The end of the year is such a funny time. Some are looking anxiously forward. Some are looking back with great nostalgia. And some are doing both simultaneously. Whatever camp you’re in, it’s nice to end the year with a nod to what took place over the past twelve months. And also to think a little bit about what’s on the horizon. Do a little of both in a year-in-review card to send out to friends and family either as a supplement to the family Christmas card or instead of one! The Collage If you have four or five great photos that work nicely in relation to one another, a collage format is a great way to bring together a few visual expressions of the past year. Friends and family members will love seeing the big highlights all in one place. On the reverse of the card there’s plenty of room to reminisce or send well wishes. You can either write up a little summary of your family’s year or convey your hope that friends and family will have a New Year filled with peace, joy and prosperity. Or, of course, you can do both! One note: before you write a pat line about wishing everyone a happy New Year, take a moment to think about what you really wish for people and try to get it down in words. Ultimately you may decide that a simple, standard wish along the lines of peace and joy is what you want to say, but if it’s a sentiment that comes from your heart, the message can be that much more meaningful. It’s worth a ponder.

The-Pic-a-Month If you have a photo for every month of the past year, consider creating card that features twelve pictures. A layout like this is ideal for showing the growth of a baby or a new puppy over the course of a year. But you can also use it to show the progress on a building project or anything else you’ve toiled away at for the entire year. Use the back of the card to showcase a large image of the final product, whether that’s a smiling child or a sparkling new paint job as the final touch on the house renovation project. And because the thumbnail images are set in frames that are uniform in size, you don’t need to worry about the images themselves “matching” or even being of the same scale. The grid format of the pictures will impose enough of a standard on the composition that your card will look great no matter what the pictures feature. So you can count your blessings from an entire year through pictures – and also be grateful that it’s incredibly easy to put together and send out a card like this.

Well Wishes If you’ve got one great photograph that you want to share with friends and family, choose a card like Mixbook’s New Year Greeting that features it from edge to edge along with a simple message. While the photograph you use will, by definition, be representative of the year that’s just passed, a card like this is a great opportunity to really think about what you wish for others in the year ahead. Perhaps your resolutions include: doing a better job connecting with family and friends; finding a little more inner joy; and spending more time cultivating the love in your life. It’s a nice touch to use the front to say something like “Wishing you Peace, Love and Joy,” then using the reverse of the card to expand a bit on that by stating your own resolutions. Something along the lines of: “This year, we resolve to find more PEACE within ourselves, nurture the LOVE that’s all around us, and actively seek out JOY every single day.” It’s a nice way to not only wish wonderful things on other people, but to also make it personal. You may also find that it feels pretty great to pronounce your intentions for the year to come to the world at large – or at least the people who matter in it J.

Unbridled Joy And then there’s the beauty of simply sending a card that captures sheer happiness. Keep the message to a minimum and let the big smiles speak for themselves, or include your wishes for happiness and prosperity, peace and joy along with your photograph. The key, ultimately, is to effectively convey what you and your family values rather than saying the same-old-same-old. That’s the beauty of a fully customizable card; when the message is truly authentic, that authenticity carries through to friends and family near and far.