Christmas Cards

Now is a great time to get your Christmas cards ready. While you may want to wait until early December to stick them in the mail, you can do plenty now to make it a breeze then!

1. Create a list of Christmas card recipients or update one that you already have.

*Switchboard.com is a great tool for finding people's addresses. It's basically the White Pages on-line!

*Don't be too quick to take people off your list. If you're working with a tight budget, it may be necessary to cut your numbers down. But if you can, use this opportunity to send a reminder to those you haven't kept up with throughout the year that you still think of them and that you hope they'll have a very Merry Christmas!

2. Pick out a family picture or schedule a photo session so that you'll have your picture (if you choose to use one) ready with time to spare.

*If you are so inclined, you can even pull some Christmas decorations out of the attic and decorate your mantle or stick a wreath on the front door to use as your backdrop. This will provide a Christmasy feel and no one else will know that it was shot in early November.

3. Buy stamps.

*Ask to see the assortment of "Forever" stamps at the post office. Choose from Angel with Lute or Holiday Evergreens if you want to add a festive touch to your envelope.

4. Pick out your Christmas card.

*Even if you're not ready to order, go ahead and figure out which card you'd like to use.

*If you are ready to order, take advantage of the "early bird" deals. For example, Shutterfly is now offering free shipping on orders of $30+ (Promo code: SHIP30). Plus save 20% on cards until Nov. 17th. Snapfish is offering 25% off cards (only mail-order purchases, not in store pick-up). The promo code for that is MERRY2010 and the offer doesn't expire until 12/31.

One benefit of getting the details taken care of in advance is that you might be able to squeeze in some time in December to write a quick sentence or two to personalize each card.