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 using them as invitations, announcements, or thank you cards, you might not need to go crazy trying to devise a new display shot. Digital photos make the whole process that much simpler. You can easily scan your already-available vacation photos until you find “the one.” These days you can even cleverly crop your digital vacation photos to eliminate that stranger whose loud clothing accidentally appeared off to the side of your familial group. Better yet, if you thought to ask that stranger to snap the picture so no one is left out by standing behind the camera!

One of the really nice attributes of vacation photos is that everyone tends to look genuinely happy, at-ease, and naturally well-rested. Honeymoon shots make excellent first Christmas photo cards, not to mention distinctive thank-you-for-the-wedding-present cards!

Give it some thought. Which would you rather have people see – frozen smiles from a studio shot or mischievous grins from the backyard kiddies’ pool during your economically-challenged vacation?

I came up with a great idea this past holiday season. Normally when my family sends out holiday cards, we’ll use a card with a wreath or a snowman or maybe a nice winter scene. But this year, we did something different – we sent out photo Christmas cards using a digital photo from a recent family vacation. I used ChristmasCardsDirect.com to create the cards, and they came out great!

My family spent a week down the Jersey shore this past August and we had some great digital photos from our family vacation that were taking up space on my computer’s hard drive. Normally, people would get dressed up in Christmas garb months ahead of time and pose for a picture (I guess). But we had these beautiful photos from our vacation that would be perfect. The ChristmasCardsDirect.com site made it very easy to pick a design, upload the specific picture we wanted to use, edit the picture, and send it on through for printing. In two weeks time, we had our photo Christmas cards in our hands, ready to be mailed out to relatives and friends.

There are probably other companies which can digitally print photo Christmas cards but since ChristmasCardsDirect.com did such a terrific job, I know I will use them again without a second thought.

Ahh vacation! How we look forward to some relaxing time off from the day to day hustle and bustle. We spend time dreaming of the laying on the beach in the Bahamas, watching the sunset in Hawaii or sailing in the Cayman Islands. We plan and plan, and then the day comes and what!?! It’s over already!?! Thank goodness for vacation photos. Taking vacation photos with your digital camera while travelling is the best way to preserve the memories of those days when you didn’t have a care in the world except for what time lunch was being served. Vacation photos are also great options to consider for your holiday photo cards.

Digital cameras are one of the best things invented, especially for people who travel. You can fit so many pictures on a single memory card, and there is no need to worry about changing film or bringing extra film canisters. You are always ready for every photo opportunity that occurs while travelling. What if you ran into Oprah or Britney Spears while sunning on a beach in Cancun? What if Brad and Angelina decide to have dinner in your favorite vacation spot in the Hamptons, and they sit right next to your table?!? These are definitely photo ops, to say the least, but I am dreaming again. My vacation photos consist of family and friends doing vacation things like visiting museums in New York City, looking for bargains at street fairs in Point Pleasant, renting bicycles in Cape May, and taking long walks on the beach in Cape Cod.

I don’t like to be too structured while on vacation but I always make sure I take a few digital photos that would make great holiday photo cards. Holiday photo cards are so popular now and I can see why. Sites like ChristmasCardsDirect are so easy to use, and their cards are real cards…not just something that looks like a photo. These photo cards have your digital photo on the front of the card, and they open like a real card. On the inside, there is a greeting and the cards can be personalized…how cool is that?!? You have to check out the foil lined envelope that comes with the card too!

So make your friends green with envy this holiday season and use your fantastic digital vacation photos as your photo holiday cards. It’s one way to keep memories alive.

I remember going on some great family vacations when I was younger. No matter what the circumstances were, we always seemed to set aside some time in the summer to go on a trip. Whether we drove to the beach or flew to an amusement park, we always had a great time.

The only part I used to hate about those summer trips were all the vacation photos. For some reason my parents were obsessed with taking pictures of me and my brothers. I never quite understood why. Maybe they were looking for a good shot for our photo Christmas cards. Or perhaps that was just their way of enjoying themselves. Regardless, it’s tough to put a genuine smile on your face when you were staring into the hot summer sun. As a child, all you wanted to do is build a sand castle, eat an ice cream cone, or go on the next exciting ride; lining up for yet another boring picture and being asked to “smile naturally” was not on the top of the list.

As the years passed by, we all grew to have a finer appreciation for those dreaded vacation photos. Every so often an album pops up and we get a good laugh at each other. As we flip though the pages I start to understand why my parents took so many of those pictures. It wasn’t about the faces we were making or the beautiful scenery. It was about reliving the moment and sharing the memories years later.

Design #B27DW

Where are the vacation photos and fun shots from your trip last summer? Are they still on the memory card in your digital camera? Maybe you uploaded them to your computer so your friends can see them. But it’s not very likely that you printed them. Me neither.

Now you can print your favorite vacation photo as Christmas photo cards with ChristmasCardsDirect. While you share the fun and the memories with your family and friends, your photos will get to see the light of day!

My family had a memorable trip to the beach and a national park this year and we took hundreds of vacation photos. We are now deciding which frame goes best with three people in hiking gear near a waterfall, giggling because we were taking a self-timing picture and weren’t sure when the camera would go off. Maybe design #B27DW Kaleidoscope Photo Christmas Card, or maybe we can put three pictures in one frame with design #B08DW Sugar & Spice Photo Card. Or maybe no frame at all and we’ll do a full bleed design with A00DW (Full Photo Holiday Photo Card).

Design #B08DW

The process is so easy. First, you add photos to a list in the site’s photo cards module. You’ll see a thumbnail of each photo. Then you drag and drop the photo onto the card design. Don’t like a photo? Just click “Undo” and then drag and drop a different photo. Next you select the greeting and imprint for the inside of the card and the return address for the envelope. And the best part is you get to see what your card looks like at each step.

I’m having fun designing our family photo Christmas cards and I know our friends and families will enjoy our personalized message. Give it a try and use some of your digital photos in a unique photo Christmas card!