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Southern State of Mind Blog by Heather

Family Christmas Cards (+ Minted Giveaway!)

in holidays on 10/23/15

A huge thanks to Minted for sponsoring this post. 
My favorable opinion and use of Christmas music in October is 100% my own. 

Y’all. Christmas is single-digit-weeks-away and we are about to embark on one of my favorite holiday traditions, sending and receiving Christmas cards. I literally skip to the mailbox every day in December and my heart sings when I open cards with adorable photos of our friends and family. 

I really do enjoy the entire process (hence why I am talking about it in October), and try to keep it low stress. By now, even the Big Sweet has accepted that it is perfectly normal to start discussing this topic in September. Today I am going to share my process and I am thrilled that Minted has offered to giveaway $50 to their site for one of my fabulous readers!

For our family Christmas cards, I first think about outfits for my crew. If you’ve never done this, it can be overwhelming. Here is my tip: Have a general color scheme in mind to start. For mine, I went with navy, brown and a pop of orange-y red. I knew I wanted to wear my new super cozy blanket scarf, so that was a great starting point. 

From there, based on the general color scheme, I like to pick out my outfit first. Find an outfit that you love. Makes you feel like a million bucks. Makes you smile. Makes you look skinny. #whatever


Once your outfit is decided, start adding in the family outfits by mixing and matching different pieces until you have the look you want. I hung mine in the hall where I walked by a few times a day and would try different options here and there. 

              

sources: scarf, vest

I wanted to be sure that the Sweets would coordinate on their own as well. Now, here is the thing- I didn’t run out and buy all new clothes for this. In fact, the only thing that was new for this was my blanket scarf. #cometomama 
I believe with a little effort you can find great outfits without having to spend lots of money and make yourself crazy.

source: boots

The night before you plan to take pics, finalize every last detail. You may think to yourself, I will have plenty of time tomorrow to press the shirts, find the matching socks. Well. You won’t. 
Trust me. 
The night before, make sure every. last. detail. is buttoned up. 
Do as I say not as I do, mmm-kay? 

This year, we did a DIY photo session. I considered hiring a photographer but I also wanted to keep it light and keep the pressure off.  I have an inexpensive tripod (came free with one of my lenses) to set up my camera and an inexpensive camera remote (less than $10). This remote has really come in handy to help avoid having to run like a nut back and forth from the tripod to the camera.  

However, I must admit getting both boys to smile is pretty tough at ages 4 and 15 months. I am pretty sure I took 1,000,000 photos. 
There were sticks. There were suckers. There were spy watches. 

But we did end up with a couple that should work just fine. Not so fast though! I like my card to remain a surprise until they arrive in the mail so I will not be sharing my finished product now. #ooohhhhthesuspense

OK, now that the photo session is over, here comes the really fun part. I popped on my Pandora Christmas station (yes, I realize it’s October) and started looking through the great options over at Minted. I love how you can upload your photo and it gives you a quick glance of what your image will look like within their designs. That was a game changer for me and made it super simple to make my choice. There were so many great options to choose from but here are a few that caught my eye.

Thanks again to Minted for partnering with me to offer $50 to a lucky winner. Enter for your chance to win below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

{affiliate links in this post are included for your convenience, see our disclosure policy here}

Related posts:

Our DIY Dollar Tree Christmas Card Garland How To Save Your Old Christmas Cards (+ Free Printable) {Christmas Traditions} Family Album Christmas Tree December Christmas Front Porch & A Wreath Giveaway

19 Comments

« {what I wore} Fall in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Not So Scary (not so perfect) Halloween House »

Comments

  1. Lauren Kate says

    Oct. 23, 2015 at 6:51 pm

    Thanks for the giveaway- I also plan the outfits ahead of time which is crucial! Also talking to your kids beforehand and having bribes ready!

    Reply
  2. Debbie says

    Oct. 24, 2015 at 3:29 pm

    Oh boy. Year after year was stressful when mine were younger! Now I just go back through all the photos during the year and choose a cute one. Much less stress!

    Reply
  3. Beverly Noland Ozburn says

    Oct. 24, 2015 at 3:37 pm

    When I had children growing up, my cards were always easy. Now that it is just the hubs and I, photo cards are not as easy. We've featured the grandchildren for several years. This year I'm opting for something humorous and a bit different – our legs/feet and the dog standing on the front porch. Hope I can pull it off!

    Reply
  4. lisa kennedy says

    Oct. 24, 2015 at 5:27 pm

    I will be giving every member of my family one of the camera remotes for Christmas! I had no idea such a thing existed. I must admit, though, some of the photos of the out of breath photographer are pretty funny!

    Reply
  5. Dianne Hall says

    Oct. 25, 2015 at 5:15 am

    We like to do pictures first thing in the morning, before everyone is tired!

    Reply
  6. kenny hall says

    Oct. 25, 2015 at 5:45 am

    Where I live it rains ALL the time in the fall and winter..so I try to plan a family shoot towards the end of September. There is a low chance of rain..if I got them taken in November I would be majorly stressed out about the weather!

    Reply
  7. rachel says

    Oct. 25, 2015 at 5:18 pm

    Give yourself plenty of time — don't try to crank it out quickly with kids — a guaranteed fail! haha

    Reply
  8. Mrs. Gruss says

    Oct. 25, 2015 at 7:20 pm

    Do it far in advance, then you have time to address them, write personal notes, etc. thanks

    Reply
  9. Melissa Botelho says

    Oct. 26, 2015 at 1:17 am

    Get them early in mid August to not wait until the last minute it is stressful then.

    Reply
  10. Sarah Mustardseedmommy says

    Oct. 26, 2015 at 1:33 am

    Don't worry about getting the perfect picture, sometimes the "outtakes" are PERFECT!

    Reply
  11. The Fam says

    Oct. 26, 2015 at 1:34 am

    Doing them as early as possible is the best advice!

    Reply
  12. The Fam says

    Oct. 26, 2015 at 1:34 am

    Doing them as early as possible is the best advice!

    Reply
  13. Patti says

    Oct. 26, 2015 at 2:04 am

    Plan outfits, do as early as possible, pick a day when everyone is in a good mood!

    Reply
  14. denisekonkel says

    Oct. 26, 2015 at 4:12 am

    Book out far in advance. Our photographer fills up quickly!

    Reply
  15. Nicki Joseph says

    Oct. 27, 2015 at 5:19 am

    Make sure everyone is well fed

    Reply
  16. Christy @ 11 Magnolia Lane says

    Oct. 27, 2015 at 2:12 pm

    Finish off with something fun, like going out for pizza as a family. We LOVE Minted–such high quality!!

    Reply
  17. Susan DeVaux says

    Oct. 28, 2015 at 5:41 am

    Plan outfits and everything far in advance

    Reply
  18. mmstarla says

    Oct. 28, 2015 at 6:13 am

    This is so fun, I agree with everyone above, plan ahead. Also , make sure to not get up/ get prepared at last minute. That is never good! 🙂

    Reply
  19. Ashley Rycahk says

    Oct. 28, 2015 at 3:30 pm

    I like to have them done right after Thanksgiving so it makes my December less stressful.

    Reply

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