5 Ways To Save Money On Greeting Cards!

Defy "the man" by not sending greeting cards at all! It's not the end of the world if you don't send Christmas cards to every single person in your address book. Those distant relatives or acquaintances at work - they don't really need cards, and I'm sure you won't offend them if they don't get one.

If you simply must buy cards at the store, at the very least, don't pay full price!! Why not take this 60% discount on holiday greetings from Carlton cards with this printable coupon.

I have a friend who likes to dabble in Adobe Photoshop, and she uses her digital photos of her relatives and friends and makes greeting cards on the PC. She saves these home made cards onto a CD, and goes to Superstore Photolab and prints them out.

It usually works out at about 15c for each print. They also sometimes have special discount offers on with the possibility of further savings.

Arts And Crafts

If you have a few younger kids in the family, why not get out the arts and crafts equipment and see what you can come up with. Glitter and glue is obligatory! Grandma and Auntie Bess would definitely appreciate the cards a whole lot more. You can have a look at the Canon website for some great ideas. How about some homemade popup cards:

• Popup angel
• Reindeer
• Christmas tree

If you've saved all your old greetings cards from last year, let the kids cut them up and use these as starting points to make new cards.

Possible Free Stuff

You can get 10 free greeting cards from Hallmark Cards. Some of them might have a red "SAMPLE" text on them. But the kids could still use them and cut them up in the arts and crafts example above.

Downloading & Printing Cards

Check on google for a few sites such as HooverWebDesign or magicalkingdom.These kind of sites allow you to download and print pre-made cards and templates. You can easily print them out on your own printer.

TIP: Always hand deliver your home made creations to save you on the mailing costs!

Canadian Sites

An example would be VistaPrint Canada. They do many different deals, but always keep in mind that bulk buying is far far cheaper. For example, their photo Christmas cards cost $4.99 for a pack of 10, which works out at 50c per card. Maybe you could buy 30 for $9.99, meaning the cost is $0.33 per card. Shipping is extra, but free on a $50 spend. Remember that DealGuild give you 11% cashback for shopping at VistaPrint!

The Wal-Mart Canada Photocentre Canada is another option. If you create an account, they will credit it with 50 free 6x4 prints!! Just make sure you click the link saying "free prints" in their welcome email. You can then order 50 free prints. Why not choose free in store collection as well!? This idea obviously isn't actual greeting cards, but if you're just printing out photos, you can pop them in with your regular cards.

At Kodak Gallery Canada, they sell personalised holiday cards. They have religious cards, whimsical cards, chic cards - many to choose from !! A pack of 10 starts at $4.99. Don't forget your 20 free prints just for registering on Kodak Gallery Canada. Coupon code "TURKEY20" gives you a $20% discount on a $30 spend (Expires November 27th 2008!)

Sign up @ PhotoLab Canada online and they will give you 50 free prints for registering. You can collect these prints from Extra Foods, Loblaws, Superstore, Fortinos, or Provigo with a PhotoLab. Greetings cards prices seem to start at $0.97, so are a bit more expensive than some of the other options mentioned in this thread.

Non-Canadian Sites

Some other sites around the world do great offers on photo greeting cards, and various holiday gifts.

Artscow.com: ArtsCow is a website from Hong Kong, which ships worldwide. I've read great things about them on various forums - people are very pleased with the results. On creation of an account, they credit you with many freebie offers. To see them, click "my account," then click "credit & discount" on the left hand side. E.g. the custom photo cards are from US$0.49, and also offer bulk discounts. Have a read of this post on DealGuild which details how to get 40 free prints and only pay for the shipping fees.

Shutterfly.com: ShutterFly is based in the US, but they also ship up to Canada. They offer customized photo cards starting at US$0.36. Remember that DealGuild offer up to $26 cashback for registrations here. Don't forget to google for coupon codes before you make your purchases there - you might be able to save a bit more.

Snapfish.com: SnapFish is a digital printing online website. They are also US based but ship to Canada. You can get up to $10 cashback from SnapFish when you use DealGuild!! Have a look in the coupon section to see if there are any discount codes you can apply to your order. You can order a custom card from US$0.29%u2026 again, the costs depend on how many you buy. Shipping is extra too, dependant on quantity.

Zazzle.com: Zazzle personalised gifts can sell you a customised holiday card. The coupon code "HOLIDAYCARDS" gives 25% discount on orders of 7+ custom cards (Promo code expires November 27th 2008). Zazzle is a bit more pricey than a few other sites. Greeting cards start at $1.25 per card. Bulk discounts do apply and you can get 9.75% cashback from Dealguild.

Tiny Prints: TinyPrints is a US based site. This might be good if you have a flickr account. It also accepts photos from Picasa and SmugMug, or you can upload directly to their site. Use coupon code "FLICKRTP20" to give $20 discount on orders of $99+. Shipping to Canada is a flat rate of $9 (not too bad).

Last year, a good friend of mine sent out electronic greeting cards. She believes that ecards are environmentally friendly, as you just trash the cards after Christmas anyway. (Even though I think she sent the ecard so she wouldn't have to spend money!)

Free E-Greeting Card Websites

I found some free e-cards sites on google - here are their Christmas sections:

• Sympatico: Quite a few online greeting cards to choose from here.
• HGTV.ca: Free e-greeting cards here - click "holiday".
• BibleSociety: Many Christian e-cards to choose from the Bible Society Canada.
• Canada: The Christian cards might be a good idea for some family members.
  
• Canoe: Quite a lot of free ecards here - you can customize backgrounds and colours.

Appropriate Cards

It's a good idea to send cards that carry a personal note and show the person you're thinking about them. For example, if your friend is a computer programmer, send them a jokey card about computers... or if they're a waitress, email cards about customer service, etc. If you'd like to do this, just pop your chosen keywords into a google search and browse the results.

Here's an idea - if there is a TV show of which they are a big fan, have a look at the official website of that show - you might be able to send free e-cards. E.g. See the ecards on the "Heroes" website. They are not themed for Christmas but you can add" Happy Christmas inside yourself.

Make Your Own

Did you know you can make your own free email cards? Check out this website - Phreetings. Choose a topic, and Phreetings will search flickr for results. I typed in "Christmas" and it came up with loads of great pics. You can add text, customize the colours, and it will make a unique URL for your ecard. You can then email this link to your friends. Here's one I made earlier!

Create A Greetings Page

Instead of sending an e-greeting, why not create a custom page. You can then email the link to everyone in your address book. E.g. Make a page on Squidoo. Put anything you want on there, a Christmas greeting, family pics, contact details etc etc. Let your imagination run riot!

In the sales after Christmas, why not buy lots of reduced price Christmas cards in your local stores. Keep them until next year!

P.S. Images courtesy of Greenman 2008, ShawnXian, Yankees Man, Kristen Mary, and peggy..