Festival cards work when they look like your household, not like a generic envelope of gold coins. Ottermagic's useful move is a clear photo restyled with Style Swap, Face Swap, or Pet Swap, then printed or downloaded in time for the date. Printed cards are A5 folded (148×210mm), 330gsm gloss, envelope included and made to order in the UK: 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. The e-card (a hi-res, watermark-free download) is there when the calendar is already tight. Start at Ottermagic.com.
The outcome is a Spring Festival greeting they recognise as themselves. The mechanism is upload, swap, preview. You pay when the likeness feels warm.
Dates move each year. Check this year's first day, then work backwards. The art should be recognisable. It should not dress someone as a sacred figure or a cartoon zodiac animal they did not ask to be.
A respectful starting point
Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) is the most widely searched name in English. Lunar New Year is the broader label many families use, including households marking Tết or Seollal alongside or instead of the Chinese calendar. A personalised card cannot carry a whole culture. It can carry a face you love, in a style that suits how that family actually celebrates.
Practical habits that keep things decent:
- Use a photo the person is happy to share.
- Prefer family, friends, and pets over putting someone's face onto deities, temple icons, or a costume they would find cheap.
- Match the mood. Chibi may be perfect for a cousin. Sketch or Watercolour may sit better on a table where the evening is about visiting elders.
- Spell greetings the way that family writes them (Gong Xi Fa Cai, Xin Nian Kuai Le, Happy Lunar New Year, and so on). Text on the card should be words you would say at the door.
- If you are sending into a household that is not yours, ask someone who celebrates how playful they like to be.
Text Swap is available when you have no photo and still want a name or a short blessing on a designed front. Large text-led catalogues can be easier if you need to browse dozens of headline templates. When you do have a photo, Style Swap, Face Swap, and Pet Swap are the reason to use Ottermagic.
Photos that survive red-and-gold lighting
New year pictures are often taken indoors, at night, in mixed warm light. That is lovely in an album. It is harder for a swap when faces fall into shadow behind a plate of food.
Step someone near a brighter room or a window for ten seconds if you can. Face the camera. Keep one main subject, or a couple with both faces large. Group banquet shots with ten relatives confuse Face Swap. Crop to the person the card is for, or make more than one card.
New clothes and colour in the frame are fine. Sunglasses at a night market are a nuisance. Kids move; take several shots.
Pets appear in a lot of living rooms this week. Pet Swap needs the whole animal, ears included. Skip it if you are sending to someone who would find an animal on a new year card odd.
Styles to try (for the person, not a stereotype)
You do not need a design stamped with a generic dragon to make the card feel seasonal. A strong portrait style plus a greeting inside is often enough.
Softer visits and elders: Sketch, Watercolour, Royal Portrait.
Family groups and kids: Photobooth, Cartoon, Classic Cartoon, Chibi, Anime.
Playful households: Clay 3D, Brick, Action Figure, Sticker Sheet.
Graphic / bold: Retro Halftone, Tarot Card, Caricature, only if that is their taste.
Full live list: 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 into a finished scene is optional. Use it when the scene is clearly a celebration portrait. Skip anything that turns a relative into a joke zodiac costume. Lucky Leprechaun energy is a different festival's gag.
Try two styles. Keep the one you would hand over with a bag of sweets, not the one that only works as a sticker on your phone.
Print, e-card, wall art
Lunar New Year dates shift. School half terms and travel sit on top of the working-day count.
| Path | When it helps | Ottermagic facts |
|---|---|---|
| Printed A5 | UK addresses with enough working days, or US addresses with about three weeks, before the first day or the main family visit | 148×210mm folded, 330gsm gloss, envelope, printed to order in the UK, Royal Mail ~3–5 working days (UK) or airmail ~2–3 weeks (US), blank inside or printed message, recyclable stock, water-based inks |
| E-card | The moon-and-calendar timing caught you out, or you want it with family in another country today | Hi-res, watermark-free download; print locally or send the file |
| Poster or canvas | A first new year in a new home, or a portrait someone would hang | Available; check Ottermagic.com for live sizes and fulfilment |
Checkout is in pounds in the UK shop and dollars in the US shop. Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day).
You can like one preview and send the e-card to cousins abroad, then post A5 to the UK and US addresses that still like envelopes.
Inside wording
The front does the likeness. The inside can stay ordinary.
Write the names you use. Mention the visit, the meal, or the fact you will call. A short greeting in the language the family uses is better than a long English paragraph you would never say. If you are not sure of the phrase, ask someone or keep it to "Thinking of you this new year."
Red envelopes and money customs are household-specific. Do not print instructions about them unless that is how you actually talk.
Leave the A5 blank if different relatives need different sentences. A printed line is handy for a stack of similar cards.
Ready when you are
Send a Spring Festival card that looks like your people. Upload a photo, choose a style that matches the tone of the visit, and preview until the likeness feels kind. Print an A5 (148×210mm, 330gsm gloss, envelope), take the e-card if the date is close, or order a poster or canvas when the artwork should stay. Start at Ottermagic.com. Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day).
FAQ
Can I make a Chinese New Year card without a themed template?
Yes. A Style Swap of a family or pet photo is often better than hunting for a specific icon. The greeting can sit inside, or on a Text Swap if you have no photo.
How early should I order printed Lunar New Year cards in the UK?
Allow around 3–5 working days with Royal Mail, more if a UK bank holiday sits in the way. The date changes each year, so check the calendar and then decide print versus e-card.
Is Face Swap appropriate for Lunar New Year?
It can be, when you are putting a face into a clearly playful, non-sacred scene, and you know the recipient. Skip anything that turns a person into a religious figure or a cheap zodiac mascot.
Can I send the same portrait to several relatives?
Yes. Once you like a preview, order more than one printed A5, take the e-card to share, or look at poster and canvas if one household would hang it.
What if I am not sure which greeting to write?
Ask someone in the family, or keep the inside short ("Happy Lunar New Year," "Xin Nian Kuai Le") rather than a long phrase you do not use out loud.
I am in the US. Can I get a posted card?
Yes. The printed A5 goes by airmail to US addresses in around 2–3 weeks, so allow about three weeks before the first day. If the date is closer, take the e-card and print or send the file locally.
