How to create an animated Christmas card

If you forgot to mail Christmas cards to your loved ones this year, one way to redeem yourself is by creating and sending animated cards. This way, you can save a couple of bucks while also taking care of the environment.

There are numerous online services and desktop programs like Photoshop that help you create Christmas-themed animated cards. Some provide you with card templates and all that's left for you to do is to enter a wish and attach a signature or your name. Other desktop tools or online services enable you to create your cards from scratch, using sample elements.

In this article, I will show you the steps you need to complete to create an animated Christmas card on your Windows PC.

Choose a tool for creating your animated card

This is the most important step of creating a Christmas card as the quality of your project will depend on the online service or desktop utility you choose to use. The JibJab and Animoto websites provide you with many useful features and help you quickly create quality singing Christmas cards. For example, on the JibJab website, you can create an animation where you cast yourself as a decorator who'll risk life and limb to create the most dazzling Christmas display on the block.

JibJab Animated Christmas Card

As for the desktop solutions, Photoshop is still one of the best tools to use for designing the best interactive Christmas cards as it offers you a great variety of editing options and gives you access to high-quality results. Of course, there are cheaper alternatives. A good example comes from Wondershare Flash Gallery Factory Deluxe, a tool that brings you multiple project templates and editing options, is designed for both beginner and professional PC users and gives you access to quality output files.

Wondershare Flash Gallery Factory Deluxe

Choose a greeting card template or design your own

The easiest and quickest way to create an animated card is to use a template that already has the graphic elements you need. In this case, most users would look for elements like Christmas trees, Santa Claus, Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer, and so on. Many desktop programs and online services provide you with these types of project samples.

Customize your animated Christmas card

Another important step in creating a card for your family and friends is to give the project a personal touch. For example, you can add text content like holiday wishes and attach personal pictures to your animated Christmas card. Once you finish customizing your project, you can either export it to your local drives or share it via email, depending on the desktop utility or online service you choose to use.

Customizing Christmas Card

Conclusion

All in all, it's very simple to create a personalized animated Christmas card. Simply follow the aforementioned steps and send it to your loved ones before Christmas. So, would you keep it traditional and send your family and friends actual greeting cards in the mail or try something new and create an animated Christmas card? Let us know in the comments section below.

Alternative downloads

Hallmark Card Studio 2012 Deluxe $49.99 windows Hallmark Card Studio 2012 Deluxe makes it easy to create one-of-a-kind Hallmark cards as unique as the people you care for. Download
Hallmark Card Studio Standard $29.99 windows For more than 100 years, Hallmark has designed greeting cards for life’s special moments. Download
Microsoft PowerPoint $129.99 windows Get your ideas across with beautiful design, rich animation, cinematic motion, 3D models and icons. Download
Wondershare Flash Gallery Factory Deluxe $29.95 windows Build Web-ready Interactive Slideshows, Fast. Download