Happy Friday, loves! The weekend is finally here and my girls and I are more than ready to go into full holiday mode! We are kicking off our holiday week in Waco for the Baylor game and then we will be head back to pre-bake some items for Thanksgiving. We plan on heading to my in-laws on Wednesday, so we are trying to get all of our ducks in a row before leaving – cooking, packing, and going to the mail center.
Y’all, I can’t believe I’m saying this right now, but we already have our Christmas cards addressed and ready to send out! It sounds crazy, but it feels so so good. Last week I shared tips on how to make Christmas card photos stress-free, and today I wanted to share my experience ordering my cards with you. It’s truly been so easy and painless this year!
Before we start chatting about Christmas cards though, I wanted to say a quick word about our outfits. My dress is from Chicwish and has been a favorite for a couple of years now. The fabric is heavy enough to work in the Fall or Winter and looks great layered under a leather jacket or pea coat. Y’all know by now that I’m a huge fan of whites and neutral hues, but I think winter white is a great option for anyone for Christmas cards.
The girls’ dresses are my favorite though! They are from Cecil and Lou and are the perfect holiday plaid. The short sleeve version sold out quickly, but the long sleeve is just as cute! If you haven’t heard of Cecil and Lou, please let me introduce you to one of the best brands for smocked dresses. It’s founded by two friends/mothers that wanted to provide well-made smocked clothing to other kids at an affordable price. And they knocked it out of the park! All of their dresses are right around $30 and so dang adorable.
If you’re wondering how the quality is, it’s great! I have washed the girls dresses several times and they held up so well. They’re also well constructed. My girls are so funny about how clothing feels and they have never complained about these dresses being “itchy” or “scratchy.”
NOTE: If you’re still looking for Thanksgiving outfits for your little ones, check out our dresses from Cecil and Lou. We will most definitely be wearing them on Thanksgiving Day!
Isn’t this picture just so telling? We love how it perfectly portrays our real life – our girls constantly running circles around us. Haha.
This year we took our Christmas photos early – in October as opposed to November. It felt a little early, but it was nice to have them finished and out of the way. Then we were able to order our Christmas cards and receive them before mid-November!
In years passed we’ve used a different card company every year. We’ve never had a bad experience, but never a great one either. This year though, we partnered with Minted and I can’t tell you guys how easy it was! From the moment you start browsing their designs to the arrival of your cards, here’s why we will belong-time fans of Minted:
- endless design options – their designs range from your traditional photo cards (our personal favorite) to foil pressed to letterpressed to ornament cards. I love that you can pick a card that fits to your personal style.
- free recipient addressing – yes, you read that right. If you order your cards through Minted, you will get free recipient addressing. AKA you’re saving yourself hours of addressing envelopes by hand!
- Free personalized card styling – this feature was new to me and it’s so cool! You can use Minted’s “text us your photo” service to make picking your holiday card even easier! All you do is text your picture to their number and then they send you back 5 holiday card designs FOR FREE. So neat right? Again, another big time saver!
- they support independent artists – all of MInted’s designs are created by independent artists. This didn’t really matter to me before, but it is now because of my sister. My uber talented sister is a graphic designer and has her own card line. I see how hard it is and what neat talent there is amongst independent artists. I think some of the best designs come from a one man show, so I’m glad to see them supporting independent artists.
PS – right now you can get 15% off your cards with code: MERRY
top: old navy | pants: similar | scarf: mark & graham | shoes: similar | sunnies: karen walker
dress: chicwish | girls’ dresses: cecil & lou c/o (similar)
photography: fort lion studio
