Personalized Christmas Cards With Your Photo, Ready to Print

Making photo Christmas cards with PhotoForPass takes a few minutes, and you can print them the same day.

1. Choose a design and a greeting

Pick the Classic Christmas card, the Modern minimal card or the Fun and festive card, then choose one of its preset greetings, such as Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. Add an optional names line, such as The Garcia Family.

2. Upload one photo

Use a sharp, well-lit photo of your family with faces toward the camera. The card front is created from your photo in the scene of the design you chose, with calm space at the bottom for the greeting.

3. Pay and download

Pay $9.95 once with Apple Pay, Google Pay, a card or Link. Within minutes you get a print-ready 5x7 PDF, a JPG and a digital card to share. Check the spelling of every name before you pay.

Each design pairs a festive scene created from your photo with a short list of preset greetings. The greeting and your names line are set in clean type by our card layout, not drawn into the image, so the lettering is crisp and the spelling is always right.

If you cannot decide, think about who receives most of your cards. The classic card suits every mailbox, the modern card feels fresh and calm, and the fun card is perfect for close friends and family who appreciate a laugh.

Every Christmas photo card order includes three files, so you can mail, print and share from one design.

• Print-ready 5x7 PDF: the best choice for home printers and print shops that print on cardstock.
• 5x7 JPG: upload it to a photo counter app or website, such as CVS, Walgreens or Walmart, and order 5x7 prints.
• Share-ready digital card: sized for texting, email, messaging apps and social media, for relatives far away or friends who prefer digital.

Because you own the files, you decide how many cards to print, on what paper and where. There is no minimum order and no shipping charge from us.

You can print your card almost anywhere that prints photos or documents. Choose based on how many cards you need and the finish you want.

At a photo counter

Upload the JPG to CVS, Walgreens or Walmart and order 5x7 photo prints. This gives a glossy or matte photo finish and is easy for larger quantities. Check pickup times in the store's app.

At home

Print the PDF on 5x7 photo paper or heavy cardstock. Set the printer to actual size or 100 percent so nothing is cropped. Do one test print first to check colors.

At a print shop

Take the PDF to an office or print shop and ask for 5x7 prints on cardstock. Many shops can also print a stack quickly for big lists.

Whichever you choose, a 5x7 card fits a standard A7 envelope (5 1/4 x 7 1/4 inches).

The design takes minutes, so printing and mailing set your schedule. Work backward from Christmas and give the mail a comfortable cushion, because December is the busiest season for holiday mail.

For cards going abroad, start earlier, because international mail takes longer. If you miss the mailing window, the digital card lets you still send greetings on time by text or email.

The photo you upload sets the faces on the card, and the design adds the festive scene. These tips help at 5x7.

• Everyone close together. Faces that are large and sharp stay recognizable on a small card.
• Soft, even light. Daylight from a window beats a dark room or harsh flash.
• Faces toward the camera. A slight angle is fine; profiles and sunglasses are not.
• A real smile. A relaxed laugh often beats a stiff pose.
• Want more scenes? Christmas portraits give you six festive scenes from one photo, and a photo with Santa adds Santa Claus to your family. The photo studio shows every collection.

Each card uses one photo, so pick the one where everyone looks their best.

Greetings are preset for each design, so they always fit the layout and read well at 5x7. Under the greeting you can add an optional names line.

Greetings by design

• Classic Christmas card: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings or Joy, Love and Peace.
• Modern minimal card: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or Peace and Joy.
• Fun and festive card: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or Sleigh It Together.

The names line

• Up to 40 characters, including spaces.
• Latin letters only, including accented letters such as José or Zoë.
• Allowed symbols: spaces, the ampersand (&), apostrophes ('), periods (.) and hyphens (-).
• Not allowed: numbers, commas, emoji and other symbols, so add the year or a personal note by hand.

Good examples: The Garcia Family, Maya & Leo, or The O'Neils. Double-check every name before you pay.

PhotoForPass sells the finished card design as files, not printed and mailed cards. That keeps the price at $9.95 and gives you full control.

With files, you can print 10 cards or 100, choose your own paper, reprint when you add someone to the list and send a digital version to anyone you cannot mail. Printed card services handle printing, envelopes and shipping for you, but you pay per card and wait for delivery. If you want the convenience of a store print without a long wait, uploading the JPG to a local photo counter is a good middle ground.