Disclaimer: This post maybe overly simplistic for some and too technical for others, totally depends on your computer skills.

A few weeks ago, we had professional pictures taken…

which got my in the mood to create a personalized Christmas card.

Side note: Photographers should offer liposuction as a part of the photography session because that’s always what I want after seeing the pictures taken of me.

So I thought I would share my method of creating thrifty personalized cards through Vista Print, my go-to place for all printing services.

I even used them for all the printing of my wedding materials, i.e. invitations, rehearsal invitations, programs etc.

They offer inexpensive professional printing services as well as a simple design program to customize their ready-made designs.

And they always have great coupons through retailmenot.com (and ebates.com if you are a subscriber).

The average personalized Christmas card is $1.25 per piece to print plus .46 postage through websites like Minted or Snapfish.

So I saved approximately $109 by going with Vista Print! 

You can create your cards in two ways:

#1. You can have a graphic artist (I usually use someone from etsy.com) create a flat card for you (that you in turn can print as a postcard). Set-up charge is usually $10-$15. The designer will ask you to email your picture and text to them after you pay through etsy. They will then send you the digital file via email; you will need to save it to your computer. And then you can upload the card file to Vista Print for printing.

A couple great examples of Christmas card designs from etsy are here, here and here. Just remember you only want the file from the designer, not printing services.

or

#2. You can use a card template in Vista Print, personalize it with text and/or photo, and then have it printed.

This year I opted to go with postcard printing, and I also ordered return address labels that went with the design of my card but were not necessarily “Christmas” themed so I could use the remaining labels throughout the year.

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The reason I created a postcard design is that the postage is so much less.

46¢ vs 33¢ is a big difference when you are purchasing large #s of stamps.

I simply order all my stamps through the USPS online service.

Click here for the link to the postcard stamp.

Once I received the postcards and stamps in the mail, I simply addressed them on the blank backside and attached the stamp and return address label. Count not be easier.

So after postcard printing, return address labels, and postage my grand total is $61.00 (plus I got 8% back through my ebates.com account).

Less than 60¢ per personalized mailed card is incredible in my option.

What do you think? What’s your favorite method of sending Christmas greetings?

http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2013/11/07/thrifty-thursday-week-35/