Girl, listen. You and I both know that Holiday Card ordering is NOT the easiest or most stress-free thing on our Q4 to-do list.
We love to put our creative skills to use in this way that we get to share with friends and family, but then we see the price tag and want to throw the computer because…RUDE.
“I worked super hard on this. How dare you charge me $75 to print 25 copies of this thing that I DESIGNED?! Boo.”
Enter my super awesome Christmas Card Ordering Hack that I’ve used for YEARS now: Vistaprint.
Using the following steps, I’ve been able to order our Christmas Cards for PENNIES compared to every other company’s (and even this company’s) “Christmas Cards” they offer.
The short answer/tip: Postcards.
Through Vistaprint, we are able to design (or upload your own design) in seconds, use any discount codes (they offer a lot and very often), and have quality holiday cards printed for under $20 (we ordered 50 postcards with full color front and back on soft-touch premium quality paper, and our total was only $18)!
When designing your post cards, you first need to decide whether you will buy envelopes to go along with your cards (we are doing it this way this year, but in the past we have not) or if you will design the back of your postcard as a “real” postcard (with a message on part of it, and your return address + a space for the address of those you’ll send to).
Using envelopes allows you to design the back of your postcard more like an actual Christmas card with more design/messaging to your friends/family, but is a bit more expensive because you’ll have to purchase envelopes and forever stamps instead of just the cheaper postcard stamps.
Don’t let this choice give you decision paralysis. Here’s the easy way to choose:
- If your priority is to spend as little money as possible, then choose to design as a postcard. No hassle with envelopes and cheaper postage. Boom.
- If your priority is design/sending a lengthy message, then opt for the slightly more expensive, but more spacious “traditional card” design that will require envelopes.
Perfect. Glad we got that decision made. Check it off your list, and let’s move forward!
I’ll now walk you through the steps (with super fancy screenshots – ha) to make it as easy as possible for you:
- Visit Vistaprint.com, and you will come to this page. Hover over the words “Marketing Materials” as shown here:
- When you hover over “marketing materials,” you will see this pop-up, and you should click “Postcards.”
- When you click on “postcards” you will come to this page where you will choose your preferences in five spaces: Orientation, Size, Paper Weight, Paper Stock, and Quantity.After you enter your preferences, you will see your base price. The preferences I show in the picture below is the 4×6 postcard, and you are able to get FIFTY postcards for TEN BUCKS! WOO!
- After you choose your preferences, below “Price” will be a button that says “Start Designing”. Click that.
- When the “start designing” page comes up, this is the place where you will design your card! You can click the TEXT button to create a text box, the IMAGE box to choose your photo, or you can choose the MORE button which allows you to insert shapes, QR codes, charts and more.
- You can also click on the “card” itself, and it will show you this editing box that you can use to edit as well:
- Once you have the front of your design finished, click on either “NEXT” or “ADD A BACK SIDE” (they will both take you to the next step):
- When you get to the “back” design page, you’ll first make the choice to leave it blank (which is free) or choose grayscale or full-color. Consider your cost goals when making this choice. Over the years, we’ve done them all, and they always turn out great!Also on this page (where you see the arrow below), you will edit the design just like you did on the front (add pictures, texts, shapes, etc.)
- When you are happy with your backside design, you’ll click the green “NEXT” button, which will take you to this page where you will need to review your designs. If you need to change anything, click “edit,” then follow the same steps. When you are happy with them both, you’ll need to mark the checkbox stating that you are approving the designs as shown, then click “NEXT”:
- After you review and approve your design, you will chose your quantity of cards, then click NEXT (keep in mind that the prices you see on this page do not necessarily reflect any promotional codes you might have to use, so your total will most likely be even less than the options shown):
- Once you choose your quanitity, you’ll be taken to a screen that is basically a great up-selling page. They will show you your design on a lot of different products they offer. If your goal is to get out of here with the least amount of money spent, then don’t even browse…just click “GO TO CART.”If you’re still wanting to get some photo gifts for friends/family, this might be a good page for you to browse, as they do have some cute options like tees, mugs, calendars, stickers, gift bags, mousepads, etc. Just know what you’re getting into – if you browse, and click “NEXT” you’ll just see more and more and more up-sell products. 😉
- When you click “GO TO CART” you’ll see your cart page come up, and this is where you’ll want to make sure you use the promotional code that will give you the biggest discount. Right now, the code NOVEMBER19 is what’s giving me the biggest discount, but if you have multiple codes, try out each one to see what’s best based on what is in your cart.You’ll also see your total just below the promotional code space (which is down underneath the list of your products in your cart). Mine shown here is more because I have 3 items in my cart, but for the cards that I just walked you through designing, the total came out to be just $6.99 TOTAL for all 50 postcards!!!
This is doable, my friend.
I hope this step-by-step tutorial was helpful to you in your holiday preparations. If you have any other questions about it, please feel free to leave a comment below, or you can always connect with me via Instagram @JoyfullyManagingLife
Another valuable Holiday preparation freebie you might be interested in is my Ultimate Holiday Gift + Budget Planner. If you haven’t snagged that already, go ahead and grab it so you can feel LESS frantic and “everywhere” when it comes to your holiday planning (and also it helps me not OVER buy on gifts for the kiddos! Helps to see it all written down in one place – what I’ve purchased and how much I’ve spent. Amen?)!
Love you, Sis. Hope to hear from you soon.
BE SURE THAT YOU USE THE DISCOUNT CODE “NOVEMBER19” BEFORE YOU CHECK OUT TO GET THE MOST SAVINGS (this code does not give me a kickback. It is a general promotion they are running, but make sure you use it)!
“NOVEMBER19” will give you 25-30% off select products (such as postcards), plus up to 50% off Holiday Cards and Wall Calendars. From my experience, using the 30% discount on postcards will get your more for your money than using the 50% discount on “Holiday Cards.” Just FYI.
