas card supplies.

You will need to be sure you have stamps, envelopes, and everyone’s addresses. If you choose to order from Basic Invite this step is even easier.

The cards come with envelopes and you have over 40 different colors to choose from. They are also all peel and seal because who likes licking envelopes?

They also offer an address capturing service. You simply share a link with your friends and family and they enter their addresses. They are stored in your account so that when you order Basic Invite can print the addresses at no cost on your Christmas cards. I hate addressing envelopes so this is a big help for me. It also reduces stress and helps me get my Christmas cards ready early.

5. Decide on a date to mail your Christmas cards.

Knowing when you want to send your Christmas cards by will help you know when your Christmas cards need to be ordered by and will help you stay on track.

As I said, I like to have mine done at least by early November and send them right after Thanksgiving. Some people choose to send them on the first of December. A lot of people like to display their Christmas cards, especially holiday picture cards, as part of their Christmas decor so it’s nice to send them fairly early.

6. Stay organized.

To help me stay organized while planning my Christmas cards I like to use a Christmas planner. The Christmas planner I offer includes a Christmas card planner that has a checklist to keep you on track and a place to keep track of the addresses you need to be sure to get.

I also have a Christmas card tracker in my Christmas planner so that I remember the next year who sent me a card. It comes in handy when making my Christmas card list each year.

If you are interested in getting your holiday picture cards from Basic Invite use coupon code holi30 to get 30% off your order. Saving money is always a great way to reduce your holiday stress!