While I’m digesting from Thanksgiving dinner, one of the things that I begin to think about is Christmas cards. For many years I’ve been making my own cards. This task begins with me looking over every picture from the previous year that has been tagged with the key word “snow.” I guess it’s not really necessary to use a snow photo but, having grown up in Wisconsin, it’s hard to think about Christmas without thinking about snow. So, I look them over carefully and pull out a few that I think might be candidates. Here are three that I’m considering for this year: (1) a snowy day in an oak savannah, (2) a winter evening in Madison, and (3) winter on a northern Wisconsin lake.
Next I resize and crop the selected photos and use a template to make a draft of the two 7″ x 10″ images that will be used to create the four 5″ x 7″ faces of a folded landscape or portrait format card. The most difficult part of this process is coming up with the text to use on the inside. I’m not into long schmaltzy verses but I’m also not into short earthy things like “Yo, happy holidays, dude!” So, I look at what I wrote the previous couple of years to avoid repetition and then draft a couple of basic holiday sentiments. I show my wife the drafts to get her feedback and then put together the final version. Which image should I choose this year?
When I first started making cards I would buy blank cards and print them all out at home. Over the last four or five years I’ve gotten lazy and have ordered them through Mpix.com. I’ve been very pleased with their products and the turnaround time is amazingly fast. A package can be on your doorstep within 2 to 3 days of placing your order. Their prices have been going up, however. It now costs about $50 for a set of 25 5″ x 7″ cards with envelopes. This year I decided to run a test. I ordered one set from Mpix as usual and I ordered a second set from Costco.com. The cards from Costco are about half the price of those from Mpix. (Costco no longer sells cards.)
After I receive both orders I’ll add a note to this post with comments about their relative quality. In the meantime, I wish you all the best for the holiday season!
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
PS (1/11/15): The paper Mpix uses for their cards has much more of a photo quality to it. Since Mpix also offers glossy, that option can make the result look more like better quality photographs. The Costco cards, however, were still very acceptable. The photo was very clear and sharp and the paper used was even a little heavier than that used by Mpix. The finish was a smooth matte.
The total cost including postage and handling for 25 cards from Mpix was $58.37. There was no charge for sales tax. Although I ordered the Costco cards online, I live only a few miles from a store so I was able to purchase those cards without any shipping charges. The total cost including sales tax for 25 cards from Costco was $20.84. If you’re making some special cards that you might want people to save and frame, you might want to opt for Mpix. For cards that will be enjoyed and then recycled, it’s pretty hard to select cards that are $2.33 apiece as opposed to $0.83 apiece. I’ll probably just use Costco next year and save over $75 for an order of 50 cards.