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In preparation for Christmas, I have been researching ways that we can reduce the amount of waste we produce. I have a whole list of things I’d like to try, one of the things on that list is sending Christmas eCards instead of traditional cardboard cards.
‘Royal Mail delivers around 150 million cards and packets during the pre-Christmas period. It’s estimated that 1 billion Christmas cards could end up in the bin after December 25th’ Envirowaste
That’s a lot of waste! The worst part is that figure was from 2014 and the amount of waste we produce each year is on the rise so you can only imagine what that figure would look like now. I don’t want to be a grinch and not send anything so sending eCards seems like the perfect alternative.
There are lots of websites out there where you can create your own Christmas eCards, personally, I use *PicMonkey and think it’s brilliant!
What is PicMonkey?
PicMonkey is an online photo editor and graphic design maker. Its a paid for service but you can do a 7-day free trial. I have a paid account and I pretty much use PicMonkey every day. You can find out more about their pricing on their site.
‘Create beautiful photos, logos, social media graphics, and facebook covers with PicMonkey’s easy yet powerful photo editing and graphic design software’
There are two ways to create awesome Christmas cards using Picmonkey. Either use one of their ready-made Christmas card templates or upload your own image and add to it.
Creating Christmas eCards using Templates
To use a template simply log in to *PicMonkey and click Design > Templates. Then in the search templates bar located on the left of the screen type in Christmas.
You’ll now see a whole selection of pre-made designs. Simply scroll through until you find one you like. Once you’ve chosen a design click ‘Customize’. You’ll now be taken to the editing page.
Here you can personalise your card using the tools on the left-hand side of the screen. You can change the font, change the text, change the colours etc.
Once you are happy with your design click ‘Export’ and save it to your computer and you’re done! You can then share your Christmas eCards on whatever platform you prefer.
Here’s an example one that I made.
Related Post: Zero Waste Gift Guide
Create a Christmas Ecard from your Own Image
Creating a card from your own image is a little more involved but still relatively easy to do. First off you need an image. It can be one you have taken yourself or one you have found on either a free or paid for photo website. Two good free sites I use are Unsplash and Pixabay.
This time instead of clicking on ‘Design’ click on ‘Edit’.
You then need to upload your image.
There are loads of different features that you can add including Christmas fonts, Christmas frames and Christmas overlays. If you click on the snowflake icon on the left that takes you to the different themes. There are two Christmas ones to choose from Santa Land and Winterland.
Below is an example of what you can create. It took me less than 5 minutes to do.
Once you are happy with your creation click ‘Export’ and save it to your computer and that’s it! Why not start your free 7-day trial with *PicMonkey today and see how you get on?
Sustainable & Ethical Alternatives to eCards
If eCards are not for you and you want to send real cards then there are a few sustainable & ethical options that you might want to consider…
- Buy cards made from recycled materials
- Buy cards from charity shops
- Buy plantable paper cards (yes that’s a thing!)
- Keep cards you receive and make your own cards from them next year
Would you consider sending Christmas eCards instead this year?