Make a holiday photo card

Tips and inspiration for creating your own holiday photo cards

Variety of holiday cards with green color wash

Introduction

Celebrate the season with a one-of-a-kind photo greeting card. It's an easy and inexpensive way to send meaningful holiday greetings with a personal touch. We'll give you some inspiration and ideas for creating photo cards with HP’s high-quality online designs.

Why make your own holiday cards?

Winter Wishes 5 x 7 Holiday Card

Holidays are the ideal time of year to share your most recent family photos.

  • Fun: It's a great way to show your creativity without spending a lot of time.
  • Affordable: You can make your own photo cards at home for much less. Printed on a home inkjet printer, a glossy custom greeting card costs less than $1.00 including paper, ink, and envelope . On average, the cost of store-bought holiday cards is about $12 for a box of ten.
  • Easy and fast: Forget another trip to the store. You are only a few mouse clicks away from creating free cards online at the HP Creative Studio. Just upload your photo and print.
  • The ideal gift: You know that the grandparents would rather have a new photo of their grandkids than pretty much anything else!

Choose a photo for your holiday card

Picture of home-printed HP holiday photo card

Incorporate a holiday prop to add a festive touch to your photo.

Think about the people receiving your card. What’s new in your life they might want to see? Holiday cards are an opportunity to showcase:

  • Birth or adoption
  • New pet
  • Engagement or wedding
  • Graduation or other milestone event
  • A new home
  • Vacation memories

If you get started early, you can take a photo especially for your holiday card—and even match the style of the photo (background scene, wardrobe colors, etc.) to your chosen card design.

Don't have the menorah out of storage or the stockings hung with care yet? No problem. You can always add a holiday prop that complements the design—like a poinsettia, a sprig of holly, etc.

Photo cards: your options

Picture of home-printed HP holiday photo card

Printing photo cards at the HP Creative Studio is easy, inexpensive, and instant!


Hand using PS 7510 touchscreen

Print photos directly from Snapfish without a PC, using the HP Photosmart 7510 e-All-in-One.1

There are two easy ways you can brighten someone's season with homemade photo cards:

Design your own cards at the HP Creative Studio
Simply choose a design, add your favorite photos and text, and you've got personalized cards to send to all of your loved ones. Perfect for creating in-the-nick-of-time greetings.

You'll even find finishing touches like holiday mailing labels and photo stamps.

Order cards from Snapfish
You'll find dozens of designs here, too. If you’re in a hurry, you can opt for in-store pickup at a local Walgreens. If not, you can always choose snail mail delivery.

With the new HP Photosmart 7510 e-All-in-One, you can archive and retrieve photos from Snapfish using the 4.3" touchscreen—perfect for last-minute photo cards! 1

Watch the Snapfish app in action.

Create your own photo card: step-by-step

Picture of home-printed HP holiday photo card

You'll find a variety of design styles for numerous winter celebrations at the HP Creative Studio.


Picture of HP Creative Studio interface

Use a larger font size (like 24 point) for easy readability while typing your message. Then change it to something smaller (like 10 point) before printing.

See how easy it is to create your own photo card at the HP Creative Studio:

Step 1: Choose your design
Classic or modern? Playful or sophisticated? Pick one that matches the personality of your family and your photos.

Step 2: Choose your card size:

  • 4" x 8"
  • 5" x 7"
  • 8.5" x 11", folded in half (or "half-fold")

Step 3: Choose your font
Select from a selection of text typefaces and text sizes. A 10 to 12 point font size is typically used in greeting cards, but try typing your initial message in a larger font (like 24 point) so you can type, preview, and check it for errors more easily.

Step 4: Write a message
Keep it simple and heartfelt. Consider describing how thankful you are to friends and family for the support throughout the year. If it's brief, tell a funny story that happened during the year—perhaps connecting it to your card’s photo.

Ideas for unique holiday cards

Picture of holiday-themed photo DVDs

Slip photo slide show DVDs into your holiday card envelopes.


Picture of photo recipe card

Share your favorite family recipes with holiday photo recipe cards.

Create something refreshingly different for this year's holiday mailing.

  • Black-and-white photos add elegance, drama, and a hint of instant nostalgia. You can transform color photos into black-and-white masterpieces right in your HP Photosmart photo printer—no PC needed.
  • If you have a Web-connected printer, use the HP Dear Santa app to access a variety of holiday-themed stationary. 1
  • New Year's card: Cross holiday cards off your to-do list and start a new tradition by sending a New Year's card instead.
  • Recipe card: Showcase a beloved family recipe or your signature holiday dish.

Don't forget the perfect paper

Picture of HP Photo Greeting Card package

Get paper and envelopes in one convenient package with HP Holiday Photo Cards.


Picture of HP photo card printed on HP Brochure paper

HP Brochure & Flyer Paper is a good choice for "half-fold" greeting cards.

Enjoy the satisfaction of creating retail-quality, glossy holiday photo cards from your own printer, on your own time.

  • Get beautiful, glossy, 5" x 7" photo greeting card paper and envelopes in one convenient package. HP Holiday Photo Cards are fast drying, so you can print and insert them into envelopes right away without smearing or smudging.
  • For "half-fold" greeting cards, choose HP Brochure & Flyer Paper. It's sturdy and available in glossy or matte finish.
  • Be sure to set your printer's Print Quality to the highest available setting for the best results. Get more quick tips for perfect photo prints.

Enjoy free next day shipping on all HP Paper—perfect for making last-minute holiday cards!

Get a great printer for photo cards

Many HP Photosmart e-All-in-Ones offer in-printer photo editing tools and built-in wireless. Plus, with HP Print Apps and HP ePrint, sharing holiday photos is easier than ever.1,2

HP Photosmart 6510 e-All-in-One

HP Photosmart 6510
e-All-in-One Printer

$149.99

  • 3.5" touchscreen
  • Print, copy, scan
  • Enhanced photo printing
  • Automatic photo tray
HP Photosmart 7510 e-All-in-One

HP Photosmart 7510
e-All-in-One Printer

$199.99

  • 4.3" touchscreen
  • Print, copy, scan, eFax3
  • Print lab-quality photos
  • Automatic photo tray
HP Photosmart eStation e-All-in-One

HP Photosmart eStation
e-All-in-One Printer

$399.99

  • Detachable 7" Android touchscreen
  • Print lab-quality photos
  • Print, scan, copy, eFax3
  • Browse and download the latest eBook bestsellers4,5

Learn more

  • 1Requires a wireless access point and an Internet connection to the printer. Services may require registration. Apps availability varies by country and language. For details, http://www.hp.com/go/ePrintCenter.
  • 2Requires an Internet connection to the printer. Feature works with any connected Internet- and email-capable device. Print times may vary. For a list of supported documents and image types, see http://www.hp.com/go/ePrintCenter. And for additional solutions, see www.hp.com/go/mobile-printing-solutions.
  • 3Web-based fax service requires an Internet connection to the printer and registration with third-party service. Up to 20 inbound and 20 outbound pages a month. Additional terms and restrictions apply; see www.hp.com/support.
  • 4Requires a wireless access point and an Internet connection to the printer. Touchscreen menus are in English or English/French only. Services may require registration. For details, http://www.hp.com/go/ePrintCenter.
  • 5Availability varies by region. Some services may require registration.