Christmas is a time of joy, love, peace and sharing. But with the huge stress of our everyday lives, it is no wonder that most of us forget what Christmas spirit is all about and just look forward to a few days off from work. But that is not the right way to spend Christmas, is it? No, of course not! So why not complete your Christmas shopping for friends and family way before the shops become too rushed? That would give you a lot of time to plan and prepare and gift wrap the presents you want to give. Why not help an elderly neighbor shovel the snow in his yard? After all, Christmas is about giving and goodwill. What’s more, you yourself are going to feel better after you have done something for someone without expecting anything in return.

There are many ways you can enjoy Christmas apart from the usual eating and drinking that marks the festive season. Find out the little ways you can make someone’s festive season happier than he or she expected and you will be a happier person yourself. A great way to show near and dear ones that you have been thinking about them is creating personalized Christmas e-cards. It’s easy and fun and gets you into the holiday spirit. Here are tips on how you can make simple Christmas e-cards.

a) There are various ways in which you can create an e-card on your desktop computer or laptop. Powerpoint, Photoshop and Flash are all good though the last one will be the easiest for you to try.

b) The Flash Slideshow Creator is your best bet to create Christmas themed e-cards easily. On it, you will find an e-card maker. Run it on your computer.

c) Next, download pictures from the internet you like. Choose cheery Christmas pictures that are happy to look at. You can also choose personal photos you may have on your computer. Use the ‘Add’ button to add the digital pictures.

d) Next, use the transition effect to make your e-card look dynamic and beautiful. Flash has various such effects loaded in its program and using them is a breeze. All you have to do is follow the instructions which have been given. It’s easy even if you are a non- techie person.

e) The photos you have put in your e-card have to be edited to create a personalized look. When you double click the photos, there will be an edit option in front of you. You can use it to write anything on the photos. You can also add special Christmas art clips here if you want, as per your wishes.

f) The next step is to choose a Christmas themed template. Flash itself has a number of such templates to choose from. You can even download templates according to your own liking from the internet. But don’t choose a too complicated template as it will only take the person you are sending the e-card to longer to play. Instead, use a simple basic template.

g) Want your e-card to have music in it when it gets opened by your friend? It is easy to do so. Inserting music in your e-card can be done in the same way you inserted photos. You can use the ‘Add’ button in this case as well. For this, you don’t have to depend on Flash. You can very well download a tune from the internet and insert it onto your e-card. A personalized tune in your e-card is a wonderful way of making people know that you went through a lot of effort to create something beautiful for them.

h) Sending your Christmas e-card by email to friends and family is easy. For this, you need to create an SWF file. Use the ‘Create Flash Card Only’ in the ‘Publish’ window and you will get a SWF file format you can send by email.

We are sure that your friends and family will be pleased when they receive such a pretty personalized Christmas e-cards. It is so much better than just forwarding one of the free online e-cards you find everywhere on the internet.

About the Author: Garlak Theodorakis

My name is Garlak Theodorakis, I am graphic designer with almost 10 year experience in the field. Founded Tooft.com in january 2010 with idea to share my knowledge with the world.