Before I became a photographer I didn’t care much for sending out Christmas cards. There were a few years we made our own, but most years we didn’t even send one out. In the photography world, however, most photographers send out cards to all their clients as a way to say “thank you”, “keep in touch” and even as a reminder to come back in the next year for updated portraits. It’s a marketing expense. Justifiably so.

I got hooked. I seriously LOVE them now. I think they are so fun. I love how the Christmas card world has evolved, and now you have boutique cards, cut out cards, tri-fold cards and all other sorts of creative shapes and sizes. It’s fabulous. So many choices!! BUT, as a regular ol’ person (no access to a fancy shmancy photo lab) where do you get the cool cards? Never fear. I am here to help.

I figure there’s 2 types of people looking for Cards – those with some Photoshop skills, and those without. If you have a copy of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements and know your way around layers and layer masks, it opens up a whole new world of Christmas card making. If not, no worries. I’ve got you covered too.

Here are 5 places I recommend shopping for Christmas cards, or Christmas card templates:

1. Etsy. No joke. Its a mecca of Christmas card templates in all shapes and sizes. I just did a search for Christmas card templates and came back with 6, 504 items. Most templates are between $4-$12 if you are buying just one. There are also vendors for maybe $15 that you can send photos to, they’ll insert into one of their templates and send you back the file. Not a bad deal. Here’s two of my favorite vendors: one, two.

2. Pro Digital Photos: No templates, just cards. Super cute ones though. They are a nifty little boutique photo lab located in Pleasant Grove Utah. I use them for a lot of my press-printed marketing material and also my Christmas cards last year. They have a lot of the fun die-cut cards and boast over 350 different options.

3. Bird Design Shop: Templates. I love hers. I couldn’t find one that fit our photos for this year, but I desperately tried. I love that she sells collections (if you are a photographer wanting to offer different designs for your clients to choose from), but also sells them singly as well. She also has some really cute Facebook Timeline templates as well.

4. Tiny Prints: They have a gazillion designs, but their search options make their selection less intimidating. You can pre-ship your envelopes (get a jump on labeling them) or even have Tiny Prints mail them out for you! Phew. A lot less work that way.

5. Costco: The professional photographer in me had to swallow a bitter pill to put this on the list, but they have really stepped up their game. In addition to their usual, weird-sized, photo cards (which I do NOT love), they are now offering 5×7 premium double-sided Premium Stationary Greeting Cards. They actually look really nice.  I’m impressed.

Spend a few minutes looking through your options, and send a great looking Christmas Card this year. Don’t forget to send me one too! 🙂