Photo Book Girl's Annual Holiday Photo Card Guide Best Deals & Tips 2018

The sales are coming out in full force for all those photo projects you've been working on. Readers often ask me when the best sales are and this is it! It doesn't get any better than in the fall when everyone is gearing up to make holiday gifts. It's not uncommon to see, 50, 60 and even 70% or more off at this time so be sure to check my photo deals page often before you start your projects. This is the time when I review all the sites to see what's new in photo cards as well as do some comparison shopping on price.

Earlier this year I took advantage of a 10 FREE cards deal with Shutterfly. Currently, there's another deal with sister company TinyPrints for 10 freebie cards through Tuesday, November 13th, and if history repeats itself, there will be more freebies on the way. When these freebies come around I always opt for the most expensive card they have (usually the trifold) because hey, why not? It's free! You do pay for shipping, but it only comes out to about 60 cents for each trifold card which normally runs $3.69 each. It's a huge bargain in my opinion. While it may not be in the budget to send out these trifold cards out to everyone on your list, I will typically give these cards to family - especially grandparents who just love to have physical photos of their grandkids (rather than texted photos). Another tip: if you happen to order a photo book or anything else on Shutterfly or TinyPrints and your order is $39 or $49 or more you can typically stack a coupon code to get free shipping, which makes these cards 100% free, so be sure to grab those free deals when you can!

I know you might be saying to yourself that you didn't get a chance to have professional photos taken this year so you may just skip cards this year. You do not need pro photos to make a nice holiday card! Our camera phones are so advanced now - no one can tell the difference. Take a look through the photos you've taken this past year. I use Lightroom to flag my photos throughout the year so I can narrow down to my favorites. I then download these photos into a single folder on my computer so I can readily use them for all my year end projects. I typically make holiday cards, ornaments, calendars and photo books. Narrowing them down in advance makes it easy to find them when I'm feeling creative AND when those deals pop up!

You can also set up your own photo shoot. I will occasionally grab the kids and go into our backyard for better light and a ready backdrop of evergreens. Of course some lollipops always help to coax out those smiles! For more DIY family photo shoot tips, check out this inspiration post!

Who Has the Best Prices on Custom Cards?
We take deal tracking a step further by giving you a quick and easy way to see which companies have the best pricing on cards. Keep in mind the prices in the chart are pre-sale prices. Once you subtract the savings, these cards can end up cheaper than the greeting cards you find off the shelf! Some of this information may not be easy to find on individual sites, but we've done the leg work for you. Be sure to Check out my price comparison chart before you order! (It's a little further down on the page - but I promise it's worth it. After checking that out, also take a look at the current sales, which you'll find on the deals page.)

In addition to price tracking I enjoy checking out the new features, papers and designs for this season.

2018 Holiday Card Trends

Cards Get Sparkly

One thing I've noticed more of across the board is more glitz and glam. More companies are featuring real foil options for that added sparkle to catch your eye. Pearlescent papers are also more common now and some companies are offering real glitter (in case you don't have enough glitter on the floor from your holiday decorations!)





Magnet Cards

Magnet cards are also continuing to be a popular offering. While I saw them marketed more as "Save the Date", birth announcement options, I've now seen them showing up as a holiday option as well. They look like a typical card but are printed directly onto a magnet. In fact, some companies just have the magnet option among the available traditional paper choices, so you won't have a shortage of designs from which to choose.

Magnet cards are generally more expensive than paper holiday cards, but when they go on sale, they are surprisingly affordable. You'll find them at Photobook America and Mixbook. Snapfish and Shutterfly also have them available, but not with a pre-made holiday design. You could use the companies' online software to easily create a holiday card by using themed embellishments.

Photobook America has a cute holiday version of a set of 4 (shown below) which could be a great alternative to a greeting card. Each magnet is 2.75" square. The set of 4 is $14.99 but is on sale now for 40% off at $8.99.



In terms of bulk orders of magnets, Photobook America appears to have the best pricing thus far with a prepaid deal for 25 cards for $24.99. That brings the price per magnet card to $1.00! (You'll find Photobook America's latest deals under their "Promotions" heading.)

Year in Review

One of my perennial favorites is the year in review card. It also remains a popular card style across companies. Just pick a few of your favorite shots from the past year and share a few written notes highlighting the past year. I recall there was a family friend when I was growing up who would do a yearly newsletter. Theirs was typed on a manual typewriter (*gasp*) and then photocopied onto festive paper. How's that for a "social media" update? Even though I never met them, I really enjoyed reading their yearly greetings. Let's say this is a modern, lot less laborious version!

One year in review card design I like is from Mixbook. I'm drawn to the clean lines, bold graphics and gray neutrals which don't complete with my colorful photos. Mixbook offers the most customizable cards out there. You can change any element, resizing photo boxes and text, change backgrounds, add stickers etc. It can be hard with fixed designs to make your sentiments and photos fit within the constraints of a fixed template if you're a queen of customization like me, but with Mixbook's flexible software, you can change the design to your heart's content! For more details on how I customized this Mixbook card check out this NEW post!

Unique Decorative Trims

Decorated edges are still very popular as well, with an increasing variety of options now available.

The next three cards are by AdoramaPix. These cards feature a unique decorative edge I haven't seen offered elsewhere - two square corners and two rounded corners. What's great about AdoramaPix's holiday card offerings are that decorative edges like this, are provided at no additional charge. Another unique feature, continuing this year at AdoramaPix is hand-drawn artwork. Four different paper choices are also available and they're all included in the base price. If you buy more than one card the price drops dramatically.







Cards for All Occasions

I love to see options available for holidays such as Hanukkah (December 2 - 10), Diwali (November 7) and Kwanzaa (December 16 - January 1). I personally have been excited to find cards for Chinese New Year (February 16, 2018), on Photobook America's site and Snapfish for something unique to give to family. Hanukkah cards can be found at AdoramaPix, Shutterfly and TinyPrints among other companies.





And of course there are always plenty of Happy New Year card designs!

Don't Miss My 2018 Custom Photo Card Guide!

You'll also find more on the latest trends and my best tips on how to make your very own custom cards in my Photo Book Girl's Guide to Custom Photo Cards. To see the latest deals on photo cards and freebies, be sure to bookmark and visit my Photo Deals page now through the end of the year. There is no reason why you should be paying full price for custom cards!

Here's just a sampling of the current cards deals as of the time of this post.

Deal #1

Photobook America

Exclusive PBG Reader Deal

60% off Photobook America - sitewide for PBG Readers!

Coupon Code: AFPBGQ4

Deal Expires: 12/31/2018, 11:59pm PT (Discount does not apply to accessories, pro-series, & flush mount albums. Shipping is not included. Delivery only within country of residence.)

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Deal #2

Mixbook

35% off sitewide + 10 FREE cards with $75 purchase

Coupon Code: PBGHLDY18

Shipping and taxes will apply.

Deal Expires: 11/30/2018 11:59pm PT

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Deal #3

Mixbook

Photobookgirl Exclusive! 40% off photo books and 30% off all other products!

Coupon Code: Click for Code!

This offer applies to all photo books, cards, calendars and home decor products. Excludes labels and photo prints. Coupon will not apply to Montage and Mosaic brands. Maximum of one per customer. Offer cannot be combined with other coupons, vouchers, Groupons, or applied after an order has been placed. Discount applies only to completed projects. No adjustments on previous purchases. Shipping and taxes will apply.

Deal Expires: 11/30/2018 11:59pm PT

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Deal #4

TinyPrints

10 FREE CARDS + 25% off Everything Else at TinyPrints

10 FREE Cards! 10 free Tiny Prints square trim, signature cardstock cards (3x5 folded, 4x5 flat, 5x5, 5x7 flat, 5x7 folded, 5x7 trifold, 5x7 gatefold, foil or glitter cards) through shutterfly.com/tinyprints or our mobile-friendly site. Plus get 25% off everything else at TinyPrints. Promo can only be redeemed once per account and/or billing address. Limit one product or order discount code and one shipping code per order. Taxes, shipping and handling will apply. Other trim, paper and envelope options will incur extra fees. Not valid on Shutterfly branded products. (Make sure to click on the TinyPrints logo at top left to make sure you are on the TinyPrints part of the site.)

Coupon Code: HOLIDAY

Deal Expires: 11/13/2018 11:00pm PT

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Deal #5

Shutterfly

Extended! 50% off Sitewide at Shutterfly!

Coupon Code: None needed

Deal Expires: 11/13/2018 11:00pm PT

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Deal #6

AdoramaPix

PBG Exclusive! $10 off card orders of $50 or more!

Coupon Code: PXPBG10

Deal Expires: 11/30/2018 11:59pm PT

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Wishing you Happy Cardmaking!

*Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a referral fee. Regardless, my opinions are my own and I always give my honest opinion, good or bad.