Holiday Photo Cards From Your Camera Roll: Cards vs Postcards, Sizes and When to Order
How to make holiday photo cards from your iPhone: folded greeting cards vs photo postcards, which size and paper to pick, how many to order, real pack prices, and an order-by timeline built from shipping speeds.
Updated October 2026.
Quick answer: Pick one photo where every face is clear, then choose folded greeting cards (with envelopes, room to write inside, from $3.99 each) or photo postcards (cheaper and faster to send, from $2.99 each). 5×7 is the classic holiday size; 4×6 is the budget one. Choose matte if you’ll write on them. Order your list plus about 10%, and order by mid-November with Standard shipping so you have time to address them before the post office’s December rush. In the LifeCache iPhone app, both live in the Shop tab, and your year’s best photos are already sorted and easy to find.
Holiday cards fail in one of two ways. Either the photo never gets chosen and the cards never get ordered, or they arrive on December 22nd and go out as New Year’s cards.
The choices in between, like card or postcard, size, paper and how many, take ten minutes once you know the tradeoffs. This guide lays them out with real prices so you can decide once and move on.
Greeting cards or postcards?
This is the biggest decision, and it’s mostly about who’s on your list.
| Folded greeting card | Photo postcard | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Folds in half, photo on the front | Single flat card, photo on one side |
| Envelopes | Included | None needed |
| Room to write | Inside the card | Back of the card, shared with the address |
| Sizes | 4×6, 5×7, 6×6, A6 | 4×6, 5×7 |
| Single card | From $3.99 | From $2.99 |
| Pack of 10 (4×6 gloss) | $23.99 | $16.99 |
| Feels like | A proper holiday card | A quick, cheerful hello |
| Best for | Family, close friends, anyone who keeps cards | Long lists, extended family, neighbors |
Many families split the list: greeting cards for grandparents and close family, postcards for everyone else.
What it costs
Prices from the LifeCache Print Shop. Larger packs cost less per card:
Greeting cards (with envelopes)
| Pack | 4×6 gloss | 5×7 gloss | 5×7 matte |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 card | $3.99 | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| 10 | $23.99 | $31.99 | $33.99 |
| 50 | $87.99 | $115.99 | $123.99 |
| 100 | $159.99 | $209.99 | $224.99 |
Postcards
| Pack | 4×6 gloss | 5×7 gloss |
|---|---|---|
| 1 card | $2.99 | $2.99 |
| 10 | $16.99 | $20.99 |
| 20 | $28.99 | $35.99 |
| 50 | $60.99 | $74.99 |
| 100 | $109.99 | $134.99 |
LifeCache members get 20% off everything in the Print Shop, and non-members who’ve already bought a printed book get 20% off their first shop order. Shipping and estimated tax are shown at checkout.
Size: 4×6, 5×7 or square?
- 5×7 is the traditional holiday card size. More photo, more presence on a mantel full of cards.
- 4×6 is the standard photo shape, so most phone photos fit with little cropping, and it’s the cheapest.
- 6×6 square (greeting cards only) suits a single portrait or a tightly framed group, and stands out next to rectangles.
- A6 (greeting cards only) is a little smaller than 5×7. It’s a common card size in the UK and Europe.
If your photo is a wide group shot, choose 5×7. Faces on a 4×6 can get very small.
Matte or gloss?
| Gloss | Matte | |
|---|---|---|
| Look | Brighter color, more contrast | Softer, more natural |
| Glare | Reflects light | Little to none |
| Fingerprints | Shows them | Hides them |
| Writing on it | Pens can smear | Easy |
The rule of thumb: if you’ll write on the photo side, choose matte. That matters most for postcards, where the message and address share the back and people often sign the front. For a bright, colorful photo on a folded card, gloss looks great. For the full explanation, see gloss vs lustre vs matte.
How many to order
- Count your actual list, not the number you sent last year.
- Add about 10% for the people you’ll remember on December 15th.
- Keep two or three for yourself. One for the baby book or the fridge, one for next year’s comparison.
- Round up to the next pack size. The jump from 50 to 100 is often cheaper per card than ordering 50 and then 20 more.
For a list of 40, order 50. For a list of 85, order 100.
Choosing the photo
The photo is the card. A few things make a big difference at 4×6 or 5×7:
- Every face visible and in focus. One person looking down ruins a group shot at card size.
- Fill the frame. A family of four in the corner of a mountain landscape looks like a landscape card.
- It doesn’t have to be from December. The best photo of the year is often the summer one. Holiday cards are as much “here’s our year” as “happy holidays.”
- Avoid screenshots and photos saved from messages. They’re often too low-resolution to print sharp.
If you take thousands of photos a year, finding “the one” is the slow part. LifeCache sorts your camera roll into months and events and rates photos, so the year’s strongest shots are a few taps away instead of a scroll through 11 months. The card preview then shows your photo on the real card front at its real shape before you order. If you want more than one card’s worth of the year, the same photos make a family yearbook.
When to order: a timeline
Holiday cards have two delivery steps: the cards getting to you, and then the cards getting to everyone else. Most people only plan for the first one.
LifeCache’s shipping speeds:
| Shipping | Estimated delivery to you |
|---|---|
| Budget | 10–15 business days |
| Standard | 5–7 business days |
| Express | 3–5 business days |
| Overnight | 1–2 business days |
Working back from mailing your cards in early December:
| When you order | Shipping to choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Early November | Budget | Cheapest, and leaves time for a reprint if needed |
| By mid-November | Standard | Arrives with a week or more to address and stamp |
| Late November | Express | Still leaves time to mail before the December rush |
| Early December | Overnight | Mail the same week they arrive |
These are business-day estimates, and carriers slow down in December. Treat them as the shortest likely time, not a promise, and leave room for the postal service to deliver your cards after you’ve sent them.
Beyond cards
If the card photo is too good for one use, the same photo works as a framed print or a 2027 family photo calendar, which makes a good companion gift for grandparents. The Print Shop page has everything the app prints, from $0.99 photo prints to canvas.
The short version
- Pick one photo where every face is clear.
- Greeting cards for close family, postcards for a long list.
- 5×7 for presence, 4×6 for budget; matte if you’ll write on it.
- Order your list plus 10%, rounded up to a pack.
- Order by mid-November with Standard shipping.
Make your holiday cards in LifeCache →
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make Christmas photo cards from my phone?
Pick one photo (or a few), choose folded greeting cards or flat postcards, pick a size and paper, and order a pack. In the LifeCache iPhone app, open the Shop tab, choose Greeting Card or Postcard, and pick your photo from your library, which is already sorted by month and event with the year’s best photos surfaced. You see a live preview of the card front before you order. Greeting cards come with envelopes and start at $3.99 each; postcards start at $2.99.
Should I send folded holiday cards or photo postcards?
Folded greeting cards feel more formal, come with envelopes, and have room inside for a note. Postcards are cheaper per card and quicker to send, because there’s nothing to fold or stuff. In LifeCache a pack of 10 4×6 gloss greeting cards is $23.99 and a pack of 10 4×6 gloss postcards is $16.99. Choose cards for family and close friends, postcards for a long list.
What size should holiday photo cards be?
5×7 is the classic holiday card size and gives a photo the most room. 4×6 is the budget choice and fits a standard photo shape. Greeting cards also come in 6×6 square and A6. Postcards come in 4×6 and 5×7.
Matte or gloss for photo cards?
Gloss makes colors pop and suits bright, colorful photos. Matte hides fingerprints and glare and is easier to write on, which matters for postcards and for signing inside a card. If you plan to handwrite on the photo side, choose matte.
How many holiday cards should I order?
Count your list, then add about 10 percent for addresses you forget, a card for yourself, and a few spares for cards that arrive from people you didn’t expect. Pack sizes are 10, 20, 50 and 100, and larger packs cost less per card: in LifeCache 4×6 gloss postcards are $1.70 each in a pack of 10 and $1.10 each in a pack of 100.
When should I order holiday photo cards?
Work back from the date you want to start mailing, not from Christmas. Allow for the print and delivery to you (Budget 10–15 business days, Standard 5–7, Express 3–5, Overnight 1–2 in LifeCache), then time to address them, then the postal service’s own delivery time. Ordering by mid-November with Standard shipping leaves room for all three.
How do I choose the best family photo for a holiday card?
Look for one where every face is visible and in focus, at a size where faces will still be recognizable on a 4×6 or 5×7 card. Group shots taken from far away look busy at card size. If you have years of photos to search, LifeCache sorts your camera roll into months and events and scores photos, so the strongest shots of the year are easy to find.