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Every year, we send out dozens, maybe even hundreds, of Christmas cards. Most of us probably do so without even questioning why we do it — it’s just a simple gesture of holiday goodwill, right? But have you ever wondered how the tradition of sending holiday greeting cards got started?

As it turns out, this tradition traces its roots back to 19th century England, when Sir Henry Cole wanted to send Christmas greetings to all of his friends and acquaintances, but there were so many that handwriting them would be impossible. So he asked an artist to create a card with a painting showing the poor being fed and clothed. The image featured a happy family enjoying Christmas festivities (including a child drinking a sip of wine, which caused a bit of controversy.) Inside the card, “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You” was printed. According to legend, he didn’t even send Christmas cards next year, but the tradition was carried on by others and still continues to this day.

In 1873, inventor Louis Prang began creating Christmas cards in America. Among his inventions is a multi-color printing press with the ability to include up to 20 colors on one card. Just six years later, he was printing more than 5 million cards every year, featuring such timeless designs as angels, Christmas trees, and snowy scenes–popular cards we still send today.

With as busy as the Christmas season is, it’s often hard to find time to sit down and write your family’s names in Christmas cards, include a letter or a picture, and address all of the envelopes. As with most things, technology has a solution that can make it quick and easy to send out personalized Christmas cards. You can now purchase cards online, customized to your family, some even with photos printed on them (except they’re actual folded cards, not just photo prints). Hallmark and CardsDirect, two internet greeting card retailers, both offer quantity discounts on personalized cards, making them perfect for Christmas cards. If you’re sending out a lot of cards, you can get a postcard for as little as 39 cents, and a folded card for as little as 79 cents. They’ll print your holiday greeting inside, and all you have to do is print the envelopes and mail the cards. Easy!

Invite people to your holiday parties in style with this easy-to-make Christmas party invitation idea from the Archiver’s Idea pages. With some cute patterned papers, adhesive jewels, and pre-made blank stationary, you can put together this adorable invitation that will put your guests in a festive mood.

If you’re looking for a unique Christmas card to send this year, why not try a card with sound? These cards can be a bit pricey, so you probably won’t want to send one to everyone on your Christmas card list, but they can be a good idea for close friends and family that would appreciate them. The Christmas Caroling Blog is featuring cards with sound this week as an alternative to traditional Christmas caroling, since you can send them to family and friends who live far away.

This excellent cardmaking video shows us how to make an adorable Christmas card that doubles as a Christmas tree ornament.

If you’re planning to send out photo Christmas cards this year, you may find yourself less stressed if you get started now. Sure, it sounds strange to be thinking about Christmas cards in the middle of September, but if you want your photo card to be as perfect as possible, it’s going to require some advanced planning.

First, you can take the picture now, when the weather is nicer outside, or you can have a larger pool of pictures to choose from if you take several on different days and in different settings. You can even use candid shots from a family getaway, if you want to avoid the classic, cheesy “family Christmas picture.” Some designs of cards use more than one photo, so if you choose your design before taking the picture, you’ll know how many you need to take and what kind of picture it should be for the best fit.

You might also save a little money if you order your Christmas photo cards early. Companies who get slammed during the Christmas rush are likely to reward customers who shop early with extra discounts. You’ll also avoid shipping delays due to the holiday rush.

Lastly, you’ll have one less thing to worry about when you’re already running around, totally stressed, during November and December. The last thing you want to be doing in between your corporate Christmas party and shopping for Uncle Charlie’s perfect gift is trying to take the ideal Christmas card photo. If you order the cards in advance, you can also address the envelopes early and get them ready for mailing-one less thing to do in December.

So this year, save yourself a little time and stress by planning ahead when it comes to your Christmas photo cards. You can thank us later.

If written instructions are difficult for you to follow or you prefer to learn by doing, you might want to check out a video Christmas card tutorial to show you how to make your own Christmas cards. This tutorial shows you step by step how to make a simple but pretty Christmas card in a little under 7 minutes.

Making Handmade Cards offers this beautiful Winter Frosted Purple Christmas Holly card in its easy Christmas card-making section. All you’ll need is a square folded purple card, their printable image, purple glitter, and some glue.

Christmas caroling is another great way to greet your friends and neighbors with a little holiday cheer. Sadly, however, this age-old tradition seems to be dying out. There are several possible reasons why, ranging from safety concerns to complete and total bans on the practice-but are these concerns really founded? If you deliver your Christmas greetings in person, maybe you could even save sending a Christmas card! There’s a new blog out there devoted to Christmas caroling, with some good suggestions for creating Christmas caroling memories.

If you’re feeling crafty, you might want to make your own Christmas cards this year. Throughout the next few months leading up to the Christmas season, we’ll be periodically featuring a new Christmas card project to inspire you. (If you think you’re not creative, don’t worry–there’s even an example and instructions to work from.)

Our first featured project is an adorable reindeer card from Archiver’s, a national chain scrapbooking store. With a couple of stamps, a two colors of cardstock, some glittery ribbon and two adhesive gemstones, you can create this adorable holiday card.