December is full of cards that say “Happy Christmas” and show a stock robin. If you have a photo from this year, Ottermagic can put that household on the front in a designed style. Upload a clear picture, run Face Swap, Style Swap, or Pet Swap, preview until it looks like your people (or your animal), then order a printed A5 card or an 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. Those windows are real. Anyone already late should take the e-card (hi-res, watermark-free download) and print or send the file.
Which mode for which December photo
Style Swap restyles the whole snapshot. Use it for a sofa photo of the family, a couple in jumpers, or a baby in a too-big hat, when you want that scene redrawn as Watercolour, Cartoon, Photobooth, Sketch, Brick, or Clay 3D.
Face Swap puts a face into a finished festive-leaning template. Lucky Leprechaun is the named costume-style example in the live set; browse Face Swap designs for the mood you actually want. Best with a face-on head, hair in frame.
Pet Swap when the Christmas card is secretly for the dog. Whole animal, eyes visible, lamp on if they are dark-furred.
Text Swap if you have no photo and still want a name on a designed card. If you can get a picture, use it.
Live styles worth trying in this lane: Chibi, Anime, Watercolour, Cartoon, Classic Cartoon, Photobooth, Sketch, Clay 3D, Brick, Action Figure, Bobblehead, Royal Portrait, Retro Halftone, Pixel Art, Tarot Card, Sticker Sheet. You do not need a design literally titled “nativity 12”. A winter photo plus a strong look is often enough.
Posters and canvas are available if one of these turns out too good to leave in an envelope. Check Ottermagic.com for live wall-art details. Wall art is not reserved for photo labs.
Family Christmas photo cards
The usual family Christmas card is last year’s round-robin picture in a snowy border. Style Swap keeps the group and changes the medium. Kids as Chibi. Parents as Sketch. Everyone as Photobooth strips. The recognition is the point: Nan should still know who is who.
Photo tips that are specific to groups:
- Faces similar in size beat a toddler on a lap and Dad three metres back.
- Step away from the table so plates do not become extra limbs after a restyle.
- One reasonably recent photo beats a collage of four years.
- If one person always blinks, take a burst on a phone and pick the frame where everyone has eyes.
If the family disagrees on taste, generate Watercolour and Clay 3D on the same upload. Keep the preview that does not start an argument. You can order several A5s of one design; you do not have to invent a different style per aunt unless you want to.
UK post: count back from the last posting dates you actually trust, then add the 3–5 working day print. Early December is kinder than the 20th. US post: the airmail A5 takes around 2–3 weeks, so allow about three weeks before Christmas. If you have missed that, e-card, then print at a local shop or send the image with a note that the paper one is coming if it still is.
Pet Christmas cards
Some households send a card of the child. Others send the whippet in a paper crown. Pet Swap is for the second group.
Use a photo where the animal is the subject, not a hint of an ear behind a sofa. Cats on dark duvets fail. Dogs mid-zoomies blur. A sit, a treat, a window.
Styles that often suit pets: Cartoon, Clay 3D, Action Figure, Bobblehead, Sticker Sheet, Pixel Art, Royal Portrait (for the ridiculous dignity). Sketch and Watercolour if the pet card is going to someone who would hate a joke.
The card can be for a human birthday in January that you are wrapping with a Christmas post, or for the pet’s own “gotcha” day. Same mechanism. Printed A5 if there is time for the post, e-card if they live far away or you left it late.
Baby’s first Christmas
This one gets kept in a box. That is why the photo matters more than a slogan.
Style Swap with a sharp, well-lit baby face (awake, not a night-mode mush) into Watercolour, Sketch, Chibi, or Classic Cartoon tends to feel like a keepsake. Clay 3D and Brick can be charming if the family likes toys; they can also feel a bit punchy for a three-month-old. Preview is the judge. Face Swap into a loud costume template is optional, and easy to overdo for a first Christmas. If you try it, keep it affectionate.
Practical bits:
- Hats that hide eyes will hide eyes in the art.
- A parent’s shoulder in the crop is fine for Style Swap if the baby is large in the frame.
- Order earlier than you think. New parents are tired, and Royal Mail in December is busy. Around 3–5 working days is the print guide, not a Christmas Eve promise.
- US grandparents: switch to the US shop and the A5 goes by airmail in around 2–3 weeks. If Christmas is closer than that, send the e-card so they have something on the day; they can print the file.
Inside: blank to write a short line, or a printed message if you want both names and the year on record. Recyclable stock, water-based inks.
First Christmas married
The photo is often from the wedding, the honeymoon, or a rented cottage in the rain. Style Swap can turn that into Photobooth, Royal Portrait, Watercolour, or Anime depending on how earnest you are willing to be. Face Swap works if you want “us as this scene” and you have a clean, face-on crop of each person (you may be making two cards, or picking the partner who should star).
Avoid using a group groomsmen shot as the couple card. Crop to the two of you. If the only sharp picture is from the registry steps in October, that is a perfectly good first Christmas card. You do not need snow.
For friends who missed the wedding, this card does a lot of work. For parents, Sketch or Watercolour may land more softly than Bobblehead. Generate both. Watch which preview you would actually put in their hall. If you want it in the hall for real, posters and canvas are on the site.
US spelling (personalized) in a message to American in-laws is fine. Format for them: the printed A5 by airmail if you have around three weeks, otherwise the e-card.
Timing in December
Ottermagic does not offer same-day Christmas print. Count working days. Bank holidays sit inside the window. If you are inside it, e-card. If you still want the object, order the A5 as soon as the preview is right, even if you write the insides later.
Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day). Prices are in pounds in the UK shop and dollars in the US shop.
Ready when you are
You can send a Christmas card that is actually your family, your pet, your baby, or the two of you in the first December. Upload a clear photo, try Face Swap, Style Swap, or Pet Swap, and keep the preview that looks like home. Order an A5 330gsm gloss card with an envelope, posted with Royal Mail in around 3–5 working days in the UK or by airmail in around 2–3 weeks in the US. Anyone, anywhere, can take the e-card. Posters and canvas are there if one design should hang. Start at Ottermagic.com.
FAQ
Can I get a Face Swap Christmas card posted by tomorrow?
Not as a promise. A printed A5 typically takes around 3–5 working days with Royal Mail in the UK, and around 2–3 weeks by airmail to the US. Use the e-card if the date is tight.
Should I use last year’s family photo?
If it is sharp and everyone still looks like themselves, yes. If someone has a new haircut they are proud of, take five minutes in daylight.
Is Pet Swap only for Christmas?
No. It is the pet path year round. December is simply when a lot of people finally make the card.
What if we do not have a wedding photo we like?
Use any clear couple photo from this year. Style Swap cares about likeness and light more than the dress.
Can US family members get these?
Yes. The US shop sends the printed A5 by airmail to US addresses in around 2–3 weeks. If Christmas is closer than that, send the e-card they can download and print or view.
Do I need a Santa template?
No. Browse Face Swap if you want a costume scene; try Watercolour or Photobooth if you want the real room, redrawn.
