Handmade Christmas Cards

It only took me about a week of mental preparation to make my Christmas cards. Yay we did it! Ever since I can remember, I’ve always enjoyed making Christmas cards for my family. Not only do I put effort into the crafting (which is by no means spectacular), but I always aim to write personal messages that can’t be delivered to just anyone.

Sometimes, I make the written card rhyme and sometimes, I don’t. Sometimes, I write in fancy cursive and sometimes, plain print. Every time, I get sentimental because I find myself reflecting on how much I love the people that I have and how much they’ve loved me. Christmas is a great season for emotions! At least for a moment we get cheery and warm and unite just to share with each other.

What’s special for me this Christmas is obviously related to my newness in my walk with God. My perspective is different now. The whole point of the season is to celebrate, rejoice and claim the best gift humanity has ever received. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lived a perfect life and was martyred for our sins. A gift we surely don’t deserve but one God has graciously given us, nonetheless. Because He loves us.

Christmas as a holiday is like a small opportunity for us to do the same. We work all year so we can share a sliver of love with our loved ones. God didn’t send us diamond bracelets, laptops, and new cars to save us…He sent Himself in the flesh, His Son.

That’s why I like to keep Christmas simple! I like to do something that shows thoughtfulness, effort, and love. I don’t want my gifts to scream ‘cash.’ For some people, cash is love but let’s not go there, right now. I’m in no way hating on glamorous gifts, I just don’t find them necessary. I mean, logistically, things this year have been really tight anyway. Our family has decided to keep it really intimate, where the focus is on relationship not material.

I like this because our focus with Jesus should always be on our relationship with Him, not on the things He can give us. He already gave His all.

So our family tradition is to do Christmas breakfast in the morning where we have all the scramble, pancakes, [turkey] bacon, croissants, hash browns and eggnog that we can stuff our faces with. Maybe we indulge a bit here. Once everyone is full and satisfied we all take turns sharing gifts. Considering the newest member’s arrival, we agreed that we are keeping gifts to a minimum. This year, we’re all planning handmade or otherwise very simple presents.

That may seem boring to the high-stimuli generation of today but I think it’s exciting. It’s a chance to get creative.

I, personally, put effort into my $5 gifts by hand making my cards and then keeping a theme with all my gift wrapping.

Do you wanna see? I hope so. I get excited about small things like this, here goes.

This is my section under the tree!

Not sure why this look appealed to me so strongly but I almost want to adopt it every year. The simplicity is soothing. I mean this wrapping paper from HomeGoods is elegant even though it’s just designed brown paper bag. And then for the gift bags, we’ve literally got designed brown paper bag. Ha, love it.

I love it so much that I did designed brown paper cards! A pack of 8 was $3 at Target, so why not? And, the sparkling Washi tape was only $1. Target’s $5 and under section gets me every single time.

At first, I was totally thinking “I am going to draw or paint something original. Each card is going to reference an inside joke.”

Ugh, I was going crazy!!! I haven’t drawn or painted in quite a while, the perfectionist in me was already scrutinizing myself before the brush even hit the paper.

Instead, I slept on my design ideas for a week and finally put up all the messy supplies. What a relief on my severe jelly brain. I decided I would just work with the sparkling Washi tape, white card stock, and one Christmas-themed sheet of card stock. Scissors and Elmer’s school-glue and the trick was done.

Seriously, easy peasy, the inside was minimalist featuring a tiny flair. Kind of like me (or so I’d like to believe).

Here are the front covers… All you really need are some scissors and a little imagination.

Two of these were originally done upside down 🙃

All I did to the green trees was add a star and trunk cut from Washi tape

I also got this cute “Handmade with Love” stamp and red ink for $4 in that Target section. Each print looks different from the rest and at first, that was super annoying. But I got over it because the unique imperfections show how cute we can be when we just try a little.

They aren’t Hallmark cards but they’re adorable.

First, I hope that you remember what this holiday is celebrating. I pray that you experience the joy having received the gift of Christ.

Secondly, I hope you’re inspired to do something simple and thoughtful for those you love. If you haven’t got cards yet and you’re on a budget, like me, get creative!

Matthew 1:21
“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save people from their sins”

With love,
Mama X

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