The Holiday season has begun! If you want your 2021 Holiday Christmas cards delivered to your family and friends BEFORE the big day, you need to start planning NOW. I’ll show you the latest trends and designs, the best sites to order your cards, and give you the best COUPON CODES to save big.
I’ve searched through the top photo card websites to find you the best Christmas holiday photo cards, including the prettiest card designs and the widest style selection so you don’t have to waste your time. You’ve only got a few short weeks to get your cards in your hands and mailed out so they’ll arrive before Christmas. Remember, mail slows down the closer to December 25, so don’t delay!
Foil Trim is In
This year, it’s all about foil. All the major sites like Shutterfly/Tiny Prints, Mixbook, and Snapfish are offering most of their card styles with optional real foil accents. With a choice of gold, silver, or rose-gold, the real foil is a raised texture that gives your cards a rich, premium look. Here’s an example from Mixbook below:
Best Photo Card Sites
I’ve ordered from all these sites and I’ve been very happy with the results. Printing and card stock is of high quality. They have great customer service and stand behind their products with 100% guarantees. All include printing on the back of the card, except on photo paper cards.
Mixbook – Hands down best for total customization and really pretty designs. Photo cards for Christmas, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s are available. You can sort the card designs by the number of photos, card size, color, orientation, foil options, and 6 trim options. There’s a choice of 6 card stocks from low-cost Satin Finish to high-end Luxe Board (no photo paper). 900+ designs for 0 to 4+ photos. Hot in 2021: Real Foil holiday photo cards in gold, silver, or rose-gold. Make your card at Mixbook now.
Shutterfly – Designs including five corner trim options (square corners, rounded, scalloped, etc.), four card sizes, flat, folded, gatefold, and tri-fold card styles for 0 to 4+ photos. Standout: new foil and foil stamp cards and glimmer cards for an extra wow factor. Choose from the 140# Signature Cardstock or Pearl Shimmer or the new Luxe Double-Thick Cardstock (280lb., 35pt, Mohawk Fine Papers). On some cards, you can select a greeting, i.e. “Christmas” vs “Holiday” or “New Year.” You’ll find photo cards for Christmas, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa, Feliz Navidad, and New Year’s. Return address printing and addressing/card mailing are available. Go to Shutterfly.
Snapfish – 1300+ designs on regular or premium cardstock for 0 to 4+ photos. You can get three sizes of flat cards (5×7, 4×8, 6×8) and 5×7 folded cards, plus new “Seal and Send” 7×10 cards that you simply fold, seal and send, no envelope needed. Real foil is also available, as well as glitter-accented cards. There’s a choice of Matte 110lb card stock, Premium 120 lb. cardstock, and Matte or Glossy photo paper, depending on the design chosen. Add rounded, “elegant” or scalloped corners for a small extra charge. Return address printing is available. Snapfish features holiday, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s photo cards. Plus you can get specialty cards for Newlywed Christmas and pet Christmas cards. Overall, I’ve found Snapfish to have the best prices. Make your card at Snapfish now.
Tiny Prints – A division of Shutterfly, Tiny Prints offers some beautiful touches to its holiday card collection. Among them is Luxe Double-Thick Cardstock, new holiday enclosure cards, coordinated custom envelopes, matching liners, and free back-of-card design. In addition to personalized foil, foil-stamped, and glitter cards, they offer five trim customization options and free address printing when you upgrade to custom envelopes. Cards are 5×5 or 5×7. Create your cards at TInyPrints now.
What’s the Cost?
Average Price for 20 Cards – Prices vary widely depending on the paper, card size, trim size, and photo company. A set of 20 flat 4×8 photo paper cards with envelopes will cost between $0.50-$1.39 per card without a sale (best price at Snapfish). Flat 5×7 cards on standard cardstock average $1.00-$2.99 per card without a sale, 5×7 folded cards are approx. $3.09-$3.90 each pre-sale and tri-folds are about $4.19 each. Foil and glitter cards will likely be higher. With most companies the more you buy, the better the per-card price. But there are good deals RIGHT NOW with savings up to 50%, so don’t wait!
Christmas Photo Card Formats
Photo paper cards are printed on the front only and they’re the least expensive. Find these at Shutterfly and Snapfish.
Flat and folded cards – usually 5×7 with room for multiple photos. Find these at Mixbook, Tiny Prints, Shutterfly, and Snapfish.
Accordion fold and Gate Fold– check out Shutterfly
Holiday Photo Card Styles
All companies offer collages. For Newsletter and Top 10/Year in Review styles, try Mixbook, Snapfish, and Shutterfly
. For religious cards, Shutterfly and Snapfish have the best selection. The chalkboard style is very popular; Mixbook and Snapfish have a good selection.
Processing and Shipping Time
Will your cards arrive in time? Here are the estimated processing and shipping times for popular companies. Some also offer slower economy shipping. Be sure to double-check when you order, to avoid disappointment:
| Company | Economy | Standard Ground | Expedited |
| Shutterfly | 6-10 business days | 5-7 business days | 4-5 business days |
| Snapfish | up to 8 business days | up to 6 business days | up to 5 business days |
| Mixbook | approx 12 business days | 7-9 business days | 5 business days |
| Tiny Prints | 6-10 business days | 5-7 business days | 4-5 business days |
Tip: In a big hurry? You can order photo paper cards online for local in-store pick-up (i.e. Target, Walgreens) via Shutterfly or Snapfish, sometimes with 1-hour or next-day printing, but you are usually limited to photo paper style.
To help defray my website operating costs I belong to several affiliate programs. In some instances, I may receive a small commission for products viewed or purchased via my referral. Opinions are solely my own and I try my best to write honest reviews and only recommend products I would and have used myself.
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