Instant Gratification: The Honest Holiday Card Collection

Not Pinworthy Holiday Card Joy Makin Mamas 2014
We are keeping it real this year in our family holiday card. Note that I am gritting my teeth in the photo on the left, and that fifteen minutes into the family card photo taking experience, both of my children are so bored with the idea that they can’t even fake happiness for the season of joy and family togetherness. And THIS is why I wasn’t even on our card last year… Just kidding. As tempted as I was to actually print and mail this card, gritted teeth and all, I didn’t. And, like so many, many things, it only tells part of the story. We actually had a TON of fun taking pictures together. Since it was a DIY project, I grabbed everyone for about two minutes at a time with breaks for me to empty the memory cards and see what we had- and there was a fair bit of clowning and tomfoolery. And now you know why it took 109 images to get enough for one measly card.

Holiday Card Photo Shoot Outtakes Joy Makin' Mamas 2014

A professional photographer would no doubt have turned this silliness into technical perfection, but we are a bit too “on the fly” to actually nail ourselves down to a photography appointment during the busiest time of the year, so we fake it.

Print At Home Holiday Card made with Pumpkins and Posies Template
I customized a template from Pumpkins and Posies to create this print at home Holiday Card.

For faking it, we didn’t do too badly. I also missed the best photo card deals this year. (Pro tip: They come as early as the end of OCTOBER! I know this and I was still not ready.) Never fear! If you have a color printer and entirely too many office supplies (*ahem*) you can start printing your cards at home about five minutes after you upload your photos. You can create your own from scratch, particularly if you have a digital scrapbooking program like this free Craft Artist software from Daisy Trail, or you can use one of the many adorable templates and customize it. (You can use the Craft Artist program I just mentioned, which is intuitive and user friendly, or for extra credit, try Gimp. It has more features but also comes with a steeper learning curve.)

You might find these 5×7 photo Cards for your inkjet  With Envelopes {Aff link} helpful if you haven’t spent the last decade amassing printer supplies. I used full sheet photo paper and cut my cards down… these would have been faster. The good news is, these are still very budget friendly, even if you have to buy supplies. When I calculated the cost of printing these, I left out the ink because that equation is just not worth doing, but my cost WITH STAMPS came out to less than $1 per card. (Not as good as free, but still pretty good!)

Looking for more printables? You’ll find all of ours here!

Free Printable Holiday Card Template Roundup

free printable holiday card templates Joy Makin' Mamas 2014
I know… more outtakes. I’m telling you, I have about 100 of these. I can do this all day!

Free Printable Holiday Cards by Joy Makin’ Mamas

Here are some free templates I’ve created for you. Click on each Honest Holiday Card Preview, below to get the full size, PNG file, and merry merry, jingle jingle, don’t let the light go out, and the yadda yadda, whatever that may be. Oh, and as a bonus, here’s a HO HO HO … or something overlay for your favorite outtake. (Click for full size image.)

ho ho ho or something holiday photo overlay Joy Makin' Mamaslights and cake holiday card template 2014 Joy Makin Mamasjingle all the way holiday card template 2014 joy makin' mamasHAPPY HAPPY joy joy joy holiday card template Joy Makin' Mamas 2014

About Meghan G

I like blues, punk, and crime drama. I love having boys, keeping active, and the outdoors. I'm a cat person, but I think dogs should have equal opportunities.

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