Update: Just wanted let you guys know that I decided to try Nations Photo Lab for my Christmas cards. Was surprised they came out really clean. The cardstock is sturdy plus the colors printed the way I wanted. Thanks, everyone, for sharing your recos / experiences!

Hey guys! I’m currently working on some Christmas photo cards for my family this year and figured this sub might have better insight than the usual top 10 services lists online. Specifically, I'm trying to find something that feels well-made since these will be going out to relatives who save their cards. Would love to hear from anyone who ordered custom holiday cards recently. Which printers gave you the best results in terms of color accuracy, paper weight, and overall finish? I’m open to online services or smaller print shops as long as the quality is nice. Thanks!

This is something my husband and I can’t agree on, and I’m wondering what the more popular opinion is.

My husband loves sending photo Christmas cards—the single sheet kind that you order online featuring a posed family portrait and some variation of “Merry Christmas, love the Smiths”. No signature or note or personal greeting, just a photo of his family stuffed in an envelope and sent out to everyone. This is what his family has always done, and as a result he insists that what people really care about/want to see in a Christmas card is a picture of the people who sent it (which sounds narcissistic, but for context, my husband is so seldom on social media that he hasn’t even posted a photo since before we got married, which was YEARS ago).

Personally, I think that these cards are very impersonal and often seem like bragging (I’m looking at you multiple exotic vacation photos family). In a world where I have access to social media and I’m constantly seeing photos of 80% of the people I am sending cards to (the exception mostly being elderly friends/family), I don’t feel a particular need to see another photo of you in your Christmas card. I appreciate the effort they took to send me anything at all, and I do display it, but receiving one of these generic cards almost feels like they’re just mailing me an Instagram post.

I strongly prefer to send and receive traditional, hand written, bi-fold Christmas cards. I love spending time writing a personal note (even if it’s only a few sentences) to all of my family and friends, letting them know about big life updates, asking about their life, and generally wishing them well. When I receive a similar card in return it makes me feel really special, because it shows that the person who sent it to me actually cares about me enough to take time out of their day to think about me and personally update me on their life/wish me well.

On a less important note, I also strongly prefer the aesthetic of traditional Christmas cards. I love looking at the bright and beautiful winter scenes and lining them up along my mantle like a mini Christmas art display. I put the photo cards up on the mantle too, but they don’t stand up on their own, and they don’t have the same fun, festive feel that traditional cards do (also, for the people who choose to send photos from their recent wedding/graduation/beach vacation/etc, these cards always look very strange set against my holiday decor).

I’m thinking of proposing a compromise this year, where we send a traditional hand-written card, and then also include a printed photo tucked inside, but I’m not sure if that would seem weird/narcissistic?

What do you think? Do you prefer to receive photo Christmas cards, or do you prefer more traditional cards, or do you care at all? I’m really curious about what the general opinion is.