A Christmas card for in-laws has to look meant, and it has to survive being opened at someone else's table. A photo of them (or of your partner with them, or of the grandchild they actually want to see) restyled on Ottermagic does that job without a joke that only your kitchen finds funny. Upload a picture they would not mind other people seeing, run Style Swap or Face Swap, preview until the likeness is kind, then post 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. Anyone already late should take the e-card. Start at Ottermagic.com.
Birthdays and thank-yous for the same people live in in-laws, mother-in-law and father-in-law Face Swap and Style Swap cards. Cards for your own mum, dad, nan, and grandad at Christmas live in Christmas cards for mum, dad, nan and grandad. This page is the December visit, the first Christmas in the family, and the year you finally send something that looks like them.
Keep the front warmer than your group chat
Style Swap is the safer Christmas default. They still look like themselves, only drawn. Watercolour, Sketch, and Royal Portrait are the three to try first if you are still learning their humour, or if the card will sit next to proper shop-bought ones. Photobooth and Classic Cartoon are fine once you know they send silly pictures back. Caricature, Bobblehead, and a harsh Lucky Leprechaun Face Swap can wait until you have seen them laugh at that kind of thing.
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.
Face Swap puts their face into a finished scene. Use it when the scene is affectionate, not a roast. Pet Swap is a genuine gift in houses where you know the dog's name better than you know small talk. Text Swap covers a name on a designed front if you have no photo; if you can get one clear picture from your partner, use it. If you do have a photo, Style Swap or Face Swap makes the stronger Christmas card.
Ask your partner which photo they would approve. That five-minute question prevents a technically good swap of a picture she hates, or of him squinting into low sun.
Mother-in-law
Use a recent photo. An old wedding-table crop can make her look like a different decade, which is an odd present in December. Daylight, facing the camera, glasses on if she wears them every day.
Watercolour and Sketch read as considered. Royal Portrait is a warm gag if she enjoys a bit of theatre. Photobooth suits a picture of her with the grandchildren. Chibi can read as too young on an adult; look at the preview. Anime is a yes when she likes that art, not when you like it.
Inside, thank her for one concrete thing: the spare room, the recipe, the way she was with the baby in March. "Happy Christmas" plus her name is enough if you are still getting the relationship right. Leave the A5 blank if handwriting will do more work than a printed paragraph.
If this is the first Christmas after a bereavement in her house, skip the loud novelty front. Sketch or Watercolour, and a quiet line, will sit better. A separate, gentler guide is thinking of you at Christmas.
Father-in-law
The trap is the hobby stereotype: golf, shed, newspaper. You do not need a Face Swap into a sports scene for the card to count. A clear Style Swap in Sketch or Classic Cartoon plus a line about last Sunday is often better.
Royal Portrait can be a kind joke for a man who would never buy it for himself. Retro Halftone and Retro Game suit some fathers-in-law and confuse others. Action Figure and Brick work when that is his shelf.
If the only photo is him in a cap at a match, try Style Swap before Face Swap. Caps hide hairlines. A hallway portrait from the last visit is kinder.
If you call him by a first name, write that. If the house still says "Mr …" on envelopes, match the house.
Both parents-in-law, on one card
A couple photo, both faces readable, is the clean input for Style Swap. Crop tight enough that they are the picture, not the wallpaper. If one person is always slightly behind the other, take a new frame at the next cup of tea.
One card to both is normal. Two cards, one each, is also normal if they live apart or if you have a much closer bond with one of them. Do not put a private in-joke about one parent on a card both of them will open.
Posters and canvas of the same portrait are available if the "card" is really a gift to hang. Check Ottermagic.com for current wall-art options. The A5 remains the thing that goes through the letterbox.
Photos, children, and manners
Phone photos are fine. Clear, well lit, facing the camera. For a pet who lives in that house, get the whole animal in.
Photos of children should be uploaded by a parent or guardian, or with their permission. That is Ottermagic's privacy rule, not a mood. A school photo of your partner's niece is still someone's child.
You must be 18 or over to order. Guests can preview without an account. You sign in at checkout.
If they live in the US, the printed A5 goes by airmail in around 2–3 weeks. If that window will miss, or they live in another country and you want it there today, send the e-card: hi-res, watermark-free after payment, on the confirmation page. You can print it locally or attach it to a message with a real sentence.
A few inside lines that do not overreach
- Happy Christmas. Thank you for having us in October. The good biscuits are still a family legend.
- Merry Christmas to you both. We are glad the children have you.
- All our love this Christmas. Thank you for the spare room and the quiet cup of tea.
- Happy Christmas. Here is you, slightly more glamorous than the hallway lighting allowed.
- With love from our house to yours. Drive safe if you are on the road.
More etiquette, including when to post, is in Christmas card etiquette. Practical wording for a photo card sits in how to write a Christmas card message with a personalised photo card.
Ready when you are
Send in-laws a Christmas card that looks like them, in a style you would still stand beside at their table. Upload a photo they would approve, run Style Swap or Face Swap on Ottermagic, and preview until it feels kind. Post a printed A5 (around 3–5 working days in the UK, 2–3 weeks to the US), or send the e-card if time or geography has already gone. Start at Ottermagic.com. Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day).
FAQ
What is the best Christmas card for a mother-in-law?
A kind likeness from a photo she likes of herself. On Ottermagic, try Watercolour, Sketch, or Royal Portrait first. Preview before you pay.
Should I put my partner's parents on a funny Face Swap?
Only if you have seen them enjoy that gag. Style Swap is the safer first Christmas.
Can I send one card to both parents-in-law?
Yes. Use a couple photo with both faces clear, or send two cards if that matches how they live.
We live in the US. Can we post an Ottermagic A5 to them?
Yes, if they live in the US: the US shop sends the printed A5 by airmail in around 2–3 weeks. If they live in the UK, switch to the UK shop in the site header and it goes with Royal Mail in around 3–5 working days. If Christmas is too close for either, take the e-card and print or send it.
