pin to present: year in review Christmas cards

Despite having a noncompliant toddler, getting the family photos taken is actually the easy part of the yearly Christmas cards for me. Picking out the cutest photo of the kid and then narrowing down the many card options from an online site take long enough, but then... what to write on the back? It takes me forever to come up with a concise (and dare I hope, witty) summary of our year, so when I saw this graphic year in review idea on Pinterest, I knew that's exactly what I wanted to do on the back this time around to hit the highlights in a fun way.

image: Katelyn Brooke

I designed my layout in Photoshop Elements based on this inspiration, choosing my main categories of "by the numbers" and "2016 highlights/favorites." It was fun to brainstorm some of the daily life kind of stuff (like approximately 1000 hours of playing legos) that defined our year, and to reminisce about some of the amazing things we did (Paris!). I love how they turned out - only complaint is that I wanted to get them ordered during a sale, so I had to do it before the World Series ended... which means I'm going to need to write in a W before the "in" on that line!

Want to put together your own? You can check out some other ideas for layout/categories to include here, or even a free template here.

And if you want help narrowing down some of the options, check out these great Christmas cards from Paperless Post. I love the options from featured designers like Rifle Paper Co. and Kate Spade (including some great non-photo ones if you like that route), and best of all, you have the option to add your own photo to the back of the card - which means that to include your year in review update, you just need to save it as a high-resolution image that is the same as the printed card size, upload to the back of the card (using the "add logo" option), and order! And since they also offer free envelope addressing - or online cards! - you'll really be on your way to your loved ones' mailboxes soon.

Ho Ho Ho Photo by The Indigo Bunting | Pyramid of Happiness by Mr. Boddington's Studio | Tis the Season to Be Holly by Mr. Boddington's Studio | Confetti Branches by kate spade new york | Merry Merry Christmas by bluepoolroad

This post created in partnership with Nakturnal.