Home And Family

Most cards sent during the holidays are traditional folded greeting cards or flat photo cards. Are you looking for something a little different? Something that won’t get lost in the sea of other cards? Maybe something you can personalize? Then here’s a list of unusual Christmas cards that might be just what you’re looking for.

1. Round Christmas Cards
There’s no better way to break out of the common Christmas card mold than by choosing an unusual shape. How about a circle? Yes, a circle. Some card shops now sell clever round cards that provide a place for a photo and your personal message. There’s also a grommet in the top of these circular cards, so your card recipients will be able to hang your masterpiece on their tree. Some even come with punch-out pieces that can be used as tree ornaments.

2. Pop-Up Christmas Cards
If you thought pop-up images were only for children’s picture books, think again. You can now buy Christmas cards with clever, whimsical pop-ups inside. Imagine your card recipient’s face when Santa pops up from the card!

3. All-in-One Christmas Card/Letter
If you write an annual Christmas letter, you might enjoy some of these new unusual Christmas cards that let you incorporate your letter right into the card. No more stuffing a separate piece of paper in the card! You can find several designs online, including tri-fold cards with room for a short letter on one panel and photos on the other panels, or flat cards with a photo on one side and your letter on the back. Which one works best for you will depend on how long your Christmas letters usually are.

4. Tri-Fold Christmas Photo Cards
When it comes to photo cards, more is often better, which may be why tri-fold cards are becoming more popular. These unusual Christmas cards give you more space to share your holiday message or images. Some offer lots of places for little photos, while others allow you to upload a photo that spreads across two of the panels. Still others include a place for you to write a Christmas letter or message.

5. Musical Christmas Cards
Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Musical greeting cards are still not the norm, but they are becoming more common, and you can often find them in local stores. If you’re shopping online, check the mega-retailers like Amazon and eBay.

6. Gatefold Christmas Cards
Like tri-fold cards, gatefold cards have three panels when you open them, but rather than folding in an accordion fashion as tri-folds do, these unusual Christmas cards have two outer panels that close like doors over the front of the card. When you open the doors, the card folds out into three sections. You can find these kind of cards in several designs, usually with a place for a photo in the middle section and text on either side.

7. Personalized Digital Christmas Cards
If you really want an unusual Christmas card, go all-digital and create an online photo card personalized with your own images and text. Online services such as Smilebox now make it easy to create great-looking cards that are much more personal than the standard animated e-cards that only allow room for you to add a short message at the end.