Giveaway: A bit of holiday help

Where do you stand on mailing things? Have you gone entirely digital or do you still fall back on mailing a good old fashioned note?

I'm a big fan of more traditional methods. If I get an invitation to something in the mail, I know they really want me there and that I wasn't just included because I was in their email contacts. I'm a huge believer in handwritten thank you notes. In fact I get a bit prickly about it when they don't come in a timely fashion, or at all. I have no problem with casual thank yous and invitations via email, but to me the sentiment means so much more in a handwritten note or card. And I love sending and receiving Christmas cards.

I don't begrudge people who don't sent holiday cards. I know that they are busy or money is a little tight and it's an easy thing to cut. But I certainly hope that the tradition of sending holiday cards endures well past my time on Earth.

Followers of this blog probably know that holiday cards are kind of a big deal in our house. Ever since Hudson was a puppy when we stuck a Santa hat on his head and turned it into a card, we've featured our dogs on our cards. In fact, I have actually met friends of friends who say, "Oh, you're the people with the dog cards."

Making photo holiday cards used to be a much more difficult task, but now you can design them online and preview your design with no problem. And Minted has some great designs.

I used to put a lot of work into putting the dogs in situations that could make a card all on their own, but the problem with that is that you end up being a little limited in what photos you can choose from. I like some of the card designs that get the message across with just a really nice picture, not something that is necessarily holiday related. I'm sort of loving the simplicity of this design but there are so many great ones. I usually mock up about three cards and then choose

Anyway, a good picture always helps and this year I got myself a remote and a tripod so I'm hoping it will be a little easier to take the photos with the dogs. I can't tell you the amount of crabbiness that has ensued in some other years when getting a good photo gets way too frustrating.

Here are some of the photos we've used on cards in the past. I get a little weepy even thinking about this year's card because the old boy is getting very old and I know one of these years will be his last card. :( Still, lots of good memories in these photos. My favorite will always be the series with the snowman where Hudson is eating the carrot in the last one and Rita is looking at him like he's in big trouble.

Here's the fun part. Minted is offering a $50 gift card to their shop (you can use it on holiday cards, invitations or any of the cool personalized stuff they have on the site) to one lucky reader. Oh and it should be mentioned: They will address your cards for you! Think about all the time that will save you. And that's time you can spend writing a note on the card, which I think is much nicer than a handwritten address.

To enter, just use the Rafflecopter widget below. For an additional entry, leave a comment telling me if you send out cards and if you save the cards you get from friends and family every year. I'll announce a winner next Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

a Rafflecopter giveaway