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When the end of the year draws near, it\u2019s time to get into the holiday spirit. Over the past 12 months, your life and family have changed, and you have every intention of sharing the past year’s growth with a <\/span>photo holiday card<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n The work comes down to three decisions: which photo says something about your year, which layout gives that photo room, and what to write alongside it. A photo <\/span>holiday card<\/span> helps friends, family members, and other <\/span>loved ones<\/span> keep up with your ever-evolving life. Greenvelope makes the digital version effortless, pairing designer photo card layouts with an animated envelope opening and delivery by email or text on an ad-free platform, with a dashboard that shows each card’s delivery status and which cards have been opened. Below, we share a complete guide to creating your own <\/span>DIY<\/span> photo card, including what to photograph, how to build it, messages to write, and different designs you might want to send. <\/span> Fortunately for you, you can create gorgeous <\/span>DIY<\/span> photo <\/span>holiday cards<\/span> without ever breaking open the craft table. To make and email your own <\/span>holiday card<\/span>, follow these simple steps: <\/span><\/p>\n Now that you know how to build your own <\/span>holiday card<\/span>, you can decide on the phrasing you wish to use. Here\u2019s a bit of inspiration for <\/span>heartfelt holiday messages<\/a><\/strong> to include with your card: <\/span><\/p>\n The hard part of a photo card usually isn’t the design, it’s deciding which picture to send. Each of the six ideas below works with a phone camera and the people and pets in your life, and comes with the framing to watch, the layout it suits, and a caption you can borrow.<\/span><\/p>\n Pick something your household already does in December, whether that’s decorating, baking, or arguing over a board game, and prop your phone on a shelf with the self-timer or burst mode running. Shoot wider than feels natural so hands, mugs, and the table stay in the picture; you can crop in later, but not back out. Suits a single landscape photo, or two or three frames from one burst in a small grid. Caption: “Caught mid-batch, as usual.”<\/span><\/p>\n A porch, a park bench, or the trail you walk every weekend is backdrop enough. Go out in the last hour before sunset or on an overcast afternoon, when the light is even and nobody is squinting. Leave headroom and some empty space to one side. On a design that overlays lettering on the photo, that quiet area is where the greeting lands; if you would rather keep type off the picture entirely, choose a single-photo design with its own text area instead. Caption: “Warm wishes from the Delgados.”<\/span><\/p>\n Pull a shortlist from the year’s photos, then settle on the six that work as a set, mixing distances: a close-up, a wide shot, a small detail like a hand on a dog’s head. Preview each photo in the chosen layout and adjust its crop to keep faces clear of the frame edges. A six-photo grid is the fit here. Caption: “A few favorites from this year.”<\/span><\/p>\n Take the picture whenever the group is already together rather than waiting for a better occasion, and if several generations are in the room, get them into one frame while you can. Put taller people behind and shorter people in front, then shoot from slightly above eye level so every face is visible and nobody’s head crowds the top edge. A wide, single landscape photo holds a group better than a grid. Caption: “All of us, in one place, finally.”<\/span><\/p>\n If the animals are the main event, make them the main event. Hold a treat just above the lens, get down to their eye level, and shoot a burst rather than trying for one perfect frame. Crop in afterwards so the face fills the space instead of sitting small in the room. One photo space is usually enough. Caption: “Season’s greetings from the three of us, one of whom is a dog.”<\/span><\/p>\n Find an older picture, from last year or twenty years ago, and recreate it: same doorstep, same bench, roughly the same pose. If the original is a print, lay it flat near a window and photograph it straight on rather than at an angle. Match its orientation and crop so the pair sits evenly, which makes a two-photo layout the natural choice. Caption: “Ten years apart, same front steps.”<\/span><\/p>\n Once you know which picture you’re sending, the layout decision is mostly arithmetic. Here’s how the ideas above map onto designs further down this page:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\nHow to Make and Email Your Own Photo <\/b>Holiday Card<\/b><\/h2>\n
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What to Write in Your Photo <\/b>Holiday Card<\/b> <\/b><\/h2>\n
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Family Photo <\/b>Holiday Card<\/b> Ideas<\/b><\/h2>\n
1. A Candid From an Ordinary Evening<\/b><\/h3>\n
2. A Simple Outdoor Portrait<\/b><\/h3>\n
3. A Year in Review Collage<\/b><\/h3>\n
4. The Whole Group, Together<\/b><\/h3>\n
5. The Pet-Centered Household<\/b><\/h3>\n
6. A Then-and-Now Pair<\/b><\/h3>\n
Which Layout Fits Your Photo<\/b><\/h3>\n
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