Remember when email wasn’t a thing? When pen pals still existed? Like the ones you’d connect with when reading the Pen Pals book series. No? That’s just me? I’m just really old?

I recall running to the mail box every day after school, wishing and hoping there was a letter from my pen pal from California. Her name was Joanna. We would exchange school photos and once she even mailed me a small Mickey Mouse necklace from Disneyland. She lived near the happiest place on earth! I lived in a small town where the best entertainment was a drive-in theater and an arcade. When I received letters from Joanna, I would imagine her life in California through the swirls and twirls in her hand writing and heart dots on her i’s. For me, living within a military community meant losing friends to other states and countries quite often. I hold dear the letters exchanged with some of my childhood friends who are still close friends today. The feeling I get with an email or a social media message is nothing compared to the joy I find in receiving a card in the mailbox. Thankfully, holiday cards are still tradition for most.

One year, I gave up on Christmas cards. I totally ‘grinched’ due to feeling the pinch of holiday stress and just feeling lazy. Then…. the cards began to roll in from other friends and family and my heart sank. One friend even made a point to gently tell me how disappointed she was that I opted out of a Christmas card. She treasures them every year and enjoys showcasing them in her house for the holidays and deep in to the new year. I totally understood what she was saying. I TREASURE THEM TOO! I felt SO lame.

Never again…

I invited local photographer beauty Demri in our home to capture our family in our natural element. It included sweat, tears, and one wildly bonkers 2 year old lab. So, overall, you could say it was a success. Demri was so patient and attentive to the kiddos who were on their own agenda. Finished product was exactly as I had expected. Real life.

This year’s holiday card is special to use because we are excited to share with family and friends that we’ve entered the business owner world with the acquisition of Popeye Energy. Follow the journey on Instagram and come along on this crazy ride with us!

Demri graciously turned our photos quickly so we could get shopping for our Christmas card with Basic Invite! This is the fun part! So, what sets Basic Invite apart from other printing services?

Almost Unlimited Colors - Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. Once you select a design you can change the color of each element on the card to over 180 different color options so you can make sure the card is exactly how you want it down to the littlest detail. This is what we feel sets us apart from almost any other online stationery company and is what we feel is our biggest draw.
Custom Samples - Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers the ability to order a printed sample of their actual invitation so they can see exactly how it will print as well as feel the paper quality before they ever have to place their final order.
Over 40 Different Colors of Envelopes - Basic Invite is just as colorful with our envelopes as we are with our invitations. Customers can choose from over 40 different colors when it comes to their envelopes so that they can make their invitation stand out even before it is opened. All of our envelopes are peel and seal so the envelopes can be quickly and securely closed without licking a single one.
Address Capturing Service - Basic Invite offers an address capturing service that allows customers to simply share a link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other form of social media to request their friends and family’s addresses which will be stored in the customer’s account and can then be selected during the design process. Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at no cost on all Christmas card orders
Foil - Foil holiday cards are available in gold, silver, and rose gold. Customers can choose flat or raised foil on all of Basic Invite’s foil designs.
Over 500 Christmas card and holiday card designs!!

Basic Invite also has an incredible amount of custom envelope seal stickers AND high quality business card options. I could truly shop the site for hours. If the kids had their way, they would have chosen one of the adorable pet holiday card options. The way Brutus stole the show during our photo shoot, that may just be the case next year. What a model!

JOY is one of my favorite words. Not just during the holidays, but year round I try to remember to put JOY first when I’m feeling down and out. We chose this JOY card with a rose gold foil to pop. We were also able to print on the back of the card to include a personal note about our family life updates. The quality of the paper and color is the best we’ve had for our holiday card!

I even took advantage of the sample option to see if we wanted to change up our card. I had too much fun choosing, so I had 2 different cards made so I could choose! Brilliant!

The girls enjoyed helping me this year by stuffing and addressing our cards. Holiday card prep isn’t so tough when you’ve got two elves of writing age!

This is probably my favorite holiday card so far. Lots of stories to tell on this card. I hope our friends and family cherish it as much as we will cherish theirs. The kids are already hustling to the mail box every evening to see who’s cards have showed up. Feels familiar. Such a simple gesture can really mean so much.

Big Joy Foil Square Card

We choose a square card, rose gold foil, raised foil, back print

I’m excited to share that Basic Invite is offering a discount for your holiday cards by using code holi30 for 30% OFF your order!

Use code HOLI30 for 30% OFF your holiday card order!

Basic Invite graciously provided our family with holiday cards in exchange for this post. We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Basic Invite. The opinions and experience I have shared in this post are my own and not of Basic Invite.

Todd family photos by Demri Rayanne Photography

Card preparation photos with Holland and Savannah by Melody Todd of Honest Chatter