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11 Funny and Memorable Ideas for Photo Christmas Cards

Christmas is a special time of year that many people look forward to with great anticipation. It is when friends and family come together, share each other’s company, and exchange presents in an atmosphere of good cheer.
This atmosphere makes it possible for families to have fun with the holiday, including doing funny things with pictures on Christmas cards. Why settle for buying pre-printed, boring Christmas cards from your nearest Clinton’s or Card Factory?
When you send a Christmas card during the holiday season, you want it to be memorable – and funny if possible. Many stationers, such as 123Print, offer you the opportunity to design your own photographic Christmas cards and upload your pictures as you go. If you’re stuck for ideas for photo Christmas cards, check out the following ideas!

1. Turn into Father Christmas

Memorability is one of the best ways to create a compelling image for your Christmas card. A theme that will make your picture stand out from others is a great place to start. For instance, Christmas cards with images of Santa Claus are a dime a dozen at this time of year. You can create a funny card by replacing Santa with someone else.
A picture of yourself or your children dressed up in the full regalia of St. Nick makes for an excellent shot, especially if it is taken in a non-traditional setting. Think about doing your picture at the gym or the beach, for instance.
Alternatively, create a funny family scene where your kids walk in on you dressed up as Father Christmas, slipping presents underneath the tree! Or re-enact the classic song “I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus” with your partner and kids.

2. Show Off for the Camera

Many families have a group of funny pictures that get passed around on an annual basis. Usually, these are taken by parents who ask their kids to do something ridiculous for the camera. If you have any of these pictures, find a way to use them for your Christmas card. Or, ask your kids to show-off for the camera and pull as many funny faces as they can!
You could also incorporate some role-play into the photos. For example, get everyone to act as if they’re having a huge argument – wagging their fingers at each other or pretending to his each other. Bonus points if the room is wrecked, with tinsel and baubles everywhere!

3. Overlay Digital Images onto Prints of Other Images

It is possible to take a picture of yourself or your family members and then superimpose that image onto a print of another photo.
This will allow you to create an incredible picture that showcases who you are as individuals, what you care about, and what makes the people in your life so special. The possibilities are endless:

1) Take a picture of your family members, then put them into a scene that is relevant to your holiday celebration. For example, dress everyone up in winter gear and superimpose yourselves onto an ice rink or into a festive snow-covered wood.
2) Add images to your Christmas cards in which Santa Claus visits other locations that have nothing to do with the North Pole and his usual entourage.

For a religious theme, you could even get everybody to dress up as characters from the Nativity, and superimpose your photo onto a background of a stable, complete with a manger! Or, dress up as Jesus and his disciples and digitally seat yourselves at the Last Supper.

4. Let Your Children Be the Photographers

If you’re running out of ideas yourself, you should consider giving your kids some digital cameras and letting them play photographer. You’ll be amazed what goes on in the minds of children! They may come up with some inventive ideas that you’d never have thought of. And sometimes, the photos taken by accident (such as hilarious close-up selfies) make the funniest shots of all.

Sure, they might not necessarily look like traditional Christmas card photos. But you can still add a festive touch by choosing a photo upload card design with a Christmas-themed background, such as this Santa Knows Best design.

5. Add a Homemade Touch to Your Card

Digital images can serve as a solid foundation for creating funny and memorable Christmas cards. However, you can give a homemade touch to your pictures by hand writing a Christmas greeting on the card with an old-fashioned pen and ink.

Use glittery or metallic ink, or even paint pens, to add an extra special feel. A personal greeting will add more dimension than simply printing out a pre-written message or sending out one of those mass-produced cards that everyone else is using. It will also be more fun for everyone to see.
You could also add textured or tactile elements to the front of the card. Scrounge some craft supplies and get the kids involved gluing colourful pom-poms, sequins and glitter all around the edge of the photograph.

6. Horrible Christmas Jumpers

Ugly Christmas jumpers, once condemned for their grotesquely garish appearance, are all the rage at the moment – they began to regain popularity after the classic Christmas jumper scene in Bridget Jones’s Diary.

Christmas jumpers often take the form of knitted designs featuring bright fair isle patterns, or festive creatures and characters (such as Father Christmas and Rudolph), along with tactile bobbles. Some Christmas jumpers even have built-in lights or sound makers for a truly gaudy festive display!

Why not have a day out shopping with your family to try and find the ugliest, most over-the-top Christmas jumpers, and then take a photo in them for your Christmas card. Bonus points if the whole family has a look of horror and disgust on their faces for being forced to wear them.

7. Yearbook-Style Photographs with Quotes

If you’ve got a fairly plan wall in an area of good natural light in your home, why not set up individual headshots of your family to look like yearbook photographs? The further away from high-school age your family members are, the funnier this will be.
Arrange these headshots on your photo upload Christmas card, and add funny or festive quotes underneath that represent each person, just as you would find in a real high school yearbook. This will help you show off your personality, and make your recipients laugh.
You could even write underneath the photos by hand, rather than typing it out, for an added personal touch.

8. Photograph Your Pets in Christmas Attire

Dressing up your family pets as Santa, Rudolph, a snowman, or in other Christmas-themed outfits will make for a memorable and hilarious festive picture. There are even ugly pet Christmas jumpers on the market that you can dress Fluffy up in to create the ultimate Christmas look.

And don’t think that this is limited to those of you with cats and dogs! Get creative with some felt and cotton wool and fashion a tiny Christmas hat for your rabbit, guinea pig, or even your hamster. And if there are no animals to speak of, why not tie Christmas scarves around your houseplants?

9. Stay Out of the Picture

For an extremely memorable photographic Christmas card, why not stay out of the picture altogether, and instead take a photograph of your empty home? Show of all of your Christmas decorations and your brightly-lit tree, for example. Or, set up a Christmas disaster scene by trashing your living room and making it look as though your pets did it.
You could even create footprints by dipping the soles of some winter boots in flour, to make it look like Father Christmas has walked across your living room carpet, trailing snow behind him. Add a shot of the half-eaten carrot and mince pie in the foreground for a nostalgic photo, harking back to the times when we all believed in Santa.

10. Incorporate Your Family’s Holiday Traditions

Every family has their own idea of the perfect Christmas tradition. Why not take some photos of your family taking part in your favourite festive activity, and use this as the basis for your Christmas cards?
For example, some families have a tradition of visiting Disney at Christmas, meaning a Disney themed Christmas Card would be perfect. Other families enjoy going ice-skating or visiting a local zoo during the holidays, so using images of your family members on the rink or in front of cages at the zoo would make for an excellent picture.
You could even hire a photographer for a few hours, and keep the shots of the day in a keepsake photo album as well as using them for your cards.

11. Photograph Your Christmas Preparations

There’s so much to do in the lead up to Christmas! So, why not photograph your family taking part in the Christmas preparations? For example:

1) Trimming the Christmas tree
2) Baking mince pies or Christmas cookies
3) Decorating your house or apartment with fake snow, Christmas ornaments and festive garlands
4) Making the Christmas wreath to hang on your front door
5) Lighting an advent candle or opening the advent calendar
6) Wrapping Christmas presents

You could even go “meta” and photograph your family signing Christmas cards! (Though you’ll have to use prop cards for the shot, as your actual cards won’t arrive until you’ve taken the picture…)

Where Can I Order Photo Christmas Cards?

Photographic Christmas cards are a fun way to share what’s going on in your family’s lives, spread some cheer and humour, and show off your unique perspective on the holiday season.
At 123Print, we have a great selection of photo upload Christmas cards that you can personalise with your own images. Examples include your Christmas Polaroid, Jolly Holly, and Tree Amend card designs, among many others.

Visit our site to find the perfect Christmas card design for you and your family. All of our designs are fully customisable, so you can edit the text, wording, font and colour scheme as well as adding your own photographs with the click of a button. And with our speedy 48-hour dispatch time, you won’t have to wait long before you’re spreading the joy with your family and friends!