Well hello November, how I love you. And how you stress me out. I wonder how you got here so quickly and how I will get all that needs to be done, done?

One of the holiday tasks I most enjoy, I will confess this now and I’ve confessed this before, as early as August, is the great annual hunt for the perfect holiday card. Last year, I turned to you on my Facebook page to ask where you all prefer to get your cards as I was feeling bored with many of the regular options and I received an overwhelming cry of support for Minted.com

Minted.com, I thought? I wasn’t familiar with said site and moi loves paper.

I hopped on and it was love at first sight. How did I not know of this site a mere one year ago? It is, after all, the largest marketplace for crowd-sourced independent design and art. And the options are so varied, so creative and just lovely, down to the edges of the paper and the quality of the paper.

Swoon.

Swoon some more.

Last year, I ended up going with the Annual Report card which was a huge departure for me because I typically stand firm on ordering cards that open and stand up, not the flat card. But this one, I just couldn’t resist. I loved the way I could highlight what was unique about each of my girls in that year and then play off the fact that Mr. WM is an accountant, so of course he’d be the one to send an annual report with charts and graphs. I will warn you, it was also a huge departure for me to move away from classic and traditional holiday colors to a more modern look with bright colors. The entire thing was a departure for me and truth be told, sometimes I like sticking with the traditional as much as I’d love you to think I was daring and adventurous.

Minted.com pushed me way outside my box

#Danger

And it was my fav holiday card of all time. Not to mention, the majority of people who received it basically vowed to copy it this year. Here’s a look:

I loved the different columns for each of my girls and then one family one, though I never enjoy writing top 10 lists, it’s often easier than writing a letter, right? More importantly, at 7 and 4, each girl had their own cute and fun quirks that sadly will probably be outgrown, such as mainly wearing superhero clothing for my 4-year-old, or someday my older one will eventually love sleeping in (Teen) as much as I wish she’d sleep in now……..

Here’s a closer look:

How adorable are these columns? And I loved being able to reflect their personalities without having to write lots of words.

Ironic, coming from moi, isn’t it?

I feel like I can’t be funny in a holiday card. I suddenly become lame and stoic when writing the damn thing. Why is that?

Also take note of the edges of the card – see how they are scalloped? I loved that little detail.

The bottom line, I love this site and was so grateful that so many of you, my readers, got me hooked on it. About a week ago I started perusing their new holiday card options this year and probably spent about 2 hours just enjoying looking through the variety and range. I’m nowhere near settling on one but wouldn’t it be grand if I could get it wrapped up before Thanksgiving?

Can I get a clone? Just for the holidays?

Anyone?

Bueller?

While perusing through their holiday options recently, I also noticed they have fantastic art for kids and babies rooms – something I didn’t know previously – and

would make for a great gift for someone.

But back to the cards, have you ever just waited and done a New Years card? I tinkered with that idea last year before I settled on the Annual Report option and might go back to that this year. I always love receiving family New Years cards and frankly, they stick out more because we’ve stopped receiving cards by then.

This year I’m also committed to slowing down through the holiday season, not worrying about doing so much, just cutting myself some slack and trying to ease up the pressure a bit – so if I can stick with that more minimalist approach (I think we know I probably can’t), the holiday postcard options also appeal to me. I did a postcard for when we moved last summer and really enjoyed it. Felt like less work and it costs less money, both in printing and postage.

Speaking of printing and postage, another Minted.com perk is they will address your cards for free as part of the service. I wasn’t organized enough to take advantage of that service last year.

Bottom line – clearly I am all over the map – it’s anyone’s guess which card I will pick. But I know I can’t be the only one starting to think this one through. Anyone? Bueller? Which kind of card might you be purchasing this year? It’s the one occasion I just can’t go paperless for – I have to purchase paper cards.  Do you also struggle with how to summarize a year?

Disclosure: Minted.com reached out to me and asked me to write about their site. Because I used their site last year for Christmas (for which I paid for my cards), and I am very familiar with their site, I agreed to write this post. My opinions here are all my own and I’m being gifted a credit for my time.