Every year I have the best of intentions to send out Christmas cards. Most years I manage to squeak in just under the wire, when I remember my cards once those of my friends start coming in the mail. If you get my card on December 27th, it still counts, right? But last year something happened and I didn't send cards out at all. Perhaps you remember- I had a baby, then my husband moved out of town and I lived alone with three kids, and then we moved right before Christmas? Needless to say, I didn't send out birth announcements, let alone Christmas cards. This year I was contacted by the nice folks at
Shutterfly and given the opportunity to try out their
Christmas cards and to give away a few batches of my own. SWEET!
I'd love to say that in my more organized years I've always ordered cards from Shutterfly, but that would not be true. I have, however, ordered a couple of
little photo books (these are terrific gifts, I try to do one annually for the grandparents. I missed that last year too.) And I'd spent an inordinate amount of time looking at all the fun gifts (I am especially drawn to the
notebooks.) For the Pirate's second birthday I ordered pirate
invitations from Shutterfly, which I'd love to show you as they were adorable, but I don't have a clue where to find one. I see they have a Star Wars one now, my boys would DIE. I'll have to remember that for next year.
I'm not sure which design we're going to go with this year, a lot of it will depend on the picture I eventually use. (The one we haven't taken yet, better get on that!) I tend to lean towards fun cards, as opposed to elegant, but you can certainly get either from Shutterfly. I'll probably start out looking for a card that allows four photos. I'd fill in one of each child and one of the whole family. (This assumes, of course, that we get a good picture of the family!)
I'm going to give away three sets of 25 cards to my lovely readers. To enter all you have to do is tell me your favorite gift ever*. If you don't tell me your favorite, you will be disqualified. The first winner will be chosen subjectively, by the answer I like best. The other two will be drawn using the Random Number generator. Giveaway ends on November 10th.
*edited: I orginally meant that you ever received, but I guess you could go the other way too.
My favorite gift ever was actually one I gave. When I was still dating my husband I gave him a gift certificate to go sky diving. He was beyond shocked and thrilled. He said it was the best gift he'd ever gotten in his life. It was so fun to get a reaction out of someone that is usually pretty staid.
ReplyDeleteOh, I am SO bad at getting my cards done on time!!! These look great!
ReplyDeleteOkay - my best Christmas gift ever? Hmmmmm - toss up between my amazing Janome sewing machine that I got last year (it has an external drive which is amazing!) and what I got for Christmas when I was four years old which was an entire ensemble to play cowboys and Indians with my best (boy)friend next door: a hobby horse (he was very cool), bows, arrows (fake of course), a wild headdress with real feathers, a holster with a fake gun, and a long barrel toy rifle. Yes, I was a total tomboy :)
My fave gift ever? It's a tie between my Kindle and my iPod. I use those two devices DAILY and they bring me much joy.
ReplyDeleteLast year I had the Christmas blues so I bought store bought cards to mail out. Then at the last minute, my kids demanded that I do the picture cards so I had to thrown them together quickly. They came out great but this year I must do them sooner.
I usually have good intentions of getting the cards out early, but typically they are running late. It usually is taking the picture that keeps us from getting the out on time.
ReplyDeleteFavorite Gift ever... My husband gives the best gifts. Year before last we gave each other tickets to Wicked. Love it!! If we are talking about stuff. My longest best friend gave me a set of metal butterflies years ago. I adore tem. Every time I see them (they are in my living room) I think of her, but also of my childhood because my mother had a very similar set. Love them!
O man, I totally use Shutterfly for Christmas cards and we just did our second book through them. Awesome!!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen the Star Wars one. I am so going to show my husband. He's going to LOVE that one.
Hmmmmm...my favorite gift EVER. Well -- my friend made me all these burp cloths and stuff which were totally perfect and awesome. Is it cheesy to say Little Man? My mom gave me her old keyboard piano. It doesn't get much use now but it will. Charlie Dog? Wow, this is a difficult question!!
The best gift I ever recieved was my Zune!
ReplyDeleteI actually made up cards last year and didn't send them out... My sister-in-law died of cancer right before Christmas and life just got crazy with other things... I really should try and do better this year!
ReplyDeleteTo help, maybe I will enter for these ones. I think the best gift I have ever received was my e-reader. The guy gave it to me last year. Considering his sister had just died, it was very special that he remembered me in all of the chaos... I had been talking about wanting one before we even knew his sister was sick.
My favorite gift was from my husband.,,,he gave me a pair of rain boots from target. They were incredibly cute and even cuter is the thought of my husband walking into target voluntarily and looking for rain boots...he's a special guy :)
ReplyDeleteFave gift--- engagement ring from my husband!
ReplyDeletelittlegray88 at yahoo dot com
I know I am so so lame, but the salad spinner my in-laws gave me? Perhaps the gift I have most loved and used.
ReplyDeleteI sound like a very sad person.
i think my favorite gift was a massage package!
ReplyDeletemy favorite gift is books!
ReplyDeleteRica
Hmmm...I think my favorite gift ever was my dog. I'm so not a "stuff" person, but this dog has brightened every day for over 5 years.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite gift ever ... is on my feet right now. From my first Mother's Day -- a pair of plush cowboy boot slippers, in black, with roses and vines appliqued on the side. They are the most perfect footwear the world has ever seen. And you... you are jealous.
ReplyDeleteI feel like a cheater for putting in a comment now, but my favorite christmas present ever is the weirdest one. An electric toothbrush from my parents last year. At first my sisters and I were all WTF about it, but LOVE.
ReplyDeleteAnd you want to be on the ipad review list? I want to be on your review list! Cool things lately.