82 Days & Counting... Are you Ready?

Okay, I have to apologize. I am one of those people who doesn't like to see the holiday items cramming the shelves before Halloween is even here. I like to enjoy my holidays in their own time and way. That being said, I love Christmas. I do not like all the prep work, shopping, baking and decorating that goes along with the celebration.

My coping strategy for all the chaos? Getting the little things done now... so, I can enjoy the holiday when it finally arrives. At the top of my list? Family Christmas Cards!

This is the time to get these all wrapped up, ordered and ready to send. My heart goes all a flutter right after Thanksgiving when the first Christmas greetings of the year start to trickle in. I love seeing the smiling faces and adorable kids adorning cards from friends and family near and far. Of course, if you want to have a mail box chock full of greetings, you better send some.

Last year my husband set everything up and we herded two dressed up toddlers into a half an hour of non-stop pictures snapping. I can't say it was stress free, but the results were adorable. Yes, believe it or not, my husband agreed to do it again for the sake of the perfect Christmas Cards.

This year I will be getting mine done by Tiny Prints. This is not the first post I have had up about them and their card selection, but it is a company I not only enjoy working with, but love sending out their products. I do want to tell you about two really cool things I found on their site.

First off, I love that I can save my favorite designs in favorite to come back to. They have a wide selection of great cards, but after browsing for an hour it would be almost impossible to go back to a particular card without help. Believe me, I have done that on other sites and usually lose my selected card.

I also adore the new ornament cards!

Tied with a satin ribbon, this is a great way to show my cards off every year. Can you imagine a tree filled with the smiling faces of your friends and family? Love it!

Yes, this ornament card made it into my collection of favorites.

So, are you ready to get your Christmas Cards made? If you are as crazy as we are and plan to take your own photos especially for the occasion, I offer a few bits of advice.

• Make sure your kids are not tired, cranky, hungry or fidgety for this. We took photos after dinner, which was a big mistake! We will do it earlier in the day next time.
• Allow plenty of time. It will always take longer than you expect.
• Um, bribery is allowed here! Promise a trip to the park, a treat or whatever will motivate your kiddos to sit still and follow directions for a few minutes.
• Have a noise-maker or toy for the kids to focus on. New, unexpected items will capture their attention longer but use what you can.
• Take a deep breath. I think the best pictures we took were the totally unexpected ones. Kids will let their personality show during the pics, so why not let them?

I hope you have a good time putting together your Christmas Cards this year. If you get the chance, go over and take a peak at what Tiny Prints has to offer and best of luck with your holiday preparation.

*Disclaimer - I wrote this post for the Tiny Prints holiday campaign. In exchange for posting I will get my own holiday cards. All opinions are my own.