The short answer
Decide whether the card is vertical or horizontal before anyone gets dressed, then shoot with room to lose the edges. The risk sits at the print stage, where a tight crop can slice an elbow or the greeting can land on a child's face. Shoot in your phone's 4:3 mode, keep every head well inside the frame, and leave one clear area for the words. The seven scenes below are planned around that space, and all of them work in matching christmas pajamas at home. They are our editorial suggestions, and we sell the pajamas.
USPS lists December 17 as its recommended send-by date for First-Class Mail, and we would aim a week ahead of that. The three sets below cover a wide range of people, and two of them include 0-3M.
Fair Isle print family pajamas in redShop now
Gingerbread print family pajamas in khaki with slogan topsShop now
Christmas village print family pajamas in whiteShop now
Decide the Card Before You Shoot the Photo
A common flat card is 5×7, and that shape is narrower than the photo your phone takes. Something always gets cut, so the job is to choose what.
Print files carry a safety margin as well. WHCC, a professional print lab, sizes a 5×7 flat card file at 5.25×7.25 inches: 1/8 inch of bleed all around, with visible design elements kept 1/4 inch from the edge. Your printer's numbers may differ a little, so check its template. We worked out the table below from those figures, and it shows how far in from the frame edge a face, hand or word should sit.
| Photo shape | Card direction | Keep clear on the left and right | Keep clear at the top and bottom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:3, phone upright | Vertical | About 7% | About 4% |
| 4:3, phone sideways | Horizontal | About 4% | About 7% |
| 16:9, phone upright | Vertical | About 5% | About 13% |
| 16:9, phone sideways | Horizontal | About 13% | About 5% |
| Square | Vertical | About 18% | About 4% |
That is why we would not shoot a card in 16:9 video-style framing or in square mode. In a tight family group, 13% or 18% off two sides usually means someone's shoulder, or the child on the end.
Vertical or horizontal? Count the rows of heads. People stacked at different heights suit a vertical card, while a wide row suits a horizontal one. Many card templates come in both directions, so pick the template after you have seen the shot, and take the scene both ways if you have the patience.
Where the words go. Plan a quiet area of about a quarter of the card, such as a plain wall, an empty stretch of quilt, or the sky. On a vertical card with the greeting at the bottom, put the eye line about a third of the way down. With the greeting at the top, drop everyone lower and leave wall above them. Never count on text over a busy print, because a family in an all-over pattern is the busiest thing in the room.
Resolution is rarely the problem. MOO asks for photographs at 300 dpi or higher, which works out to about 1,500×2,100 pixels for a 5×7. A recent phone photo is far larger, so you can crop a good deal. Digital zoom in a dim room is what loses detail, so walk closer instead of pinching the screen.
7 Family Christmas Card Photo Ideas You Can Shoot at Home
None of these needs a backdrop or a photographer, only a phone on a stack of books or a small tripod, plus a timer. Lighting and poses by the tree are already in our Santa pajama photo ideas and gingerbread morning photo guide, so these scenes use other parts of the house.
1. The staircase stack
This is the natural vertical card, with one person per step, tallest at the top. Everyone sits rather than stands, which gives you a tidy diagonal of faces and keeps small children lower. Shoot from the bottom of the stairs with the phone upright, then put the greeting on the wall above. Go barefoot, since new socks on wood steps are slippery. A baby stays in an adult's arms, and a toddler sits beside a grown-up with a hand held. The white village print needs dark wood or a mid-tone wall behind it.
2. The front door
Stand everyone on the step with the wreath showing above the tallest head. The door frame works as a border for a vertical card, and the panel above the wreath holds a short greeting. The cream satin set is the one to try against a dark door, shot in open shade, because direct sun puts hard highlights on satin. It has no baby sizes, so it suits families with children aged 2 and up. Keep this one short and have coats waiting just inside.
3. The hallway parade
Line everyone up single file and have them walk toward the phone, with the smallest in front. A hallway gives you plain walls on both sides and a clear lane for a vertical crop. Shoot in bursts and pick the frame where nobody is mid-blink. Because everyone faces forward, this scene is the best home for a slogan top, and the Cookie Baking Crew tree set reads clearly here. Check the lettering afterward, because some phones save front-camera shots as a mirror image, and backward words are easy to miss on a small screen.
4. The bed pile-up
Spread a dark quilt, sit everyone against the headboard, and shoot from the foot of the bed with the phone sideways. Leave the wall above the headboard empty for the greeting. A dark quilt separates a pale print from the bedding, and the khaki gingerbread set is a good fit because it stocked 0-3M when we read it. Keep it an awake photo, with the baby held. The AAP's safe sleep guidance rules out soft bedding around a sleeping baby, so we would skip any staged sleeping shot.
5. The sofa story
One adult reads aloud and the children look at the page. Nobody has to smile on command, and a toddler who has stopped cooperating will often still look at a book. Frame it sideways with the group on one half of the sofa, and put the words over the empty half. On a dark sofa, pale green santa pajamas stand out well, and their collars look tidy at this distance.
6. The front yard in boots
Pajamas and winter boots make the joke by themselves, so walk away from the house in a loose line with one person looking back. Frame it sideways and low enough to leave a band of sky or bare trees for the words. The red Fair Isle set holds up against snow or a gray December yard, where white would fade. If the dog joins, its piece is a bandana rather than pajamas, and the dog size guide explains the fit. Five minutes is plenty before little ones get cold.
7. The sock row
Sit on the floor with legs out and line up every pair of feet, largest to smallest, with the camera at floor level. No faces means no crop worries and no blinking, so it is the safe choice for a two-sided card or a photo collage. The Fair Isle, gingerbread and tree print listings say each pajama set comes with buffalo plaid socks, apart from the pet size. Treat it as the second image and not the only one, since the people who get your card want to see your faces.
Shop the look
For the front door and the sofa, one listing, choose each member and size: both of these prints run from kids to adults on the same page.
Letters to Santa satin family pajamas in creamShop now
Santa Claus print collared family pajamas in pale greenShop now
Which Print Fits Which Scene, and Who It Leaves Out
Choose the print by the person who is hardest to fit, then match the scene to it. If you are still comparing sets, our best matching christmas pajamas collection is a shorter list to start from. Choosing colors against your room is covered in the three-color method. These are the sizes we read as in stock in early November 2026, and they sell down one at a time.
| Best scene | Sizes in stock | Who may miss out | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Christmas village | Staircase | Women S–2XL, men M–2XL, kids 2Y–12-13Y, baby 3-6M–12-18M | Newborns, men's S |
| Cream Letters to Santa satin | Front door | Women S–3XL, men M–3XL, kids 2Y–8-9Y | Babies, older kids, dogs |
| Cookie Baking Crew tree print | Hallway parade | Women S–2XL, men M–2XL, kids 2Y–12-13Y, baby 3-6M–12-18M | Newborns, men's S |
| Khaki gingerbread | Bed pile-up | Women S–3XL, men S–3XL, kids 2Y–12-13Y, baby 0-3M–12-18M | Small dogs (large pet size only) |
| Pale green Santa, collared | Sofa story | Women M–2XL, men M–2XL, kids 2Y–8-9Y, baby 6-9M and 9-12M | Women's S, older kids, many babies |
| Red Fair Isle | Front yard | Women S–2XL, men S–2XL, kids 2Y–12-13Y, baby 0-3M–12-18M | Small dogs (large pet size only) |
The cream satin and pale green Santa sets had the lowest stock of the six, so check those sizes first. Women's letters run small here, so buy by chest measurement, and test the family list in the size finder. Every piece is added to the cart separately.
Shop the look
For the hallway parade, the whole family wears the same Cookie Baking Crew tree print: one listing, choose each member and size.
Check These Before You Press Print
Ten minutes here prevents a reprint. Run the list on the printer's proof screen, at full size, and ask someone else to read the words.
- Trim line. Turn on the template's safety lines and look at every hand, ear and pet tail near the edge.
- Faces after the crop. Check that nobody on the end has lost a shoulder and that the tree isn't growing out of a head.
- Greeting placement. Words should sit on the quiet area, clear of faces and any lettering on the pajamas.
- Text contrast. Look at the card at phone size. If the greeting is hard to read there, it will be hard to read on a fridge.
- Names and year. Spell out every name, including the dog's, and confirm it says 2026.
- Backward lettering. Read any slogan on the pajamas in the final image.
- Color on paper. Screens glow and paper doesn't, so expect the print to look a little darker. If your printer offers a single sample, order one.
- The back of the card. Check the return address and add a second photo if the layout has space.
Work Back from the Mailbox
The dates below are our estimates for this year, not promises from PatPat or from any carrier. Only the December 17 line comes from a published date, and USPS says actual delivery may vary.
| Step | Aim for | What it is based on |
|---|---|---|
| Order the pajamas | By about November 13 (estimate) | The shipping policy estimates 1–3 days of processing and 2–5 business days in the lower 48, and peak season can run longer |
| Try on, then wash once | The day the parcel arrives | The refund policy requires returns to be unworn, with tags and original packaging, and excludes sale items. A size swap means returning the set and buying again, so wash only once the size is right |
| Shoot | November 27–29 | Thanksgiving weekend, if everyone is home |
| Upload and approve the proof | By November 30 | Leaves room for a reshoot |
| Cards in hand | By about December 8 | Check your printer's production and delivery estimate |
| By about December 10 | A week ahead of USPS's December 17 First-Class date for the lower 48, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico |
Pajamas going to Hawaii, Alaska or Puerto Rico are estimated at 10 to 16 days, so for those addresses allow about three weeks, including processing, before your shoot date. The full order-date math is in our shipping deadline guide. If the schedule slips, a New Year card is a perfectly good plan, and it means you can shoot on Christmas morning.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a standard family Christmas card? Five by seven inches is a common flat size. A printer's file is often slightly larger, such as 5.25×7.25 inches, to allow for trimming.
Should a family Christmas card photo be vertical or horizontal? Stacked groups suit a vertical card and wide rows suit a horizontal one. Shoot both if you can, and choose the template afterward.
How much room should I leave around the family when I crop? In a 4:3 phone photo, keep faces and hands about 7% in from the two sides that get cropped and about 4% from the others. A 16:9 photo needs about 13% on the sides that get cropped.
When should I mail Christmas cards in 2026? USPS recommends sending First-Class Mail by December 17 for the lower 48, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. We would aim for about December 10, since delivery times can vary.
Can the baby be in the card photo? Yes, held by an adult and awake. Check the print first, because only two of our six picks had 0-3M in stock when we read them.
Can the dog match the family in the card? Often, through a bandana in the family print rather than a pajama set. Check which pet size the print stocks and take the bandana off after the photos.
Related reading
- Best family Christmas pajamas, sorted by household
- What size to order, and when
- 10 cute Christmas pajama ideas
Pick the print after you have checked the person who is hardest to fit, since each size sells out separately. Shop matching Christmas pajamas.
About this article
Written and fact-checked by the PatPat Editorial Team. How we research, source and review what we publish is set out on our editorial standards page.
Method. Product details, listing photos and in-stock sizes were read from PatPat product pages and inventory in early November 2026. PatPat is the seller of these pajamas, and we did not wear-test any garment or print a test card. The crop percentages are our own arithmetic from common photo shapes and the WHCC 5×7 file specification. Scenes, print pairings and the work-back dates are editorial suggestions.
Sources. Card file size, bleed and safe line: WHCC, Press Printed Card Guidelines. Photo resolution: MOO, Greeting Card Design Guidelines. Mailing dates: USPS, 2026 Holiday Shipping Deadlines. Baby sleep: AAP, A Parent's Guide to Safe Sleep. Delivery and return terms: PatPat shipping policy and refund policy.
Last updated 6 November 2026 · Next review November 2027
