I have always envied those people who send out custom-made Christmas cards every year. I think that the cards that picture a family sitting in front of the Christmas tree in matching sweaters and with smiles on their faces are so much more personal and creative than the boring, old boxed set from Wal-mart that I usually buy. Granted, in order for my family to send out those type of cards, my mother would actually have to finish decorating the tree before Christmas, and the rest of us would have to call a truce long enough to sit in front of it and say, "Cheese." The odds of both of those things happening in the same year are slim to none so stock holiday cards are probably the more practical choice as far as they are concerned. I guess it's a good thing for me then that my dogs, Bella and Bailey, are a lot more cooperative and photogenic than the rest of my family. I'd rather send out cards with my fur babies on it anyway. Just don't tell the human members of my family that I said that.
I haven't sent out canine Christmas wishes before this year because I didn't know where to buy the customized cards. Luckily for me, now I do. I can get them at VistaPrint.com. VistaPrint.com has hundreds of customizable, Holiday Cards and designs for you to choose from. When you log onto the site, you start your customization by choosing one of six types of holiday cards: folded cards, photo cards, foil-accented cards, 4" x 8" flat cards, postcards, and caricature cards. After you make this initial selection, you then get to choose which layout design you want. This design is an example of one of VistaPrint.com's folded holiday cards:
This design, meanwhile, is from VistaPrint.com's 4" x 8" holiday card collection:
After you choose your layout, you then get to customize your message. You can change the type, size, and color of the font; the placement of the message on the page; and what the message actually says. After you are done, you are given an online proof for you to review before submitting your card to VistaPrint.com for printing. If there is something you don't like, simply hit the "back" button and change it, or start all over with a new design.
What's great about VistaPrint.com, other than the variety of designs and ease of use, is that it allows you to order cards in small quantities. A lot of sites require you to order large quantities at once. However, with VistaPrint.com, you can order just 10 cards at a time if you choose a folded or flat card design. I particularly like this aspect, as I don't know more than 10 people whom I would send a Christmas card to. If I were forced to buy in quantities of 100 cards or more, I would have to figure out something to do with the other 90 cards, like wallpaper my kitchen with them or build a very unstable dog house.
VistaPrint.com's prices are pretty amazing, too. For instance, folded holiday cards start at $6.49 for a box of ten, while the 4" x 8" cards start at $3.99 for a box of 10. If you want to play around with extras on your card, like having your company's logo printed on the back of the card or adding a linen finish, you can check those boxes and get an instant quote online, before you ever get to the checkout screen. After you place your order, you can receive your cards in as little as three days.
VistaPrint.com guarantees that you will be satisfied with your holiday card purchase. If you are not, simply contact the company's customer service department within 30 days of receipt, and, if the reason for your dissatisfaction falls within the guarantee, VistaPrint.com will refund 100 percent of your purchase price, minus shipping and handling. Examples of things that aren't covered by VistaPrint.com's guarantee are customer errors in spelling and uploading poor quality images to the site.
By the way, for the photo-challenged, VistaPrint.com offers many non-photo designs to choose from, including the caricature option mentioned above. I had a lot of fun picking out hair color and style, eye color, eye and face shape, and clothing accessories for me and the dogs in the card featured at the beginning of this post. Thus, whether you're a family who wants to send out pictures of its members in front of the Christmas tree, a girl who wants the world to love her dogs as much as she does during the upcoming holidays, or a company looking to wish its customers and employees season's greetings, VistaPrint.com has the holiday card solution for you.
