11 Weeks of Wonder #1- Picking the Perfect Holiday Card!

73 days.
That’s all that stands between us and the 5am whirlwind of reindeer-covered wrapping paper known as Christmas. That leaves only 11 weekends left to prepare for the big day! It’s time to get busy planning, shopping, wrapping, and baking your way to a fabulous holiday season.

Today I’m kicking off a new series called “11 Weeks of Wonder“. Each Sunday, from now until Christmas, I will be sharing a special holiday themed post with you. There will be delicious recipes, gorgeous gift ideas, DIY decorations, and lots of extra special ways to make your holiday season truly sparkle. Who knows, there may even be a give away of some fabulous products!

Today’s post is all about my favorite way to kick-off the holiday season- finding the perfect Christmas card! I hope you enjoy this special post, and that you come back each Sunday for more tinsel-tastic holiday inspiration!

One of my favorite holiday traditions is creating our annual family Christmas card. Each year I choose a special theme for our card and then spend hours picking the perfect outfits and planning a photo shoot. Over the years, our card themes have ranged from whimsical, to classic, to down right silly. One year the theme was reindeer, another it was Christmas jammies, and last year it was snow balls (we had snow very early)!

Awhile back, when our oldest son was still a baby, I chose candy canes for our card’s theme. I set up a photo shoot with him and a giant peppermint stick (seriously, that thing was almost as big as he was)! I envisioned him cutely posing with the candy cane and having adorable photos for our Christmas card. Little did I know, he would end up loving the taste of peppermint, and tried to devour the whole candy cane! The end result was a sticky, candy covered baby, and a half eaten peppermint stick. I thought for sure that the pictures would be a disaster, but in the end, they made for a truly memorable Christmas card!

For this year’s Christmas card, I want to do a beach theme. We are fortunate to live only a stone’s throw away from the beautiful shorelines of the Chesapeake Bay, and it’s where we spend a lot of time as a family. I’m determined to get a head start this year and plan our holiday card early to kick off the season in style!

It’s time for me to get busy finding outfits, and hoping that my boys don’t end up in the water during the photo shoot. (Who am I kidding… I know they will both be covered in sand and soaking wet!) In the event that I’m able to get any cute family pictures before they romp in the water, this gorgeous design from Minted is destined to be our 2014 Christmas card. I am in love with the little pop of sparkle from the real foil, and the clean, crisp style is perfect for a beachy theme. I can picture it now… fancy gold foil, stylish, festive font, and two handsome, albeit sand-covered, little boys. Now that sounds like a Christmas card worth sending!

Minted is my favorite source for photo cards, and I’m so excited about their all new holiday collection! These cards are absolutely gorgeous, and there are hundreds of styles to choose from. Each one was skillfully designed to be unique and they truly highlight the spirit of the holidays. If you want to make a stylish and stunning impression on everyone on your Christmas list, then you must check out Minted’s new collection.

Another reason that Minted is my go-to source for Christmas cards is their unbeatable quality. Once you’ve selected and edited your beautiful card, you can choose from several different types of cardstock for them to be printed on. Even the standard option is thick and luxurious, the type of cardstock usually reserved for fine stationary. This year Minted is even offering the option for “double thick” paper, a premium cardstock that is sure to make a great impression!

If you were planning to wait until November to tackle your holiday card, then listen up!
Minted has a special offer for all of the early birds out there. You can get a 15% discount if you place your order by Monday, October 13th by using promo code “EARLYBIRD14″ at checkout.
I know, there’s no way to plan your glamorous, sparkly, full-of-Christmas-magic photo shoot by then, but Minted has a really cool feature called “Buy Now, Personalize Later“. This allows you to select the card style that you want, buy it using the discount code, and then finish customizing it later when you have your photo ready! Minted will hold your card order until you’re ready to finish personalizing the card. Now you have no excuse to wait until November

Here are my top 10 picks from Minted’s new holiday collection. They are all so pretty! Which one do you like best?

Are you planning to send a photo card this holiday season? Which of the designs from Minted’s new collection do you like the most? I hope you take advantage of Minted’s EARLYBIRD14 discount, and if you do, send a card on over to me, would ya?