Shutterfly Christms Cards: Easy, Unique, & My Favorite!

For the past 10 years, we have had a variety of Christmas card ideas...some years we wrote a Christmas letter, once we made a DVD with pictures & music for everyone, but lately I've found my favorite idea: sending out Christmas photo cards. I've tried a few companies and so far, Shutterfly has been my favorite.

I do most of my Christmas shopping online, so why shouldn't my Christmas cards be any different? I like being able to shop in my pjs, and I love being able to try various pictures to see which combination works best in our cards.

Most of my Mommy friends will agree...it's is so hard to get a group shot of all the kids together where everyone is facing forward and smiling...all at the same time! Now that Austen is in college, we only see him a few times a year so my group shot photo opportunities are few & far between. With Shutterfly cards, I can choose styles with multiple pictures so I can get good ones of each kiddo and not put all my eggs in one basket for a good group shot.

This year, I'm loving the brown cards:

In the above photo, they used the 1 Photo style, but you can choose to arrange the design any way you want & include more photos, different wording...totally customize it to your likes!

In addition to Christmas photo cards, Shutterfly has been my go-to source for our annual Christmas calendar. One year, when Reese was a baby, I found photo calendars online & made one for each of the Grandparents, Uncle Jeff, & all the Great-Grandparents. Little did I know I was starting a tradition! This is one of the favorite gifts every year...and my Mom never fails to drop the hint that "I hope one of these is my calendar!" when she comes to visit each Christmas.

I have searched the internet high & low, thinking I might find something "better", but every year I come back to Shutterfly...there simply is no better calendar creating tool! First, I love their background options. I customize the backgrounds for each person, knowing that Great-Grandma hangs her calendar in the kitchen and a bright pink background for February won't coordinate with her decorations....so I choose something pretty & subtle to match her kitchen. For our house, I pick wild backgrounds because I like seeing vibrant colors! For Grandpa, I know a beautiful, simple calendar is more his style.

You know another feature I LOVE? You can print, right on the calendar, every family member's BIRTHDAY (or any other event you want)! No more excuses for forgotten anniversaries, birthdays, etc. It's on the calendar!

Some months, I want to put lots of pictures. Other months, I want one, large perfect shot of something. Shutterfly has numerous templates for organizing the photos on each month's page so you can pick & choose how you want your final product to look. This year, I actually tried to design a calendar on another site, but I was limited to a max of 3 pictures per page, and only 3 layouts. BORING! Shutterfly gives me so many options...I've been spoiled. I didn't order calendars from the other company...I'm coming back to Shutterfly (again!).

The prices are very, very competitive and the quality of the finished product has always been top-notch. Head over to Shutterfly & see what you can find!

**Shutterfly has given me 50 photo cards as compensation for writing this review. However, we HAVE used Shutterfly for many years, and I would happily write a glowing review even if I wasn't compensated!!**