For all the years I’ve slacked off on getting a holiday card together in time, this year we made up for it, for Archie’s sake of course. Baby’s first Christmas after all needs to be properly documented and celebrated. For me the shooting and the designing and the printing and the mailing of cards just seems way too much like work, but this year I did a quick photo session with a tripod, used one of Shutterfly’s card designs and left the printing up to them. Easy peasy, and I’m gonna share a few tips that make a Christmas card shoot less chore and more party.

First things first, make a really cute baby. Ok, I guess that is not a requirement but it sure helps.

The for real first… opt for a simple background. To keep the design of the card clean and modern (and make it snowglobe-esque) I chose to shoot on all white. If you don’t happen to have an all white room at your house, for less than the price of a photographer, you can rent out a photo studio and either talk a friend into snapping some photos or do what we did and shoot yourselves with a timer and tri-pod (sure did make for some funny candid moments).

Second: Choose a simple color palette. For the first photos, I went fairly monochromatic, opting for black and white with a few shades of green. For the second batch I chose to do a few small pops of color.

Third: Pick your props! I wanted our cards to look a bit like a scene from a snow globe… a little whimsical, a little cheesy, and a lot fun. To reign back the cheese, instead of going all out on props, choose just a few strategic Christmas themed pieces to sprinkle throughout the scene. Archer’s little elf shoes, a christmas tree, some snow balls and scarves set a holiday scene without looking too Griswald-ey.

Fourth: Wardroooobe! Keep the clothes to clothes you actually wear. If you often wear matching sweaters around town then hey, you win at life… go for it! If not, choose clothes that compliment each other but don’t look too matchy matchy.

And finally… Put on some christmas music, maybe do some juggling, dance around with a tree, and have SO MUCH FUN.

The card designs I chose are: Merry Christmas // Happy Holidays // and the Round Ornament Card This post is sponsored by Shutterfly. Share and celebrate your family update. Shop Shutterfly for personalized holiday cards that are unique, meaningful and that are just the way you want.