It’s true that a professional photographer can create a one-of-a-kind image that will certainly make your holiday photo cards look great. But with today’s user-friendly digital cameras, you can also create great-looking photos yourself.

Many people like to take a photo of the family in front of the Christmas tree. They simply put the camera on a tripod, stand in front of the tree and snap. But there are plenty of ways to make this type of photo more creative. One idea for getting a great Christmas photo card in front of the tree is to have family members dress in opposite colors – for instance, the men could wear red and the women could wear green. Or everyone can wear the same contrasting shirts and pants.

If you’d like to have a little fun, have everyone wear reindeer antlers or Santa hats. If your normal holiday photo just includes a standard photo of everyone looking at the camera and smiling, this will be a fun alternative. You can also turn a standard photo of everyone in front of the tree into a more whimsical image simply by selecting new poses and adding some variations in height and perspective.

For instance, you could have one person standing on a ladder placing an ornament on the tree, while others stand. If you’re a couple with a child, you could even have the two of you standing while holding the child in a horizontal position in front of you. Or you could all lie down on the floor with your heads together and have someone stand above and shoot down. Be creative!

Another idea is to take the photo in front of a Christmas-themed backdrop rather than at home in front of the tree. Check out the holiday displays at the local mall or other area businesses. Since businesses are looking to pull in the Christmas shoppers, they’ll often have colorful display featuring Christmas scenes. You can usually get pictures of your family in front of these displays. But if a particular business won’t let you do that, head for a smaller shop and just ask. Most business owners are happy to oblige.

For more ideas, just look at any website offering photo Christmas cards. The sample images you’ll find on these cards will give you some great ideas. Then go have fun! And remember – the perfect Christmas picture is the one where everyone in the photo is enjoying themselves and the camera has captured the moment so you can enjoy it for years to come.

The Internet has made it easy to go digital, but if you’re still a fan of paper Christmas cards, you can also use the web to find great paper Christmas cards that give you options you won’t find at your local Wal-Mart. Here are a few places to shop online for great printed holiday greetings.

PhotoWorks
PhotoWorks has a wonderful selection of photo Christmas cards. In addition to traditional photo card designs, they also offer many unusual designs you won’t find elsewhere, such as tri-fold and oversize cards that can include your Christmas letter printed as part of the card and punch-out cards that can also double as Christmas ornaments.

Gallery Collection
Gallery Collection offers hundreds of traditional paper Christmas cards for both business and personal use. They have a great selection of holiday images on their cards, though you won’t find any of the popular photo Christmas cards here. They can customize your cards with your own printed message for a personal touch.

My Good Greetings
This site only sells cards made of 100% recycled Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-Certified card stock (50% post-consumer waste) and pairs them with 100% recycled envelopes manufactured with 100% post-consumer recovered fiber. They then send their eco-friendly cards with 100% recycled labels and recycled shipping materials, and they offset their carbon footprint through Greenshipper. If you want to celebrate a green Christmas, this is a good place to shop.

CardStore.com
The wonderful thing about CardStore.com is that they make your card mailing easy. For a very small fee, they will send cards out for you. Yes, they do the hard work! You simply need to sort through hundreds of great card designs, customize and place your order, and give them the mailing details. Sending out cards was never this easy!

Paper Christmas cards not only help you say hello to friends and family during Christmas, but they give recipients something to touch and enjoy for the entire season. There’s something about the texture and the smell of paper that cannot be replaced with an e-card or phone call. So go paper!

If you’re looking for a way to lessen your impact on the environment during the holidays, consider green Christmas cards. There are now a number of stores that offer cards made from recycled paper, printed with soy inks and/or created with reusable energy. Here are a few places to find these green Christmas cards.

My Good Greetings
My Good Greeting’s Christmas photo cards are made of 100% recycled Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-Certified card stock (50% post-consumer waster) and paired with recycled envelopes manufactured with 100% post-consumer recovered fiber. In addition, they use 100% recycled labels and recycled shipping materials. You’ll find over 100 green Christmas cards here, such as the design shown above, as well as cards and invitations for all occasions. They even offset their carbon footprint through Greenshipper. This is a great place to shop for green Christmas cards.

Gallery Collection
You’ll find two types of green Christmas cards in their Environmentally Friendly holiday card category – recycled paper cards and wind power cards. Cards are marked with icons to let you easily see which ones are made at low-impact, emissions-free mills powered by wind-generated, renewable energy, which ones are made from recycled paper, and which ones are made from raw materials that have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Fine Stationery
Although they don’t have a category specifically for recycled greetings, Fine Stationery has over a dozen designs you’ll find if you search for recycled Christmas cards on their site. Some contain post-consumer fiber. You’ll just need to read the descriptions to discover which ones.

Pear Tree
In addition to offering a nice selection of regular recycled holiday greeting cards, Pear Tree also offers recycled photo cards that contain up to 100% post-consumer fibers.

Holiday Classics
Holiday Classics offers a variety of recycled holiday cards, some of which are also printed with soy ink. Detailed card descriptions help you determine which cards have 100% recycled content, post-consumer content or soy ink printing.

Sierra Club
The Sierra Club’s holiday cards offer beautiful images of nature on them and come on recycled paper with soy inks. Plus, you’ll be supporting their environmental efforts with each purchase.

Greenfield Paper
In addition to offering 16 recycled card designs, Greenfield Paper also offers recycled gift wrap.

RedStamp.com offers over 30 environmentally friendly Christmas photo cards, and they make it easy to find them with a link to their Eco-Friendly offerings. Descriptions for many of the cards give the post-consumer recycled paper content, and some are printed with soy inks and created with renewable energy.