Personal Holiday Cards to Make the Season Memorable

The Greeting Card Association reports Americans purchase approximately 6.5 billion greeting cards annually, with seven out of 10 card buyers stating greetings cards are “absolutely” or “almost” essential. The most popular seasonal cards are Christmas cards, with some 1.6 billion purchased each year.

It is unlikely this tradition will be going away anytime soon. There is just something special about receiving a card in the mail, holding it in your hand and perhaps even using it as part of holiday décor.

Whether you’re designing custom Christmas photo cards online or getting crafty with pen and paper, the difficult part for card designers is coming up with something unique. If you need a little inspiration to get your creativity sparked, consider some of these ideas for coming up with your own creative, interesting designs.

The Right Font

25+ Fresh & Beautiful Print Postcard Design Inspirations

When creating a greeting card, many people don’t realize the importance of using the right font, but the visual appearance of what is written can have as much as an effect as the actual content. It can even help to create a particular mood.

Decide whether or not you want your card to be traditional, elegant, whimsical or something else. For example, Monotype Corsiva mimics the effect of handwritten text, while still being easily readable. It reflects a classic, heartfelt statement, such as, “Merry Christmas, and many blessings for a happy new year to you and yours.” On the other hand, a font such as Bauhaus 93 is rather cold-looking, and is perhaps better suited for a graphic design show flier. Using Times New Roman simply feels boring, so get creative and play with different kind of fonts in your cards.

To Avoid Clichés, or Not?

A Christmas Showcase: Creative Homemade Arts And Crafts [PICS]

Christmas clichés are unavoidable. Shades of red and green, a snowy winter wonderland scene, holiday trees, wreaths, lights or one of the many different Santa Claus incarnations. This isn’t necessarily bad, since they can often invoke a serene feeling of old fashioned traditions.

At the same time, re-arranging these classics is likely to make them stand out among the rest. Avoid the cliché color schemes, you don’t have to stick to red, green and white. Think dark purple or blue, which could be used to create a spectacular midnight winter’s sky. Using a pastel set of colors rather than traditional bright colors can also add originality.

An Original Photo Card

Pantone Postcards for Design Geeks

Using Minted holiday cards is a great way to create an original photo card greeting. Have a photo taken of your family dressed in vintage clothing or in humorous poses to create something more whimsical and unique. You could all dress in nerdy Christmas sweaters or as Santa’s elves, or perhaps create an old-fashion scene wearing clothing inspired from past generations.

Give Santa a New Look

49 Awesome DIY Holiday Cards

Use your artistic skills and creativity to create a completely new incarnation of Santa Claus. Perhaps you can be inspired by the area in which you live, especially if you don’t happen to be in a place where it tends to snow. What would Santa look like if he lived in your town? What if he enjoyed some of your interests? Could he be a “rock n’ roll” or a “country Santa,” a “fitness buff Santa,” or perhaps even an “environmentally friendly Santa?” Maybe his reindeer aren’t reindeer. If you live near the ocean, dolphins might lead his sleigh.