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5 Ideas to Keep Holiday Cards Stress-Free

This post is in partnership with Artifact Uprising, a Colorado-based company that creates premium-quality customizable photo goods from your digital photos. Use promo code YELLOW15 for 15% off through 12/31!

Warmest Wishes holiday card

Are you mailing holiday cards this year?

More than ever, we’re craving connection. We don’t go a single day without using our smartphone to FaceTime a friend, shoot off a group chat or gather around a Marco Polo marathon. And while we enjoy and appreciate all that technology has been able to offer us in 2020, this year, it feels especially important to send some honest-to-goodness, tangible cheer.

Why We Use Artifact Uprising

Artifact Uprising is a Colorado-based company that creates premium-quality customizable photo goods from your digital photos. We’ve been their biggest fan and customer for years (their Everyday Print Set is a favorite of ours!), because of their modern, fresh take on everything from photo books to calendars, photo frames and yes, of course, holiday cards!

The holiday cards we order from Artifact Uprising are printed on 100% recycled matte paper, many of which offer 5 foil color options and interchangeable color choices. I especially like the back-of-card layout options, perfect for the photos that are awfully cute, but didn’t quite make the cut for the front-of-card (ha!). This year, we chose the Warmest Wishes holiday card, gold envelopes and silver envelope seals.

Keep It Stress-Free (Really!)

As someone who truly enjoys photography, I’m often asked for advice on how to make the most of a family photo shoot. First, I want to ensure each and every one of you that a photo shoot should never be a source of anxiety! 99% of the photos you see on our blog were taken with my camera on a tripod and a self-timer. And you may notice that we are rarely – if ever! – decked out in our finest clothing. (What’s that look like, anyway?) So I want to share with all of you the same advice that I share with my closest friends.

1| Don’t dress up. Don’t. Dress. Up. The last time we were at Tree House, I felt the itch to take a family photo with the fall foliage as our backdrop. It wasn’t planned, therefore, none of us had packed anything special. The result? Casual, relaxed, comfortable. Familiar clothing (especially for the littles) is one less thing to fuss over! Tip: Avoid logos and thin stripes.

2| Get the kids involved. Ask your kids what they want to wear and where they want to take the photo, or present them with options. Ask things like, Do you want to wear this sweater, or this t-shirt? Do you want to take a photo on the front porch, or in the backyard? And don’t forget to embrace the quirks; it’s what makes your child so wonderfully them, and that’s what’ll have everyone smiling when they open your card!

3| Go mobile. Don’t have time to take a new photo? Artifact Uprising has a mobile app to make ordering (from your couch) quick and painless. Upload that photo from your camera roll that you’ve been promising yourself to print all year! You can also have them take care of all the addressing – theirs and yours – which takes one more thing off your plate.

4| Include an outtake (or two!). You may only need one photo for the card, but the outtakes steal the show! We included this photo of Catfish on the back of our card, which I snapped while waiting for Lucy to climb into the swing:

5| Give yourself permission to keep it brief. Although every part of you may feel like you need to outdo the rad family poem you whipped up last year – this year, don’t. Allow your photo to do the talking, and pair it with your favorite sign-off. This year, our card reads:

Wishing you a merry holiday filled with love, happiness and a whole lot of cookies.

Artifact Uprising is offering Yellow Brick Home readers 15% off your order through 12/31 when you use the promo YELLOW15 at checkout.* Not only do I highly recommend all the festive holiday card options, but photo frames, calendars and books would make wonderful, warm gifts, too. Happy holiday shopping to you!

*Promotion does not apply to shipping, bundle deals or wedding design services. Only one promo per person, please.

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  • lak11.17.20 - 5:03 AM

    Beautiful card…love catfish in the swing!  ReplyCancel

  • Leslie11.17.20 - 11:21 AM

    Thanks for this idea and the special promotion! I agree the Catfish photo is wonderful.ReplyCancel

    • Kim11.17.20 - 11:39 AM

      You’re welcome! Which card will you choose?!ReplyCancel

  • Julie Rossman11.17.20 - 12:07 PM

    Just tried dressing my three year old for family photos and he ended up in his sweats, an almost dressed up sweater, muddy boots, and his digital camera around his neck because he wouldn’t give it up. Now that I look at the photos, I wouldn’t change a thing!ReplyCancel

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