I love the idea of Christmas photo cards, but I don’t have any young children and let’s face it – who really needs a photo of me? Looking through my old photographs I noticed that I often take sunset pictures. The colors are always gorgeous, so I thought, “Why not use one of these for my Christmas photo cards this year?” Which one I should use?

I have traveled all across the country and the one enduring picture from all of my travels is of a landscape highlighted by a myriad of colors present in every sunset. I love … Read the rest of this entry »

Maybe I surround myself with weirdos, but many of my family and friends do not like having their picture taken. This can make photographing people a bit of a chore, especially if your attempting to snap a decent picture for your photo Christmas cards. Ask my mother to sit down and smile for a Christmas morning pose in her robe and she’ll tell you to wait while she puts on her face. Ask my brother to smile and he’ll give you the same blank stare that you are used to seeing on a driver’s license – or maybe … Read the rest of this entry »

Vacation photos frequently have fabulous backgrounds, built-in so to speak, making them a rich and unique source of that perfect shot for your photo Christmas cards. Your photos may include the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls in the background. Perhaps you’re standing by a huge redwood tree, or toes-in-sand with the ocean surf behind you. Maybe you were captured, screaming on the downhill side of a roller coaster ride! How about under a Broadway marquee or a-sail on the Hudson with the Statue of Liberty off your shoulder?

Whether you’re using your photos to send holiday greetings or … Read the rest of this entry »

Every year, without fail, I receive tons of photo Christmas cards from my family, my friends, and even my stockbroker. Unlike the other beautiful greeting cards that I receive, display all over my house, and then throw away in January, I just can’t bring myself to throw away the holiday photo cards.

These holiday cards, most of which are created with digital photos from Christmas scenes past and present, contain images of people I know and love. How could I possibly throw them away? It would be too devastating, like somehow throwing them away. I just can’t do … Read the rest of this entry »

With advertising budgets at a bare minimum this year, we found our best advertising for the money would be spent on business holiday cards. Not only can business holiday cards be sent to all our clients, but it can be done in a minimal amount of time. The cards were imprinted with our company name and logo inside along with our return address on the back of the envelopes. All we had to do was address them, stamp them, and put them in the mail. We thought what better way to keep our company name on the minds of our … Read the rest of this entry »

Seems everyone has gotten on the sending Christmas photo cards bandwagon, myself included. While I started sending Christmas photo cards way before some of my friends and family did, mine is now just another photo card amongst the sea of them that I get every year. My brother also found himself in this position and decided to break away from the pack. I always like to complain that my brother got all the creative genes, leaving none for me. He did send out his usual Christmas cards with a photo of his lovely boys, but for a select few close … Read the rest of this entry »

What does reaching an age of reason have to do with taking photos of your kids for photo Christmas cards? Well, when your children are very young, you can jolly them and then maybe bribe them to sit still and smile. Once they are old enough to understand and believe your threats, you can blackmail them into looking their best.

Keep in mind that you have to first lay your groundwork by building up your “rep” as an adult who does not make idle threats. So, do not bandy about parental threatening phrases unless you are committed to carrying through.

… Read the rest of this entry »

If you are a company with multinational contacts, international corporate holiday cards are a must. As business intersects with a shrinking globe, fluency in all the languages of trade is vital. Business holiday cards are one of those languages. They help to establish your personal standard of acceptable conduct as a business. They protect your company’s image and reputation through your expression of appropriate holiday good will. Business holiday cards show that you understand the importance of establishing personal relationships with foreign contacts. Forging these relationships will have a huge payoff for the international or corporate businessman. It is a … Read the rest of this entry »

I got the shock of my life when my grandpa sent out photo Christmas cards for the holidays. You could have knocked me over with a feather! I didn’t even know he knew what a digital photo was.

It seems that unbeknownst to me, grandma bought him a digital camera for his birthday in an effort to, “get him out of her hair with a hobby.” Little did she know that she would create a monster. He never went anywhere again without his camera by his side.

I discovered he had a proclivity for the “candid” shot. He later … Read the rest of this entry »

Someone once said that business is fun. You get to talk with coworkers, drink coffee, talk about ideas to make things better, and sit behind a nice desk. When the holidays come there is even more fun with office decorations, pot lucks, and Secret Santas. When corporate Christmas cards are mailed out the holiday spirit extends to customers, clients, suppliers, and there is always a hope that the employee holiday cards we receive will include a special holiday bonus. Cash, check, or gift card – any of these are welcome gifts. The message inside might say something like: “Your hard work … Read the rest of this entry »