Free Christmas Card Templates

lisadh by lisadh
Last updated: 24/01/12

Where to Find Free Printable Christmas Card Templates

The web has made it easy for do-it-yourselfers to find great templates for almost everything, including printable Christmas cards. So why not save some money and make your cards a bit more personal by creating your own this year? If you don't know how to get started, here are some tips on what to do and where to go to find a variety of holiday templates. Happy printing!

Before You Get Started...

5 tips to make sure your cards turn out great

Send Free Christmas eCardsPrinting your own Christmas cards can be a lot of fun because you can choose your own a href="http://blog.christmaslettertips.com/2009/07/09/christmas-card-greetings/"Christmas card greetings/a and add your own flair to designs you find online. Using templates can help make the process smooth and fun, but here are some tips to keep in mind before you get started.

b1. Make sure you have enough ink./b Christmas cards are printed in full colors and require a lot of ink. Choosing cards with a lot of white space will help lessen the need for ink, but you" ll="ll" still="still" want="want" to="to" be="be" sure="sure" you="you" have="have" plenty="plenty" of="of" supplies="supplies" print="print" as="as" many="many" cards="cards" />2. Clean your print head. Ink smudges can ruin a card, so be sure your printer is in top shape before you start sending paper through. If you don't know how to

3. Use a high quality print mode. Skip the draft or text modes on your printer and select a higher level of printing, especially if you'll be printing photos. This will make sure the ink appears solid and smooth and the colors are rich.

4. Don't skimp on paper. Your cards will look better if you purchase a heavy weight paper designed especially for printing cards rather than using the regular inkjet paper you use for everyday printing. Splurge on a nice matte or glossy paper to ensure top quality cards.

5. Start early. If you're going to be printing all your cards rather than buying premade ones, be sure to give yourself enough time to get everything printed, signed, addressed and sent. You'll be glad you did!

Christmas Cards, Stationery and More

Sign up for a free trial at American Greetings for access to hundreds of printables

American Greetings is a great place to go for free printable Christmas card templates. The greeting card giant offers a variety of cards for Christmas, Hanukkah and other occasions, and you can get access to all of it by signing up for a free 14-day trial membership. Once signed up, you'll have access to all of the great templates, including folded holiday cards, photo greeting card templates such as the one shown here, holiday stationery, Santa's Nice List certificates, and even do-it-yourself holiday coupon books.

American Greetings makes it easy to customize any of their templates with their online program that allows you to create, save, preview and then print your creations. There's no limit to the number of cards or other projects you can create during your free trial, so check out American Greetings to get started.

Holiday Card Templates from HP

Since HP sells paper, it's no wonder they encourage do-it-yourself Christmas cards. At the HP Activity Center, you'll find a variety of holiday templates, including cards, ornaments, gift tags, recipe cards, coloring pages and more. You'll find plenty of Christmas printables here.

HP has made it easy to edit all of these free projects online with their editing tools. You can add your own text, photos or artwork, and then preview the image before you're ready to print. Instructions are easy to follow, and you can import photos directly from HP's Snapfish site.

Xerox Christmas Printables

Xerox's card templates give you a lot of choices. Many have options to be opened in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat pdf, and you'll find matching stationery, gift tags and gift wrap with some of the cards. So if you want to coordinate all your holiday printables, this is a great place to go. They offer a nice selection of themes, including two Hanukkah designs and a photo card template that allows you to add your own photo or image to the card. Greeting cards are available in A4 and half-fold sizes.

E-Cards and Printable Holiday Cards With a 30-Day Free Trial

Some of the best card sites on the web for printable cards as well as e-cards are American Greetings and Blue Mountain. These sites charge a fee for continued use of their service, but you can get full access to the site and thousands of great printable projects with a free 30-day trial.

Print your own cards, matching envelopes, holiday stationery, gift tags and much more during your trial, and get access to thousands of e-cards.

Free Templates from Microsoft

Microsoft has a variety of free holiday card templates, as well as postcards, mailing labels and stationery for the season. You'll find templates here that are designed to be used with MS Word, Excel, Publisher, Access and PowerPoint. You can also filter the results to see only designs for specific software, such as Microsoft Word. Simply look for the "Filter by Product" icons in the top left hand sidebar of the page.

Try Hallmark Card Studio

Templates for more than 6700 cards and projects

If you're willing to spend a one-time fee, Hallmark Card Studio can provide templates for thousands of projects, including photo cards. This program also helps you out by including fonts and sentiments you can use with your cards, and allows you to send customized cards via email with just one click. Definitely worth a look if you'd prefer not to hunt all over the web to find free Christmas card templates.

Nova Development US Hallmark Card Studio 2011 [Old Version]

Amazon Price: $19.99 (as of 02/15/2012)Buy Now

--Commemorate events and bridge the miles between family and friends with custom calendars, photo frames, stationery, invitations, scrapbooks, certificates and more

--6700+ Hallmark cards and projects for all occasions--birthdays, holidays, weddings and more

-- Exclusive Hallmark fonts and sentiments, 1,200+ new designs, and 16,000+ clip art images: Complement your cards with sensational artwork

-- Easily add your own photos to cards and enhance them using Card Studio's digital photo editor

-- Send your customized cards and projects via e-mail with just one click

Create a Free Animated Christmas Card

Share holiday moments!For free digital Christmas cards, Smilebox is one of my favorite sites. It's incredibly easy to use, has a great selection of designs, and - best of all - offers it all for free. You can create a digital card or slideshow using one of their hundreds of templates and send it to all your friends and family at no cost, if you don't mind a few ads on the side. Or if you don't like ads, you can upgrade to the premium, ad-free version of any design for only $2.99 or sign up for the 14-day free trial and enjoy all the premium benefits for free for two weeks.

More Free Christmas Stuff

For more Christmas freebies, visit Christmas Coupons 365 or the Squidoo pages below.
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Free Santa Letters

Create your own printable Santa letters

santa letter templateThe web is also a great place to find other kinds of free Christmas templates, such as letters from Santa.

For free Santa letter templates, sign up for a free trial membership at American Greetings and look for the Santa letters in the Christmas Print and Create category, or personalize and print free Santa letters online at Free Santa Letters.net.

You can also get free printable Santa letters (in .pdf or MS Word format) or inexpensive printable Santa letters you can personalize in MS Word format at Christmas Letter Tips.com.

If You Want to Get Really Creative...

100 Christmas Card Ideas

If you can't find any templates you like on the Web, there are books that can offer many other ideas. Here is one with plenty of ideas to get you going.

Quick & Clever Christmas Cards: 100 Fast and Festive Cards and Tags

Amazon Price: $1.72 (as of 02/15/2012)Buy Now

There are other books that focus on creating cards for all seasons and occasions, but this one gives you great ideas just for the Christmas holiday. And with 100 different projects, you're sure to find ideas for everyone on your card list.

More Free Christmas Stuff

Every day in December, Amazon will be offering free Christmas music downloads

Paper to Print 'Em

For best results, use the right paper

If you want your printable Christmas cards to look their best, you'll want to use something heavier than the typical 20 lb. white inkjet paper. Look for heavier grades of paper and consider a matte paper for regular cards and a glossy paper for photo cards.
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More Help with Christmas Cards and Letters

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Video Tutorial

Learn how to make a special holiday card with this video

Easy Christmas Card Tutorial
by ashleyabat | video info

91 ratings | 102,189 views
curated content from YouTube

More Sites with Free Christmas Card Templates?

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Also, check out the Christmas freebies on Christmas Coupons 365.com.

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This Happy Snowman page written by

lisadh

I'm Lisa, a Giant Squid with two kids, two dogs, four cats, and a Squidoo addiction. You can learn more on my lensography.

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