You’ve probably heard about declining paper card purchases and the rise of holiday e-cards— making e-cards sound like behemoths surging from the sea, wreaking havoc upon paper cards and forcing them into hidden underground bunkers (or onto your Great-Aunt Trixie’s mantelpiece).
But we see a different story. Frankly, we’re as pleased as a reindeer blitzened on eggnog over the possibilities of e-cards: we think they’re an excellent way to save money, cut down on clutter, and tell your favorite people that you love them. Best of all, science suggests that they may diminish our harmful impact on the planet.
Here are some staggering statistics:
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans increase their output of household trash by 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. The extra waste clocks in at 25 million tons.
Even with the recent decline in paper card sales, the Greeting Card Association reports that Americans buy some 6.5 billion cards a year, valued between $7 and $8 billion. By far, the most popular seasonal cards are Christmas cards.
6.5 billion! That’s a ridonkulously high number! Can you imagine 6.5 billion miniature horses running around? It’d be chaos in the streets! Stave off the horsepocalypse and craft yourself some holiday e-cards this season.
“But how?” you ask. “How can I make e-cards that are as personal and meaningful as the paper version? Hooooow?!”
Stick with PicMonkey, kids. With our Design and Collage tools, and totally customizable card templates, you can create one-of-a-kind holiday photo cards with custom colors, messages, and oh-so much more. If you’re stuck for a place to start, we’ve got a few suggestions for staying green and making an impact this holiday season.
Design and send your holiday e-cards
This method technically does leave a carbon footprint, since it relies on having a computer that runs on electricity, but comparatively speaking, it’s a minuscule footprint. Like a baby bootie footprint on the sandy expanse of history.
Make a video holiday card
What abracadabra witchmagic is this?! Fear not, gentle readers, simple holiday video cards are no illusion. Here’s how it works: record a greeting, upload it to Youtube or Vimeo, and email a link to your recipients. You can also turn a slideshow into a video file and email that out.
However, getting a link in your inbox doesn’t feel all that festive. Why not dress up your URL with a hand-churned artisanal graphic? It’s a simple but fancy-feeling way to take holiday e-cards to the next level.
Once you’ve saved an e-card mahhhhh-sterpiece, you can still add that sent-by-regular-mail feeling: just try one of the increasing number of websites specializing in e-cards. Places like Greenvelope, Paperless Post, and Evite allow you to upload a card design, customize it with a digital envelope and postage, and send it out to one person or a list of recipients. It’s a great way to say, “Hey, mom and dad, e-cards can totally have stamps on them.”
Design and print
If you’re a hardcore fan of paper cards (or you know people who insist that only paper cards really count), we understand, and we’ve got your back. You can design a printable e-card in PicMonkey and upload it to Shutterfly or another print resource. You can even design a card, email it to your web-savvy acquaintances, and print off a few copies for your favorite paper-loving holdouts.
For those of you who want to print at home, PicMonkey can help there too. Our print size guide converts pixels to popular photo sizes in inches; click on your desired dimensions and a presized canvas will open. Skip the guesswork and sweaty palms over whether your holiday card will look as beautiful on the page as it does in your browser! It’s the gift you can give yourself any time of year.
Also, printing at home gives you yet another way to keep it green—load up your printer with recycled paper and say hello to an eco-friendly holiday.
There you have it! Our seasonal tips for saving the planet and looking good doing it.
