Grandparents tend to keep the cards that look like the small people, even when a grown-up pressed send. A recent photo of the grandchildren, restyled so it feels drawn rather than snatched from a group chat, is a kind December habit. On Ottermagic you upload that picture, run Style Swap or Face Swap, preview until Nan would still know who is who, then order a printed A5 or send the e-card. Printed cards are 148×210mm folded, 330gsm gloss, envelope included, made to order in the UK, then posted with Royal Mail to UK addresses in around 3–5 working days or sent by airmail to US addresses in around 2–3 weeks.
This page is for sending to Nan, Nana, Grandad, Grandma, Grandpa, or Gramps, with the grandchildren as the subject of the front. Cards aimed at mum and dad as well as grandparents sit in Christmas cards for mum, dad, nan and grandad. Cards signed in the children’s voice, including babies and bumps, sit in Christmas cards from the kids. Year-round grandparent cards are in Nan, Nana, Grandad Face Swap. First Christmas as grandparents is a different milestone: first Christmas together, new home, first Christmas as grandparents.
Start at Ottermagic.com with a picture where you can see the children’s eyes.
What belongs on the front
The front is the grandchildren. The inside can still say “love from all of us.”
Style Swap restyles the real photo: two cousins on a sofa, a baby in a too-big hat, a teenager who agreed to one frame. Watercolour, Sketch, Photobooth, Classic Cartoon, and Cartoon are the usual keepable starting points. Brick and Clay 3D suit a grandparent who still has a toy box, or who will enjoy the joke.
Face Swap is useful when you have a clear head-and-shoulders of one grandchild and you want them in a finished, gentle scene. Crop to one face. Lucky Leprechaun is a costume-style example in the live set; skip anything that looks like a mean gag unless you know that household.
Pet Swap if the card is from the granddog, or the cat who thinks it lives at Nan’s on Fridays.
Text Swap if every photo this year is a blur and you still want “To Grandad, love the kids” on a designed front. If a picture exists, use it.
Photos of children may only be uploaded by a parent or guardian, or with their permission. Ask before you use a school portrait from a family WhatsApp.
Live styles: Brick, Chibi, Emoji, Anime, Watercolour, Caricature, Cartoon, Classic Cartoon, Action Figure, Clay 3D, Retro Halftone, Retro Game, Royal Portrait, Pixel Art, Bobblehead, Sticker Sheet, Tarot Card, Photobooth, Sketch, Lucky Leprechaun.
Caricature is optional. Many grandparents do not want a loud forehead joke about a grandchild. Preview with the parent, not only with the person who found the site.
When the sender is five, and when the sender is twenty-five
Younger grandchildren do not run the checkout. A parent uploads, previews, and writes “love from Maisie” inside, sometimes in the child’s handwriting on a blank A5. That is still from the grandchild.
Older grandchildren can send the card themselves. A current photo, Style Swap in Sketch or Photobooth, a short line that does not sound like an office email. US grandkids sending to a UK letterbox can switch to the UK shop in the site header and have the A5 posted with Royal Mail. UK grandkids sending to Grandma in Ohio can switch to the US shop, which sends it by airmail in around 2–3 weeks, or take the e-card if Christmas is closer than that.
Twins and close-in-age cousins: Style Swap of a photo where both faces are large and in focus. Do not squash six children into a Face Swap crop meant for one.
A baby who cannot sit up yet still works. Use a recent, well-lit picture. Watercolour and Sketch are gentler than Bobblehead on a newborn.
Teen grandchildren: see Christmas cards for teens and tweens. Do not pick the photo they hate.
Photos Nan will actually recognise
A dark living-room group of eight, taken from the kitchen doorway, is a poor upload. Faces similar in size beat a toddler on a lap and a teenager three metres back.
What often works:
- One grandchild, daylight, face large in the frame.
- Two grandchildren sharing a sofa, both looking roughly at the camera.
- A slightly windswept walk, hats off for one frame so eyes are visible.
- Last year’s slightly chaotic table, if the faces are still clear.
Old prints are allowed. Nan’s favourite picture of them might be five years old and slightly pink. Retro Halftone and Watercolour are often kinder to that file than a straight reprint. If they have changed a lot, a current photo is usually the kinder front, with the old print mentioned inside.
Fairy lights look festive and hide eyes. Take a second picture with the overhead light on.
More on choosing a Christmas upload: how to choose a photo for a Face Swap or Style Swap Christmas card.
What to write so it sounds like them
If a child can hold a pencil, let them write on a blank inside. Printed messages are useful when the card is going straight in the post, or the five-year-old’s writing is a private language.
Ideas to rewrite, not copy blindly:
- “Happy Christmas Nan. This is us this year. Love from the grandchildren (and Mum, who pressed the buttons).”
- “To Grandad. We liked this picture. See you on the 25th. Love Tom and Bea.”
- “Grandma: we miss your biscuits. This is our Christmas face. Love from Ohio, as a file, because the post would miss.”
- From one older grandchild: “I know you keep these. Here is this year’s. Love you.”
Keep the inside spare. The front is already doing the visual work.
UK spellings on the envelope: Nan, Nana, Grandad, unless they have asked for Grandma and Grandpa. Cards for US grandparents can follow how they write.
Print, e-card, wall art
Printed A5: 148×210mm folded, 330gsm gloss, envelope included, blank inside or a printed message, printed to order in the UK, Royal Mail around 3–5 working days to UK addresses or airmail around 2–3 weeks to US addresses, recyclable stock, water-based inks. Dispatched within one working day, Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays. Standard post is untracked.
The e-card is a hi-res, watermark-free download after payment. Use it for grandparents who live far away and should see it today, for a care-home printer on the desk, and for the last week when they have already gone to the other child’s house.
Posters and canvas are available if this year’s portrait should live on a wall rather than in a drawer of cards. Check Ottermagic.com for current sizes.
Royal Mail’s published last posting dates for Christmas 2026 (they note they can change) are: 2nd Class Friday 18 December, Tracked 48 Saturday 19 December, 1st Class and Tracked 24 Monday 21 December, Special Delivery Wednesday 23 December. Confirm on Royal Mail’s page. Count Ottermagic’s print window on top.
If they are going away on the 22nd, post to the address they will open, or send the e-card to someone who will show them a screen.
Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day). Checkout is in pounds in the UK shop and dollars in the US shop.
Several grandparents, several households
You can reuse the same approved artwork on more than one A5. Preview once, then order copies rather than regenerating until the faces drift. Add each card to your basket as its own item.
Blended families: make the card about the grandchildren they actually know, with names inside, rather than a forced group that never stood together. Ottermagic restyles one photo. It does not stitch three separate houses into a fake reunion.
A grandparent who is grieving, or facing a first Christmas without someone, may not want a loud festive scene. A quiet Sketch of the children can still be a comfort. If you are unsure, a handwritten note on a simple card is allowed. For a careful memorial Christmas piece, see thinking of you at Christmas.
Ready when you are
Send Nan a card that looks like this year’s grandchildren. Upload a clear photo, try Style Swap or Face Swap (Pet Swap if the animal is signing too), and keep the preview you would be proud to prop on a mantel. Print an A5 (148×210mm, 330gsm gloss, envelope; around 3–5 working days in the UK, 2–3 weeks by airmail in the US), look at posters or canvas, or take the e-card. Start at Ottermagic.com. Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day).
FAQ
Can the card be from the grandchildren if Mum orders it?
Yes. The front is their faces. The inside can say it is from them. A parent or guardian should be the one uploading children’s photos.
What if I have four grandchildren and they never sit still together?
Make more than one card, or Style Swap the clearest pair and name the others inside. A tiny face at the back of a crowd will not become a keepable likeness.
Can US grandchildren send a printed card to the UK?
Yes. Switch to the UK shop in the site header and the printed A5 is posted with Royal Mail to Nan’s UK address in around 3–5 working days. For grandparents who live in the US, use the US shop, which sends the same card by airmail in around 2–3 weeks.
Which style do grandparents prefer?
There is no ranking. Watercolour, Sketch, Photobooth, and Classic Cartoon are hard to get badly wrong. Caricature is easy to get wrong. Preview.
Can I include the family dog?
Yes. Pet Swap for a card from the dog, or Style Swap of a photo that includes the children and the animal.
