Even though sending out Christmas cards may not be the most frugal activity, I love to receive cards from my friends and family (so I assume they like to receive them from me...and see how our boys have grown over the last year). Plus, I have many friends that I may only communicate with through our Christmas card (although that's changing more and more with Facebook).
Although I would love to hand write every address for my Christmas cards (and include a handwritten note), I just don't have time to do that for the 60+ cards that I send to friends and family each year. So several years ago, I developed a Christmas card database that I use to keep track of my Christmas card list and to print out address labels.
I thought I would share the procedure for creating your own "database" and mail merge label document.
Christmas Card Database Tutorial
- Open the Christmas Card spreadsheet and make a copy for your own use. It contains all the fields that I use for my Christmas cards.
- Once you have entered all your data, save the file.
- Open a Word document
- In Word, choose Tools, Letters & Mailings, Mail Merge Wizard
- The wizard is on the right-hand column. Choose Labels for document type and click Next
- Choose Change Document Layout and then click on Label Options.
- Choose the labels you plan to print to (the number should be on the box) and click OK
- Click Next - Select Recipients
- Click Use an Existing List and browse for your Christmas Card spreadsheet you saved from the earlier steps
- Click Next - Arrange Your Labels
- Choose More Items and add the fields that you want to print on your label such as First Name, Last Name, etc. As you add the items, you will see them in the first label. You can add the line breaks when you've added all the fields.
- Once the first label is formatted like you want, click Update all Labels and your fields will show up on all labels.
- Click Next Preview Your Labels and your recipients information should show up
- Click Next Complete the Merge. You can choose to send the labels directly to the printer or to a new document. I usually choose a new document since I keep it as a record of who I actually mailed to already.
- Save your document to use next year.
That's it. Please leave a comment if you have any questions, and I'll reply to your comment. You should only have to set up the database and mail merge document once and then be able to edit as needed and use each following year. Although it creates some up-front work with entering the information, it saves lots of time in the years to follow.
Do you still send out Christmas cards? If you do, how do you address the cards...handwritten, labels?
Mindy says
WOW- I am so impressed. The thing I love about these blogs is that I am finding out I am not the only anal one in the world. I have been using this format for many years and it is the BEST! Im so impressed that you shared step by step for everyone. What a great gift.
.-= Mindy´s last blog ..Road Trip- Part 3 =-.
Jennifer Moore says
I do 130 Christmas cards every year and I hand-write every envelope and sign every card. I think if my friend doesn't have 2 minutes to address a card & sign it, that is so tacky! I do work F/T, so I make the time to do all 130 cards. I pop in a movie or two and listen to it while I do my cards... I also use Christmas postage stamps, use holiday themed return address labels and add stickers to the envelopes... and a red ink pen. The process take about 4 days (a couple hours each day), but I love the way they look afterward and I know my friends appreciate the time I took on them.
Corrie @ "Cents"able Momma says
That's great, Jennifer! I'm sure your friends appreciate that :-).
Holly says
My handwriting is atrocious, so printing my envelopes is so much prettier than handwritten. Not tacky at all.
Charity says
Totally agree with you! I think it looks so much better to do labels!
Natalie says
To be honest I don't send many Christmas cards any more. Only to a few older relatives who don't use computers and would miss getting a card. For everybody else, I keep in touch through email and Facebook throughout the year anyway, so I just sent e cards.
I'm never really sure what to do with pictures of other people's kids.....I'm not going to frame them or pt them in an album so should I keep them ( and never look at them again). It seems rude but most practical to toss them after I've looked at them. Any suggestions?
Corrie @ "Cents"able Momma says
I usually make a 2-page scrapbook page with all the pictures that I've received that year. I'll cut the pictures down so they all fit.
It can be tough to throw them away, but understandable. If you're not doing anything with them, they just create clutter. I don't expect people to keep the picture I send out of my boys :-).
Natalie says
Thank you for the reply, Corrie. I like your suggestion since it's still really hard for me to throw photos away.....but I don't like clutter either! I don't scrapbook, but I'm sure I could manage to put together a couple of pages of an album. My kids are teenagers now so I don't exchange photos with friends as much. As I'm busy running kids everywhere and running a business, I'm trying to simplify my life as much as possible, hence the ecards .
Darvin @ Recycling Christmas Card says
I'm a big Excel person, so I know how helpful it can be in keeping track of and simplifying things. I never thought to use it to track my Christmas card database though. Great idea!
Thanks.
.-= Darvin @ Recycling Christmas Card´s last blog ..Christmas Card Crafts =-.
Cindy Q says
Thank you so much for this! I like that it was step by step and so simple. By the way, I choose to handwrite a sentiment inside the card to make it personal. Merry Christmas!
Leilehua says
Being able to print out labels is WONDERFUL! With my arthritis, addressing each and every envelope by hand is excruciating, and often illegible! Thank you so much!
Holly says
I have done the same for years, keeping my Christmas Card address list in Excel. Instead of labels, I mail merge and print directly on the envelopes. It does take a little extra time printing, but it looks sharp and save the step of peeling and sticking all the labels.
Gail Simmons says
I did this on a mac and cant figure out how to convert it to a printable list
Kirsten Bigelow says
With this database, how do you add a "The" to the beginning of the family name? For example on my cards, I usually put "The Bigelow Family", so how would I do that with the column you have listed? And what do you typically put in the "comments" column, or what do you use that for? Also, I usually don't put a first name, so how do you suggest I make my columns? Thank you!
Corrie C says
You could just write "The Bigelow Family" in the Last Name section (and maybe just delete the First name column and change Last Name to just Name). I use the comments column to keep track of the last time I received a Christmas card in return. That way if I ever need to reduce my list, I can remove those that I don't receive cards from (unless they're family or really good friends who I want to send a card no matter what).
Tiffany Hulme says
Hello! You inspired me! This is such a great idea and I have meant to put my Christmas card addresses in a data base for years. Thanks for your instructions. By any chance, do you have instructions for mac users?
Thank You!
Corrie C says
I'm so sorry! Unfortunately, I have zero experience with a Mac, so I don't have any Mac instructions.
Joy Berlin says
We send 225 Christmas cards every year. I used to make the cards myself and hand address the envelopes using red and green fine markers, drawing holly and berries on the envelopes, but that took well over two weeks and I don’t seem to have that much time anymore. Our family is scattered across the US, which makes our summer family gathering photo the centerpiece of our cards. Shutterfly offers options for cards using more than five photos. I start looking for the perfect card format in September. Anyone who misses the family gathering can send photos of themselves and I work them into the design.
My problem is finding the perfect data base: easy to use, easy to alter, easy to merge into a label program.
Twenty five years ago, I bought a very large bulletin board for my home office wall. After Christmas, I redesign the board using all the new photos that arrived in the holiday mail. I enjoy the pictures all year long and marvel at the changes in our friend’s families. Whenever I am at work in my office, I am surrounded by those lovely photos.
This year, I am going to re-do the entire data base which will be time consuming, but I need an alphabetized system that I can sort through at the end of every holiday season.
I may give your suggestion a try. Thank you for the step by step instructions.