I was at Michael’s this week looking for the finishing touches for Poppy’s Halloween costume, and do you know what I saw there? Christmas stuff. And lots of it. Which made me think that even though we aren’t quite to Halloween yet, it might be time to start thinking about Christmas cards.

In years past, I admit that I’ve resorted to the extremely discounted card bin at Big Lots for my Christmas greetings. That’s due to a combination of (a) cheapness, (b) laziness and (c) procrastination. This year, though, I’m going to order some holiday cards from Shutterfly. And not just because — disclaimer! — they’re giving me 50 free cards for writing this post. I’ve used them for postcards and prints in the past, and they make a very nice product. A very nice photo-based product, which is why I need to start planning and taking pictures of my squirrelly little family now, so maybe I’ll have a good one of all of us by Thanksgiving.

Anyway, I really like a lot of Shutterfly’s designs for 2010. I’m tending toward minimalistic and vintage looks these days, and they have a good selection in those categories. Here are a few designs I’m considering for the ButterscotchSundae Holiday Card:

Cute, aren’t they? And if Christmas isn’t your thing: They have Thanksgiving cards and New Years cards, too.

Disclaimer: Shutterfly is giving me 50 free photo cards. And guess what? If you have a blog, you can get 50 free cards, too. Click here for more information.