Festival cards work when they feel like your household, not like a generic clip-art lantern. Ottermagic’s useful move is simple: a clear photo of the people (or the pet who sits in on every gathering), restyled with Style Swap, Face Swap, or Pet Swap, then printed or downloaded in time for the date. UK printed cards are A5 folded (148×210mm), 330gsm gloss, envelope included, made to order and posted with Royal Mail in around 3–5 working days. Digital download is there when the calendar is already tight. The art should be warm and recognisable. It should not dress someone as a sacred figure for a laugh.
A respectful starting point
Diwali, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Eid, and Passover are not interchangeable “winter holidays”. They sit in different calendars, with different foods, lights, fasts, and family patterns. A personalised card cannot carry a theology. It can carry a face you love, in a style that suits the tone of the day.
Practical rules that keep things decent:
- Use a photo the person is happy to share.
- Prefer family, friends, and pets over putting someone’s face onto religious icons or prophets.
- Match the mood. A noisy Action Figure may be perfect for a cousin. Sketch or Watercolour may sit better on a table where the evening is quiet.
- If you are sending into a household that is not yours, ask someone who celebrates how playful they like to be.
- Spell greetings the way that family writes them (Eid Mubarak, Chag sameach, Happy Diwali, and so on). Text on the card should be words you would say at the door.
Ottermagic also offers Text Swap 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, Face, and Pet Swap are the reason to use Ottermagic.
Diwali
Diwali is a festival of light for many Hindu, Sikh, and Jain families, with plenty of other households joining the food and the lamps. Photos often include colour: new clothes, rangoli, a doorway, a family group.
Style Swap ideas that tend to sit well:
- Photobooth and Cartoon for a bright, informal family shot
- Chibi or Anime for children
- Clay 3D if the family likes playful objects
- Sketch or Watercolour if you want something calmer to keep
Face Swap is optional. Use it for a fun finished scene only when that scene is clearly a celebration portrait, not a costume of a deity. Pet Swap is fair game for the dog who appears in every Diwali reel.
Order printed A5 with the 3–5 working day Royal Mail window in mind. Diwali dates move. Check this year’s evening and work backwards. If you are already in the week, download the file and print locally.
Hanukkah
Hanukkah is a Jewish festival of lights across eight nights. Cards go to family, to friends who host, and sometimes to children who are collecting small gifts. A good photo might be the menorah table, or more likely a clear face in a jumper, because indoor night lighting can be yellow and dim.
Turn a lamp on. Face the camera. Then try:
- Sketch or Watercolour for a card that can sit with more traditional stationery
- Photobooth for siblings
- Brick or Action Figure if that is genuinely their sense of humour
- Bobblehead only if you know they will laugh
Do not rely on a dark photo of candles where nobody’s eyes are visible. The lights are the setting. The person is still the subject.
Printed UK A5 with an envelope is easy to include with a small gift. Digital download helps if you are sending to several addresses on different nights and the post will not keep up.
Ramadan and Eid
Ramadan is a month. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the fast; Eid al-Adha is a separate feast. People send “Ramadan Mubarak” notes during the month and “Eid Mubarak” cards for the days of celebration. Know which one you are marking.
Photos from iftar tables are full of food and low light. They are lovely memories and often poor Face Swap inputs. Step someone near a brighter room for ten seconds if you can.
For Ramadan greetings, quieter styles (Sketch, Watercolour, a restrained Cartoon) often feel more in keeping with a month of reflection. For Eid, colour can come back: Chibi for kids, Photobooth for cousins, Clay 3D if that is the family’s taste.
Pet Swap is fine in households where the cat is part of the furniture. Skip it if you are unsure.
Printed cards need the usual 3–5 working days. Eid dates depend on the moon in many communities, so digital download is a sensible backup when the day is confirmed late. Posters and canvas from the same portrait can mark a first Eid in a new home; check Ottermagic.com for live wall-art details.
Passover
Passover (Pesach) is a spring festival centred on the seder and a long, specific meal. Cards are less of a high-street habit than Christmas, which is why a personalised one can feel more personal, for better or worse. Keep it about the people at the table.
A clear photo of family, or of the friend you are thanking for hosting, restyled in Sketch or Watercolour, is usually enough. Photobooth can work for a lighter tone among relatives who already send silly pictures. Avoid turning the story of the festival into a Face Swap gag. You do not need that to make a good card.
If you are sending before the first night, count Royal Mail working days and remember that some households are busy with preparation. A digital file the host can print is still a kind gesture if you left it late.
Shared practicalities for all five
Photo. Well lit, main face large, phone camera is fine. Whole pet in frame for Pet Swap.
Timing. Printed A5: around 3–5 working days in the UK. Festival dates move; digital download when you are inside that window.
Inside. Leave the A5 blank and write a real sentence, or add a printed message if you want the envelope ready to post. A short, specific line beats a long generic blessing you copied from a search result.
US recipients. A printed A5 sent by airmail to a US address takes around 2–3 weeks. Inside that window, use digital download.
If you have no photo. Text Swap for names and messages. Then, if a picture appears in the group chat, you still have time to make a Style Swap they will keep.
Live styles you can actually try include Brick, Chibi, Anime, Action Figure, Clay 3D, Bobblehead, Tarot, Photobooth, Sketch, Lucky Leprechaun, Watercolour, and Cartoon. Pick for the person, not for a stereotype of the festival.
Ready when you are
Send a card that looks like your people. Upload a photo, choose a style that matches the tone of the day, and preview until the likeness feels kind. Print UK A5 (148×210mm, 330gsm gloss, envelope, Royal Mail around 3–5 working days), order a poster or canvas, or download the file if the date is close. Start at Ottermagic.com. Support: support@ottermagic.com (reply within one working day).
FAQ
Can I make a Diwali or Eid card without a religious template?
Yes. A Style Swap of a family or pet photo is often better than hunting for a specific icon. The greeting can sit in the message inside, or on a Text Swap if you have no photo.
How early should I order printed cards?
Allow around 3–5 working days with Royal Mail, more if a UK bank holiday sits in the way. Festival dates change each year, so check the calendar and then decide print vs download.
Is Face Swap appropriate for these occasions?
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.
Can I send the same portrait to several relatives?
Yes. Once you like a preview, you can order more than one printed A5, take a digital download 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 and personal (“Thinking of you this Eid”, “With love this Diwali”) rather than a long phrase you do not use out loud.
