Holiday photo cards...

The other day I was sitting at the kitchen table with a good friend, and Henry and his little friends were frosting Halloween cookies...or rather they were frosting their faces and the table and chairs! The 'mama conversation' turned to Christmas cards. And boy oh boy was I grateful for the reminder.  I am a sucker for photo Christmas cards.  They are my favorite to receive.  I love getting a glimpse of friends and family this time of year. 

You see last year we had these family pictures taken and so I wasn't thinking about figuring out what picture we would use. I knew we would use this one:

But because of this I think I put off ordering the actual cards and soon it was too late to use my favorite Christmas card photo company....SHUTTERFLY!  In the past I have ordered them from Shutterfly and easily they were delivered to my door.

Ahhhh, satisfaction!

But since I waited until last minute I had to look for a local place to print them off and I thought I got a great deal until I started hearing of friends experiences...and I swore that this year I would be on the ball and have my card ready early enough so that I can order from Shutterfly, so that I can sit home, some bitterly cold MN morning, and have them delivered to my mailbox.

Ahhhh, satisfaction!

Shutterfly has been our go to for printing pictures and having them ordered in mass amounts via the snail mail. But I have also taken advantage of the ability to order them online and have them printed at Target where I am picking up groceries an hour or two later.  We have also created many calendars for grandparents in my family. 

It is cheaper to order pictures for delivery and there are way more options in size and finish but the quick convenience of Target is so nice as an option.

We live in a day when you can take 100s of pictures a day and view them the same day, yes I think about the days of snapping pictures and bringing in a roll of film and wondering how many would turn out. Although, remembering what a thrill it was to step away from the counter, especially when it was the mystery roll that you found at the bottom of your purse or junk drawer, and you slowly opened the envelope and slid out the first picture. You do lose that anticipation and thrill with the technology progress - but man I wouldn't go back.

However, I do think I don't have actual hard copies of pictures like my mom does...mine are all stored on our computer. And we did have the unfortunate experience of losing a bunch of Charley's first year when our computer crashed. Thankfully we had them loaded on Shutterfly so I still have access - I just wish I could gain full control back of them. That has been my only frustration with Shutterfly...but maybe they have changed their policy. Anyone know?

Shutterfly has a huge selection of Christmas cards, Christmas gift tags,  and  more. 

If you are looking for a fun selection of holiday photo card options - I can say that the years we have used Shutterfly we have been thrilled.  And I plan on ordering our holiday cards in the next week or two from them...I just have the stress of finding the picture that makes me happy. 

*I was asked to review my past experience with holiday cards and Shutterfly.  This is only my opinion.