Christmas Cards - and a giveaway at the end!

I've faced the reality. There's just no way I'm going to be able to make Christmas cards this year - I don't have the spare time...mainly because any spare time I have will be spent crafting holiday gifts. Enter the wonderful folks at Shutterfly.  I'm going to use them again this year to do photo cards.  Last year, they did a great offer with bloggers - and I have been offered an opportunity to participate again this year...and do a give-away, too!  Fun!

But first, you need to feel the angst of choosing along with me. ;) Last year, I chose the "Starlight Joy" card - which they have this year, too, and again, it works great with my photo.  Here's last year's card...in case you didn't see it (you obviously forgot to send me your address!!)...

You know that I'm using this photo for the 2011 cards, right?  Of course you do:

That Starlight Joy greeting would fit PERFECTLY over Nin's head.  And you know I love, love, love cards that say "Joy" or "Joy to the World" on them because that's one of my favorite Christmas carols. Shutterfly has tons of "joy" cards to choose from this year.

The layout doesn't work for this year but I'm going to try to set up next year's photo so it will (and hope they have this one next year, too)...I love this card. I also love that the main colors in the sentiment are red and blue -- not red and green. I love traditional Christmas colors, but I also love a little different twist, too.

(and can I just say...love the child in the middle...I think that's what really makes this card so much fun...I have a child or two like that...hahahahahahaha!)

However, there's another one that really catches my eye:

I love it. So simple. So perfect. "We Believe" This is the one I want! Well, until I put our photo in...the starbursts hit the kids in funny places:

(where it hits Harrison makes me laugh...kissy kissy!)

There are several other options among their Christmas cards that I really like, but I'm not going to show them here...so that when you get yours in the mail it'll be a surprise. Chances are high it'll say "joy" on it, though. ;)

Okay, so now...hie thee to a nunnery...oh, wait, we're not doing Hamlet we're talking holiday cards...hie thee over to Shutterfly's website and check out their holiday card selection! See any that you like? Are you a blogger? Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register here: http://goo.gl/DDw7  (go! go! go! I'll wait!!).  Not a blogger? That's okay, too!  Shutterfly has kindly allowed me to do a giveaway!  I can give away 25 cards to THREE readers!  All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment (and let's be fair, please enter only once). And just for grins - tell me, do you prefer traditional reds and greens or do you like a little bit of a twist in your Christmas color palette? Comments must be received by 11:59p.m. Central Time, Friday, October 21, 2011.  Winners will be announced here on my blog on Saturday, October 22.

And if you're looking for a great holiday gift idea - check out Shutterfly's calendars. One of my friends gives these to her extended family every year (she takes tons of photos at their family reunion and uses those photos to create calendars for everyone)  

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post; however, in exchange for this post and the links to Shutterfly, I received some free holiday cards. The opinions are my own. I really do love the Shutterfly products...and for the record, so does my mother-in-law. We give her Shutterfly photo books all the time.