** Coupons for Holiday Photo Cards **

It's not too late to order holiday cards. I think most people are happy to receive cards anytime, even after Christmas. I'm keeping my eyes open for good deals on photo holiday cards and this is what I'm seeing right now. This list includes Shutterfly coupons, Kodak Gallery coupons, Snapfish coupons and VistaPrint coupons. I'll add more as I find them.

- Shutterfly: Save 25% on New Year’s cards
- Kodak Gallery: Save 20% on photo cards with coupon code 2009CARDS
- Vista Print: Free Holiday cards. Qty 10.

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Click here for all Snapfish, Kodak Gallery, and Picaboo coupons

Last Minute Gift Ideas

It's not too late to create some wonderful photo gifts for a loved one. If you have a computer and some photos, you're halfway there. Here are a few ideas:

1. Make a photo CD.  You can collect special photos from the past year and copy them on to a CD. If you use Picasa, you can star the photos you want to use and create a folder with all the starred photos. Then use the "Gift CD" button and follow the prompts.

2. Make a photo slideshow set to music and save it to a DVD. Many computers have programs that allow you to create slideshows with ease.

3. Scan some old photos or slides and save them on to a CD for a family member. If you don't have a scanner, go to a local photo printing store and they'll do it for you.

4. Print out your photos to make a calendar. Many word processing programs have a built in template for making calendars.

5. Give a gift certificate for photo gifts at Snapfish, Kodak Gallery, or Shutterfly. What a great way to help with their New Year's resolution of making a photo book of 2008!

Free 5x7 or 8x10 print at CVS

Get a free 5x7 or 8x10 enlargement at CVS when you go to CVS.com and
enter code ENLARGE until 12/24.

Since the Walgreens free photo offer expired, this is a great alternative.

Free Photo Gift from Walgreens

For today and tomorrow (12/19-12/20), Walgreens is offering a free 8x10 photo with coupon code FREEGIFT, no purchase necessary. The free 8x10 print photo is also available through Snapfish for pickup at Walgreens using coupon code WALFREE (ends at midnight 12/20). You can even get 2 free prints if you order one through the Walgreens website and the other one through Snapfish. What a great Christmas gift!

It's Not Too Late for Christmas Photo Gifts

Most of the digital photo printing websites say you have until tonight, Dec. 17th, to order photo gifts and have them delivered by Dec. 24th with standard shipping.  A couple services even help you out with the cost of speedier shipping if you don't get your order in by tonight.  Snapfish offers a free shipping upgrade with any photo calendar order (no coupon necessary, ends 12/20). Snapfish also offers the ability to order online and pick up your order at a local store, like Walgreens, Meijer, or Staples.  Often, you can pick up your order the same day!

Kodak Gallery offers $10 off of any purchase of $50 or more to help with the cost of expedited shipping (use coupon code FASTSHIP at checkout.)  Also at Kodak Gallery, you can save 20% off of any purchase of $30 or more with the code HOLIDAYGREEN.

A Great Time for Shutterfly Photo Books

I've made lots of photo books and my favorite service is Shutterfly, because of their quality and the coupons and discounts they offer. Right now, Shutterfly is offering free shipping on orders $50+ (use code SHIP50) until 12/14. In addition, you can get 50% off any additional photo books you order. You can even get one more offer: Buy one 8x8 book and get 30 free prints.

My favorite Christmas gift I've given was an 8x8 photo recipe book made with Shutterfly. It was easy and fast to make. Friends and family loved the photos and the recipes. Right now, it costs $30 for the first 20 page book and $15 for all duplicates. If your order is $50+, there's no shipping cost. It's not too late to make one for a Christmas gift if you do it before midnight 12/14. Good luck!

A Special Photo Book Gift

Click here to see all Shutterfly coupons , Click here to see Kodak Gallery, Snapfish, Picaboo coupons ,  Click here to see Holiday Photo Card coupons

Photo Book Tip of the Day: When creating a photo book, keep it simple.

I put together a book for my mother on her 70th birthday. I scanned a few old black and white photos from her childhood. I also devoted quite a few pages to her grandkids, because I knew she couldn't have too many photos of them. I scanned their school photos and made them black and white and then included a photo of each of them with their grandmother.

I chose to do very simple layouts and backgrounds. The cover and all the pages are classic black. Sometimes, it seems like a simple, classic approach works best.

The longest part of putting the book together was getting all the photos. Once I had the photos and a vision for what I wanted the book to look like, it was very fast to put together.

My mom loves her book and she has looked at it too many times to count. A photo book is a special gift to give someone for Christmas or a birthday!

Click here to view this photo book.

To see what deals are currently being offered by Shutterfly, click here
Click here for all photo coupons

Easy Photo Tip for the Holiday Season

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Click here to see Holiday Photo Card coupons

Tip of the Day:  Turn off the flash!

You can get some wonderful holiday photos both during the day and night if you turn off the flash.  To turn it off, select the button that shows a lightning bolt with a line through it.  Now you can take a photo of your lit up Christmas tree or your fireplace with stockings hanging above (tell your kids that this is what Santa sees!)  Using the macro setting (flower symbol), you can take a close-up of an ornament on a tree.  Turn off the flash during the daytime and use natural light to get a more interesting contrast.

Here are some photos I took with my simple "point and shoot" camera when I turned off the flash.  I hope they give you some ideas for your holiday season photos.

Christmas Gift Ideas

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Click here to see Holiday Photo Card coupons

This Christmas a lot of us are looking for personal gifts that don't cost too much and photo gifts could be the perfect answer. Here are a few ideas and deals that are out there:

1. Photo Calendars (always a hit with grandparents). Snapfish: 33% off all calendars. Use HOLIDAY4, expires midnight 12/8 Shutterfly is offering buy 1 calendar for $19.99 and get 30% off additional calendars.
2. Photo ornaments Shutterfly - Save 20% on mugs (excl. Starbucks), ornaments, address labels, note cards! See site for details.Snapfish: 20% off photo ornaments.
3. Photo stocking stuffers and photo gifts. Snapfish: 20% off all stocking stuffers including flipbooks, frame ornaments, stickers, notepads, and many more items. Use HOLIDAY2, expires midnight 12/4. Free 11x14 Poster calendar with some purchases, use code CHEER08
4. Other Photo Gifts: Save 33% on Photo Gifts at Kodak Gallery!
5. Photo books -- create a photo book with the best photos from the past year or make a book of favorite family recipes. Save up to 20% on photo books at Kodak Gallery. Picaboo photo books - buy one get one free with code 1PB1GF-CB. Shutterfly: 50% off additional photo books, Buy an 8x8 photo book, get 30 free 4x6 prints. Use promotion code: AF73-SAVE. Expires 1.6.09, Free Shipping for orders $50+
6. Make a traditional photo album -- Kodak Gallery is offering 75 free 4x6 photos for new members.

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