Ready to join the holiday card brigade

One of the stereotypically adult holiday activities I have not participated in is sending out holiday cards. I was overseas for a long time and for the past couple of years, I’ve had excuses. First I had a newborn, then for the next two years I just didn’t get around to it. Now I don’t have any more good excuses and my fear of being justifiably booted from my friends’ holiday card list is inspiring me to get on the ball. I love receiving them, I love displaying them, and I now keep them as mementos of the people who were in our life each year, frozen in a photo and a pose of their choosing.

Mark is not enthusiastic about the idea, so I’ll have to take on this project myself. I was going to use tinyprints, since some friends had recommended it before. But then I came across an offer from Shutterfly that said I can receive 50 free cards if I blog about their holiday cards. So I’ll be trying Shutterfly this year.

I can’t say anything about the quality of Shutterfly, or any other holiday card maker, since I haven’t ever ordered any before. However, I did order a couple of photo greeting cards from Shutterfly this spring. They turned out beautifully and the recipients seemed to appreciate the personalization of the photos and the greeting, so I have high hopes. Since we are expecting number two right around the holidays, I’m wondering if I make a joint holiday card/birth announcement, or at least include a photo of number two together with our family of three photo.

I’m liking this one for the option of multiple photos. And this one too. But if I don’t include a personalized message, I suppose the folded cards would look pretty bare inside. In that case, perhaps a flat one, like this, would be better?

A question for you. Should I go with a service that pre-addresses and mails the cards, taking out a big step and making the process easier and more likely for me to accomplish? Or it is worth the effort in order to add a personal note, or at least signature? Do you include a letter with your cards, or just send the card? What do you prefer to receive?