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Although many things grow extinct throughout the years—CD players, Borders, cheap coffee—Christmas cards will continue to be sent and received as long as there is a working postal express. Cards can sit on your mantle for ages, outlasting the most indigestible holiday fruitcakes.
Sure, you could go to Hallmark and buy an expensive Christmas card with fancy ribbon and mass-produced cheer. You could also print one off the Internet in the span of three minutes. But an entirely handmade one will make the thought count so much more.
1) Round Up Your Supplies
Supplies: 1 glue stick, scissors, construction paper in various colors, a pencil, other random things you can find around the house
Find some paper that’s slightly thicker than the type you would use for paper airplanes and whatnot—I’m being informed by the craft police that the correct term is “card stock”—or maybe just use some construction paper if you still have some left from grade school (I do!).
2) Fold It Like Five Guys
Countless papercuts later, now we’re going to fold your desired color in half, hamburger-style, as the crafting community’s slang goes. No idea how it got its name. I mean, I highly doubt anyone—no matter the extent of their hunger—would confuse this with a McDouble. I suppose you could also fold your Christmas card hot-dog style, but I’ve been to the Oscar Mayer factory and have seen how the sausage is made. I can assure you it’s not a pretty sight.
3) Sketch It Out
Figure out what the heck you want to put on the card and sketch it in pencil. You don’t want to spend quality time drawing out a perfect illustration and then make a mistake right at the end. Mistakes are expensive. At least, that’s what my dad tells me. Use some texture, because people love texture. And start to cut out the patterns.
4) Get Some Help From Elmer
Cut out the patterns and attach them with a gluestick. Here’s a video if you forgot how to use a gluestick. I chose paper towels because I’m too cheap for lace. Note: I’m also a man. There’s a badly-drawn polar bear on this card. They’re one of those creatures like snowpeople and reindeer that immediately bring the holiday season to mind. They consume fizzy drinks too. And that’s pretty cool.
5) Personalize It
This is the hard part because it requires you to get to know who the intended receiver is. You can make it sappy or completely unremarkable (this website has some samples of what to write inside). Another option is to add a picture, usually taken somewhat recently. It would be a little weird to include your tenth grade yearbook photo, however flattering it might be.
6) Address and Send It Away
As you can tell, I obviously have no grasp of how much postage costs. For all I know, one stamp could very well get the job done. But it’s not like I’m missing out on anything. What else could you get with 37 cents? I should probably be concerned though, with all this talk of the impending fiscal cliff. You’re welcome Postal Service Who Delivers My Mail. Consider this your gratuity tip.
And you are done.
Avoid these like yellow snow
Photo credit: s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
Glitter — Unless you’re wishing Ke$ha happy holidays, it’s best to stay away from the “Herpes of craft supplies.”
Religion — Introducing religion can be a risky bet; a lot of people don’t want sermons on their cards.
Newsletters — Facebook has kind of replaced this need in our lives. Remember: brevity is key!
When in doubt, Pinterest!
Photo credit: deenphoto / Shutterstock.com
•If you find yourself stuck at a creative block, check out this pinboard for inspiration
•Martha Stewart has many different types—43 to be exact—of Christmas cards to make
•Instead of using a plain white envelope, how about pushing the envelope with one of these stylish senders
Thanks for reading! Happy Holidays and Good Luck with your card crafting!