*I received product from Minted to facilitate a review, all opinions are my own. Photo credit: Minted.com

From August to January, life in our house is crazy! So many sports, school starts, and then, of course, holidays start to move into the picture. It’s always in the back of my mind that I need to have a family photo taken and ready to make Christmas cards. I find the best thing that works for me is to have all my cards ready to be mailed the day after Thanksgiving.  So I try to have a photo picked out in August or September so I can begin the process.  Lucky for me, I have found the perfect site to make creating a fun and festive card to send out as easy as can be.  One look at Minted and you will know that you are visiting a high-end online retailer.  This is just the look I want for my cards, as Christmas cards are special and not an everyday item.  It’s nice to send cards that look and feel luxurious, all the while reflecting the personality of your family.

Selecting a template to begin working on your holiday card is simple and fun.  There are so many choices to pick from and it all looks like it belongs on pinterest.  Gorgeous and creative templates are everywhere! All you have to do is pick your favorite, upload a photo (or four!) and personalize the message. You can create the perfect card in less than a minute.  Yes! I love not having to spend a lot of time working on a card that looks like I really did. Truly, this site is mindful of busy moms and the lack of time they have to sit on the computer for hours trying to design a Christmas card!

I was able to create a card for our family using a couple of favorite photos taken outdoors during our visit to Salem, Massachusetts at the beginning of October.  I selected one of my favorite templates and added the message I wanted from my family.  Really, the hardest part of all of this was narrowing it down to one style of card, as I love so many!  Good to know that each year when I come back there will be tons of great choices different from the one I used the year before!

Once I had the card that I wanted, I chose to upgrade the look of my cards to include a silver metallic sheen to my envelopes and to have them pre-addressed (yay for time saving options!)  I also chose to include a coordinating paper liner inside my cards.  I am really excited to send them out, as I love how the look came together!

So in just a few minutes, I was done with the perfect Christmas card and they were already addressed for me!  I had anticipated spending a lot longer on this project!

Our trip to Massachusetts yielded a ton of great photographs that I want to have out to remember our time together.  I found a great way to frame one of my favorites using Minted. Their art marketplace had so many choices and I was really excited at what I found. A collection of independent artists have partnered with Minted to offer an eclectic selection of art that would look great in any home.  Search by art type, color scheme, shape, or popularity and you will be able to find the perfect selection for your taste.  You can even take art your child has made and create your own art with it.  Such great gift ideas for extended family!  I also loved that you could customize one of the artist’s ideas and add your own photograph.  I choose to do this with one of my favorite photos from Gloucester, Massachusetts with my boys and turned it into a framed and matted piece of art to display in my home.  The cost was very reasonable and what I received was incredibly lovely. You can create your own, too, by clicking on the photo gifts tab.

In less than 20 minutes online, I was able to create beautiful custom Christmas cards and design a piece of art featuring my family.  That is time well spent, my friends!

When they arrived about a week later, I was thrilled to see the quality of each item.  The cards were luxe, using heavy weight thick paper and they looked stunning.  My framed piece of art was totally ready to be hung, too, with the wire already attached to back.  It looks fantastic in my home!  Now, I am all set to get to addressing those Christmas cards and having them finished long before Thanksgiving even arrives.  No stress for me, as I can sit back and enjoy the holidays, rather than fret over things I have to get done.  You can be done early, too, and enjoy the holidays like me.  Just check out Minted and order your cards.  You could be done long before you have to shop for Thanksgiving dinner–could you imagine?!