Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Shake Up Your Holiday Cards with Themes: 5 Fun Ideas

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Thanks to Global Influence for partnering with Stuff Parents Need to make this #HolidayCardThemes post possible. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always. 
Holiday cards, in my opinion, are simultaneously ridiculously easy, thanks to the amazing design options at our fingertips online, and ridiculously hard, thanks to the bar getting higher and higher for how awesome your card should be (again, thanks to all the great options out there…). But perhaps they don’t have to be all that hard if you spend just a bit of time thinking about a fun way to share about your year with those you love.
My favorite holiday cards to receive, first and foremost, have a picture on them of the people who sent it. Those are the ones that go straight on to my fridge, and usually hang out there until about April. Beyond that, though, I especially love the ones that incorporate a different theme. Here are 5 fun ideas for themes you can tie to your holiday cards this year.

1. Travel theme

Make your holiday card include 1 great shot, or even a collage of shots from your vacations throughout the year. Those tend to be great pictures because everyone is having fun, and quite frankly, it’s fun for the recipient to get to live vicariously through you for a moment, whether you are at the beach or in the mountains or in some really fun city.

2. New house/new city theme

If you moved this year, incorporate that into your card. Let your new digs or your new town share the spotlight so that you can show it off to your friends and family, and encourage them to come and see you!

3. A year in the life theme

Pick one photo from each month of the year that represents a highlight and make an awesome collage. Lots of holiday cars out there can have photos on the front and back, and can include a collage style.

4. Happy New Year theme

We pretty much all get holiday cards. How many of us get cards that are all about New Year’s? Bonus: using this strategy buys you a little extra time to get your card together!

happy new year

5. The bucket list theme

Did you knock anything off your bucket list this year? Do you have photographic evidence? I would LOVE to see something like this from my friends; make it a center part of your holiday card and it will surely be a hit!

Do you have any other ideas for cool themes to incorporate with your holiday greetings? 
 
This post was inspired by Paper Culture who offer eco-friendly holiday cards and holiday invitations.

Paper Culture: Simply Stunning Stationery For You or Your Littles

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Darah had her very first birthday party last week. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! We had a great turnout and had lots of laughs at the splash park. It was a terrific way to bid summer farewell as we get ready for the next school year.

Since Darah’s friends came bearing gifts to her party, we sat down to write our thank you notes and express gratitude for all the kind gestures, and also for friendship. I was so glad that Darah had her own personalized stationery for the notes. I think it added a nice touch!

I asked my BFF a few months ago if her little ones had any personalized note cards yet, and she said that they didn’t but that she could really use some, especially for her 4 year old. Being the fabulous Aunty that I am, I set out to find the perfect cards for little Livy.

Let me tell you about Livy. She is a firecracker. She is confident, creative, full of joy, and she LOVES to use her imagination. I needed something extra special for her, and I definitely found several great options that were unique at Paper Culture.

I have looked at a whole lot of kids’ stationery over the past 2 years, and there are many wonderful options at various stores online. But I will say without hesitation that Paper Culture has the very best selection of stationery for kids. They have designs that are very unique, that speak to many of the unique traits of our children, and that don’t box kids into the standard pink and blue, princess and sports fan type of stuff.

When I originally went through their selections, I probably picked out 6 different options that reminded me of Livy. Ultimately, though, I went with a rocket ship, as Livy LOVES to learn about space, and to pretend that she’s an astronaut. It’s only fitting that her cards should reflect that interest! It’s what makes them “so Livy!”.

One of the elements that is very unique about this notecard set is the fact that the back is just as lovely as the front! Since the back of the card is dark blue, it would be difficult to write on, but since this card is for a younger child, that’s probably ok, as the notes will usually be short.

I also think that the box the notecards came in is really nice. It’s definitely gift-ready if you are purchasing these for someone else. And it comes with a note about how a tree was planted as part of your purchase. Very cool!

I am very impressed with the quality of the products, and I will definitely go back to Paper Culture in the future when my girls run out of stationery and need some more. The prices are on the high end ($2.59/card if you purchase 10, and the price goes down the more you buy), but the quality is unparalleled.

Disclosure: I received complimentary products through the Global Influence campaign. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.