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Christmas is decidedly different this year for sure.
Normally it’s my favourite time of the year. I start buying Christmas presents in about August and by mid-November my shopping is pretty much done. December it then set aside for festive jollity – outdoor candlelit carol concerts, Christmas fairs that smell of mulled wine and spices, and delicious and extravagant meals out with friends.
2020 is a different kettle of fish though isn’t it? December this year is going to be about chilly walks in the park with friends and a thermos and the odd dinner sat in a pub beer garden, huddled around the patio heater for warmth.
Christmas shopping has been harder too with shops locked down during November making it more difficult to choose gifts. I know that online shopping is a Godsend for a lot of people, but I really like to be able to see things in real life when I’m buying gifts. You get a much nicer feel for things then.
And then there are all of those Christmas sundries that honestly, I’ve not even thought about yet. I’m thinking Christmas chocolates, crackers, gift tags and Christmas cards – all the bits you pick up through the year because you spot them in the shops. Only if you’re not in the shops…
With Christmas cards I thought I might try something a little different this year and design my own online. I’ve made homemade wrapping paper before, so I knew I had it in me.
I use a programme called Canva a lot when I’m designing graphics and images for my blog and social media, so I thought it might be fun to try my hard at using it for something more personal.
Canva is so easy to use, and gives you loads of options for the size and shape of your design, as well as providing lots of free graphics and images. Alternatively you can upload your own images and create Christmas cards that feature family photos, pets, or your own festive scenes.
Another thing you can do with Canva is to upload your own custom fonts. You do need a premium membership for this but Canva offers a 30 day free trial so if it’s for a special occasion like Christmas then a premium Canva membership doesn’t have to cost you anything.
I browsed the free fonts at Font Bundles and picked out one called Albertho, which I thought had a nice festive vibe. I downloaded the files easily, and then uploaded it to Canva. It was very simple to do, just go into the list of fonts and click ‘upload a font’ at the bottom of the list.
All I had to do then was pick a Christmas card template, upload my own image and change the font for Merry Christmas. I went for a picture of one of my cats, Humphrey. I’m not sure if you can tell but this was taken in winter when we had a lot of snow – Humphrey is gazing out at a snow covered garden.
It looks good right?
What’s nice about designing your own Christmas cards like this is that you have a lot of flexibility over how you use the designs. You can print them out if you want to and turn them into real life cards to send in the post, or if you want a cheaper and more straightforward option you can simply save your designs as pdf documents and email them out to friends and family.
Canva also have a selection of Christmas card designs where you have the option to order directly from Canva, once you’ve completed your designs. Canva will turn your designs into premium Christmas cards and deliver them straight to your door in just a matter of days. (These seems expensive I know but it’s cheaper for bigger quantities.)
The beauty of using a programme like Canva is that it’s very easy to personalise your Christmas card designs too, just making copies and adding different names. Everyone gets their very own individual card then, for very little extra effort.
In my card for example, I could easily change the photo too, perhaps choosing a cute baby picture or a snowy scene for the non-cat lovers in my family. (Although to be honest then if they don’t love cats I might not even send them a card.) It couldn’t be easier though to design your own, easy, bespoke Christmas cards with Canva and Font Bundles.
Happy Christmas and here’s hoping for a much better 2021!