Product Review: Minted Holiday Cards – The Best Personalised Christmas Cards

Serena Faber Nelson Founder & Pet Lifestyle Writer

Pet lifestyle expert Serena Faber-Nelson is the founder of Pretty Fluffy. A contributor to Everyday with Rachael Ray, Modern Dog Magazine, Cesars Way and more; her modern, stylized take on DIY dog treats has seen her recipes viewed millions of times over.

Serena is the author of the go-to dog mom bible, Dog Mama, and the popular dog treat recipe book, Healthy Homemade Dog Treats.

One of my favourite parts of the holiday season is sending out personalised Christmas cards.

I know a lot of people don’t tend to send out Christmas or holiday cards anymore – with so many things to do (especially at Christmas time!) they can get lost in the shuffle and by the time you remember to do them it’s December 23 and you just. can’t. be. bothered.

But, this Christmas it’s not too late! I’ve teamed up with Minted (not sponsored!) to share our holiday cards and my tips for how to make your Christmas cards a fun process and why you’ll be glad you did in years to come.

WHY I DO HOLIDAY CARDS

Yes, we have facebook, Instagram, snapchat, text message, email and pigeon carrier to send holiday messages.

So, why send out Holiday and Christmas cards?

AS A KEEPSAKE

For me the first reason is a little selfish, I love keeping my holiday cards as a record of the year that was. Even if it’s just a photo that reminds me of that time, it’s a simple way to document your life as the calendar pages flick by.

Over the years (and all of these were Minted holiday cards) I’ve had Soda the rein-dog, a newborn Emmy and Soda watching over her, a one year old Emmy with her favourite Soda toy, and this year our little girl with her ‘Sodie Paws’ and Rudolph. I already look back at these cards and am so thankful I have them as they bring back so many beautiful memories.

To me, each holiday card is a little time capsule for my future self.

AS A REAL LIFE CONNECTION

In a world of iPhones, snaps and likes, a REAL holiday card that gets sent in the mail means so much.

I have friends that live all over the globe, and friends that live in the next suburb over but because of our busy lives I barely see.

A Christmas card with a little note of joy and love is a reminder that although we may not always see each other or talk as often as we’d like, we still love them.

It’s good to remember that Christmas can also be a lonely time for a lot of people. It’s not all carols and eggnog.

A little card waiting for you when you open your letterbox makes you feel special. Appreciated. Loved.

THE EASY WAY TO DO PERSONALISED HOLIDAY CARDS

Now that I’ve shared why I send them, I also want to share HOW I make the process easy – while having gorgeous, personalised cards at the end!

For the last few years I’ve used Minted to make my holiday cards.

Why? Because Minted has the best choice of designs by far. Minted isn’t your standard papergoods store.

Through ongoing design competitions, they discover exceptional designers for cards and papergoods. Designers submit, and the Minted community votes to tell them what to sell.

A quick browse at their personalised holiday cards and there are hundreds of options – including:

• Holiday Photo, Family ‘Year in Review’ cards and non-photo cards
• Religious Christmas cards
• Baby’s First Christmas cards
• New Year cards
• Business Holiday cards
• …and of course there are pet-themed holiday cards!

I’m pretty picky, but I always find something I like at Minted so that’s why I keep coming back.

The second reason, is they make everything SO. EASY. I aint’ got time for designing my own Christmas card, but Minted does it all for me.

Each year I just turn up with my favourite photo (it doesn’t even have to be a special one taken for the holidays!), find my favourite design and within days my cards are approved and on their way to me.

On a side note, I can’t go past mentioning all the cute extras I love adding to my cards. Minted offers:

• FREE Personalised Envelope Recipient Addressing to match your Minted holiday cards (LOVE. THIS)
• Card backer options for personalised notes and year in review letters.
• Card shape, thickness and design colour options to further personalise your card.bit.ly/2gqtN6a
• The option to change the greeting (Religious, Christmas, Holiday, New Year) to suit you.
• Letterpress and gold foil options. We went with this in our holiday cards this year and they are GORGEOUS.
• Skinny Wrap return address labels, customised stamps and slip in envelop liners to complete the set.

Really, everything they do just makes it so easy to send out these little holiday cards of joy that are just so, so beautiful.