It’s Not Too Late – Send Digital Christmas Cards

The holidays are a season to spend time with family and friends. But there will inevitably be people you don’t get to spend time with. This provides a perfect opportunity for you to encourage your children to create digital Christmas cards. A card is always a great way to let others know that you are thinking of them at Christmas. Online cards can be sent at any time during the holidays so it is never too late to add someone to your digital Christmas card list!  

Life Skills

Not only are your homeschoolers using their creativity online to make the digital cards, but they are practicing what they have learned. They are also learning about new tools and life skills. When children and teens make digital holiday cards they will use the following valuable skills:

• Writing: a holiday card needs at least a short message on it. This gives your children the opportunity to practice writing using good grammar and correct spelling.
• Creativity: the act of creating the digital card will allow them to express their own personalities and make something unique.
• Techie skills: using online tools to create digital holiday cards is a great way to help your children hone their computer skills. 

Types of Digital Cards

There are at least three types of digital cards they can create: e-cards, printed cards that they design online and interactive digital cards.

E-cards

There are many online websites that offer the ability to create and send e-cards for free. Typically there will be a limited choice of the type of card and the graphics for the card. But you do still have input in the final product and your children should be able to add their own message. 

This type of card can be created by younger children with some help from an older sibling or a parent. Even if children can’t write, they can dictate their message. Websites like Smilebox even allow you to add some fun music!

The website at Hallmark ecards has lots of cute animated cards to choose from. You can add your own message and select a font and style for the message to be written in.

Printed Cards Designed Online

Everyone enjoys getting snail mail – and your children might want to create a card that can be displayed on a mantlepiece. If they aren’t talented enough to hand draw their cards, being able to create digital cards will be a big help. Tools like Canva and Adobe Spark make designing cards easy, even for those with little artistic ability. 

You don’t need to pay to use the basic versions of these tools, and your children will really be able to be very creative in what they produce. Your only cost will be printing the card and mailing it.

Interactive Digital Cards

Challenge your children to take their holiday cards to a whole new level by coding them as an interactive card! The easiest programming language to do this with is Scratch. You can learn more about the Scratch programming language in episode 37 of the Homeschooling with Technology podcast. 

It is really easy for children and teens to learn, but if they need a little help, consider enrolling them in FundaFunda Academy’s Scratch Christmas Coding contest. Not only will they learn the basics of Scratch for just $5, but they will also be eligible to win a gift card. And of course, they will gain the knowledge of how to create a very cool interactive card that will wow family and friends. You can find all the details of the contest HERE.

Practical and Fun

As you can see, online and digital cards can be done quickly and sent out right away so it really is never too late to send them. Plus, creating digital holiday cards is simple enough for children of all ages! This project gives them an opportunity to use and learn valuable skills.  And of course, the recipients will feel loved and remembered when they receive them. So put the kids in charge of the holiday cards this year and check that task off your to-do list, mom!