As you may have seen in my November goals, I’m hoping to finish all my Christmas shopping before December 1. While I keep to a pretty strict no-Christmas-music-or-movies-till-after-Thanksgiving rule, I believe it’s completely worth it to get any potentially time-consuming holiday tasks done ASAP in order to protect that short and sweet time with family as much as possible. Along with gift brainstorming and shopping, new to my list this year is sending out Christmas cards!
Getting Christmas cards in the mail has always been one of my favorite things about the holidays–my family keeps all the cards we receive in a special basket, and for as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved digging into the basket to read newsletters (especially from one family friend whose newsletter is always particularly amusing) and see pictures of how families we know have grown. It feels like such a rite of passage to be choosing my own Christmas card for mine and Dave’s tiny family, and it fills my heart to think of my very own card landing in my parents’ basket! As my friend Emily put it, this is mine and Dave’s year for the “Christmas card jackpot” thanks to our gorgeous wedding photos by Ryan Ray, and when it came to choosing a card design that does our photos justice, Minted was the first place I turned. We chose Minted for our save the dates, so it feels a little sentimental to be using their cards for our first married Christmas too, and I love that they have an entire section dedicated to “Newly Married” designs. Here are a few of my favorites! (This isn’t the photo we’re using on our real cards because I don’t want to spoil the surprise for anyone on my mailing list, but mocking these up almost convinced me to switch it!)
1. Married & Merry | 2. Everlasting Joy | 3. Holiday Wishes | 4. The New | 5. Cheers from the Newlyweds | 6. Married Christmas | 7. Just Merried
So fun, don’t you think? Minted’s selection never disappoints–they work with independent designers around the world to make sure they’re always offering fresh, unique designs, and I’m a sucker for their customizability (is that a word? Y’all know what I mean). Since my handwriting is less than stellar, I’m also definitely planning to take advantage of their envelope addressing service! Prettier envelopes + less time on my part = win win :)
Do you send holiday cards? How about a newsletter? I’d love to hear what your traditions are!
P.S. Minted is currently offering 20% off of foil-pressed products, including cards and art! We used one of their foil options for our save the dates and they were even more gorgeous in person. For foil-pressed Christmas cards, I love this, this, and this!
Christmas cards are genuinely one of my favorite things about Christmas! I’d love to add y’all to our list. (postable.com/victoriaandben) One of my favorite newsletters each year is actually your partner in crimes! Emily’s cute graphics get me every time! Haha! So excited for you with your first year of cards.. when you send them you get them in my experience and mail feels like the best thing ever all through December!!
Emily’s newsletters are amazing! I wish I had her graphic design abilities to make my own, but alas, I do not :) I love the sentiment that when you send cards, you get them…hurry up, December!
Very cute cards! I like all the options.
A random question for you– I know that you write (beautifully!) for a living, and I’m a bit of a grammar nerd. Is it correct to say “…Christmas cards for mine and Dave’s tiny family”? I’m referring to the possessive “‘mine and Dave.” I’ve noticed you phrasing things like this quite often and I’m genuinely curious/would love to be enlightened! I would write “cards for Dave’s and my tiny family,” but again, you write all day every day and studied this in school so I am probably wrong!
Thanks for any grammar guidance :)
Haha, great question! You are actually right! I write my blog the same way that I talk, and “Dave’s and my” sounds funny to me, so I tend to ignore it :) But technically, yes, it is correct!
married and merry!!!! that is so cute!!
I thought so too!
These mock ups are so cute, I can’t imagine how beautiful the one you chose must be. I hope you do share it once they are all sent out ;-)
I wish we did Christmas cards but it’s another thing that is not a tradition in Germany. We only write cards to the people who also get a gift from us. But when living in the US I loved the anticipation of going to the mailbox during the holiday season! Seeing all those smiling faces is amazing. I might just make it a tradition one day when I have a family of my own ;-)
Thanks, Kristina! I definitely will share our finished cards closer to Christmas :) I love the idea of starting the tradition on your own someday–I’m sure anyone would love to receive a card as a surprise!
Such a gorgeous couple with so many beautiful options to choose from! I come from a long-line of women who fail to send out holiday cards, but every year I wish I could get it together!
Thank you so much! Well hey, that sounds like a tradition, too! ;)
Maybe Cody and I should send out Christmas cards?! One and three are my favorites! Can’t wait to see the final product!
PLEASE send a card with Cody!!!
I mean how can you possibly choose?! They are all so lovely especially with one of your gorgeous wedding photos on them! Hugs from a far my friend!
[…] of the “Newly Married” designs Minted has to offer (see my favorites that we considered here!), we ultimately decided to keep our first Christmas cards simple and reflective of how we feel […]
[…] makes choosing and sending beautiful and personal cards SO easy. We used them last year for our newlywed Christmas cards and loved both the experience and the quality of our cards, so there was no question that […]