Where Creative Passions Become Life-Changing Journeys

If you send Christmas cards, how many do you actually need this year? Most people land somewhere between 12 and 40, and that number matters more than you'd think, because it's what decides whether you make them one at a time or all at once.

Making one card is a lovely afternoon, and making thirty of them one at a time is how half-finished card projects end up in a drawer by the first week of December. There's an easier way to do it, and it mostly comes down to the order you work in.

This Week's Creative Pick · November Edition

How to Make a Batch of Handmade Christmas Cards

Batching just means you do each step for every card at once instead of finishing one card all the way through before you start the next one. So you pick one main design, you count how many cards you need and add a few spares for the people you always forget, and then you stop making decisions and start repeating.

After that it's four sittings. You make all the backgrounds in one go so they dry together, you cut all the card bases and the mats and the toppers in the next one, you put them together assembly line style, and then you sign and address them on a completely separate day, because signing always takes longer than anyone plans for.

The post also lays out a November schedule you can follow, and it's a calm one. Paint backgrounds the weekend of the 14th, cut and assemble the weekend of the 21st, and sign and mail in early December while everyone else is just getting started.

📖 Read the full card batching guide →

Registration Is Open · Free to Attend

Elves' Workshop Summit

📅 November 10–12, 2026  |  🕘 9:00 AM ET each day  |  💻 100% Online  |  🎟 Free to Attend

If you'd rather watch someone do this before you commit your own paper to it, Day Two of the summit is all cards, paper and paint, and Linh Van is teaching the batch-friendly watercolor backgrounds that make the whole method work. She's one of 32 teachers across the three days, and you can watch as many or as few of them as you want.

• Linh Van, Holiday Cards in a Hurry: Batch-Friendly Watercolor Backgrounds Made Easy
• Einat Kessler, 8 Holiday Tree Cards
• Elena Anderson, Interactive Snowman Surprise Card with Your Cricut
• Patti Dolan, One Fun Fold, Endless Occasions: Make a Gift Card Holder

Day One is Handmade Gifts & Wrapping on Tuesday, Day Two is Cards, Paper & Paint on Wednesday, and Day Three is Ornaments & Holiday Decor on Thursday. A new set of workshops goes live at 9:00 AM ET each morning and stays free to watch until 9:00 AM ET the next day, so nothing is live and there's no start time to miss. Register now and the supply list comes in your confirmation email, which gives you a week and a half to pick up anything you don't already have.

Until next Sunday, if you only do one thing with this, count how many cards you need and pick your one design, because everything after that gets easier.

Warmly,
Destini