When the front already looks like them, the inside can be short. You are not explaining the picture. You are adding one true line, a name, and enough warmth that the envelope was worth opening. On Ottermagic the front comes from a photo via Style Swap, Face Swap, or Pet Swap. The printed A5 can stay blank for handwriting or take a printed message. The e-card is a file; your words go in the message you send with it, or on whatever you print. Preview the artwork first at Ottermagic.com, then write.
Timing, faith language, and whether an e-card is rude belong in Christmas card etiquette. This page is the practical bit: how a photo-to-art card changes what you write, where those words live, and a handful of lines you can steal and then spoil with a real detail of your own.
The front has already done half the work
A shop-rack robin still needs a paragraph because the bird is generic. A Watercolour of your sister, a Photobooth strip of the kids, or a Pet Swap of the dog is already the greeting. Repeating "here is a picture of us" inside is wasted space.
Write as if they can see the front (they can):
- Name the relationship or the year, not the art style.
- Mention one specific thing: the visit, the new kitchen, the fact you missed them.
- Match the volume of the design. A quiet Sketch wants a quieter sentence than Clay 3D in a paper crown.
- Stop when the line is true. Two sentences beat a speech.
If you freeze, write the first honest clause, then put the pen down. You can always add "love from" and names.
Printed inside, handwritten, or with the e-card
Ottermagic's FAQ: you can add a message inside, and they print it, or you leave the card blank and write your own.
Leave it blank when your handwriting is part of the gift, when you will see them in person and want to add a last-minute note, or when several people in the house will sign. The printed A5 is 148×210mm folded, 330gsm gloss, envelope included, so there is a real inside panel to write on.
Print the message when the card is going straight to their address and you will not touch it again, when your handwriting is genuinely hard to read, or when you are sending a few of the same design with only the name changed. Check the preview of the words the same way you check the face. The terms say what you approve is what is printed.
E-card: there is no folded inside. After payment you get a hi-res, watermark-free file on the confirmation page. Put the greeting in the email, the iMessage, or the WhatsApp caption. If you print the file at home, write on the back or on a slip in the envelope.
US readers get the same choice: the printed A5 goes by airmail in around 2–3 weeks, and the e-card covers anything later. Same writing advice either way.
A small method that unsticks most people
- Open with the greeting they actually use: Happy Christmas, Merry Christmas, Season's greetings, Happy holidays.
- Add one concrete memory or thanks from this year.
- Close with love, from whom, and (if it is true) an invitation that is easy to refuse: tea in January, a call, no need to reply.
Example, assembled rather than invented as poetry:
Happy Christmas. Still thinking about the roast in March. Love from us three, and the cat who stole the wrapping.
That is enough. You do not need a joke unless you already share one.
Short lines you can adapt
Steal the shape, then swap in a real noun.
Family, when the front is all of you
- Happy Christmas from this slightly chaotic kitchen. We are glad you are in the picture.
- All our love this Christmas. Same faces, new jumpers, still yours.
- Merry Christmas. Thank you for putting up with the noise in July.
When the front is them, restyled
- Happy Christmas. You look like this in our heads anyway.
- Merry Christmas. We wanted you on the mantel, not a robin.
- With love. Ignore the royal cloak if it is too much. The likeness is the point.
From the kids, the baby, or the bump
- Merry Christmas from us. We did the faces. Mum did the stamps.
- Happy Christmas. This is me, apparently an action figure. Love you.
- Love from the bump, who is already taking up the photo.
A longer "from the kids" guide is Christmas cards from the kids, the baby, or the bump.
Pet Swap
- Merry Christmas from the dog, who paid us in hair.
- Happy Christmas. The cat allowed this sitting. Barely.
- Love from the household animal, who still believes wrapping paper is prey.
In-laws and people you are still getting right
- Happy Christmas, and thank you for having us.
- Merry Christmas. Glad the children have you.
- With love from our house to yours.
Someone you have not seen
- Merry Christmas. It has been too long. I still grin at [one shared memory].
- Happy Christmas from our house to yours. No essay required back.
Someone grieving
Do not force sparkle. Name the person if that is kind.
- Thinking of you this Christmas, and of [Name]. No need to reply.
- Holding you in mind this season. We are here.
Quieter Style Swap looks (Sketch, Watercolour) usually fit better than a gag Face Swap.
Colleagues
- Merry Christmas and a peaceful break. Thank you for the hard weeks.
- Season's greetings. Enjoy the time off.
Keep it professional. A separate tone guide is teacher, colleague and boss Christmas cards.
What not to write on a photo-to-art card
Do not apologise for the AI. If the preview looks like them, the card is a card. A longer comfort-check is is it OK to send an AI Christmas card.
Do not describe the style ("this is you in Clay 3D") unless they asked. They can see it.
Do not stack adjectives (wonderful, amazing, magical year). Pick one fact.
Do not write a life-update newsletter on the inside panel. If you need a letter, write a letter and let the card be the card.
Do not put a private joke on a front that will be displayed. The mantel is public.
Match the message to the look, loosely
Photobooth, Sticker Sheet, Cartoon, and Clay 3D can carry a lighter line. Tarot Card and Royal Portrait can carry a slightly stately one, or a wink if that is your relationship. Watercolour and Sketch hold sincere thanks. Pet Swap is allowed to be daft. Lucky Leprechaun and other Face Swap scenes ask for a line that knows it is a scene.
If the words and the picture argue with each other, change the words. Regenerating the art because you wrote a solemn paragraph on a sticker sheet is the long way round.
Ready when you are
See the likeness, then add one true sentence. Upload a photo on Ottermagic, run Style Swap, Face Swap, or Pet Swap, and preview until it feels right. Print an A5 with a blank inside or a printed message (around 3–5 working days with Royal Mail in the UK, around 2–3 weeks by airmail to the US), or download the e-card and put the greeting in the send. Start at Ottermagic.com. Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day).
FAQ
How long should a Christmas card message be?
One or two sentences is plenty when the front is already personal. Names at the end.
Should I print the message or write it by hand?
Handwrite if you will hold the card. Print it if the envelope goes straight from the printer to their door. Ottermagic does both on the A5.
What do I write with an e-card?
The same short greeting, in the message that carries the file. The e-card is the artwork, not a hosted letter.
Can I mention the photo?
You can, once, if it helps: "Here is us in the kitchen in October." You do not need to explain Style Swap.
What if I have no photo?
Ottermagic Text Swap still puts a name or greeting on a designed front. The inside advice does not change. If a photo exists, use it.
