Ringing in the new year should be a fun occasion for friends and family. To help celebrate the upcoming year, you can send out handmade new year cards to your loved ones. These can just be cards that announce the new year and send out new years’ greetings or even invitations to a special new years’ eve party! In any case, you will want some unique DIY ideas for new years cards. So, in today’s guide, we will look at a wide variety of new year card ideas based on what you want to create!
Funny New Year Cards
Almost everyone appreciates a good joke. However, premade new years cards can feel unoriginal and perhaps even inauthentic. So, why not make your own custom new years cards that wish people a happy new year and make them laugh? Here are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- Finish the statement options – One fun way to send out new years’ greetings is to make a card that uses a check box format. Instead of just writing “Happy New Year” or “Happy 2023,” you replace the adjective with a few different options and write “Pick one.” These could include happy, terrible, hoping for the best, meh, and not gonna jinx it.
- Funny progress report – Another funny joke to use will require you to make fun of the recipient a little bit. Naturally, you will want to make sure that you don’t hurt anyone’s feelings. That said, a funny progress report is not meant to be taken seriously. This format allows you to list all of the things the person has accomplished over the past year (real or fake). These could include funny accomplishments like get fat, go bald, and find more gray hairs.
- Make fun of repetition – New years comes around again every 365 days (not counting leap years), which can make them feel a bit repetitive and monotonous. Try including phrases like here we go again, let’s try this again, and I hope this one is better than the last one.
- Inside jokes – It goes without saying that you can use inside jokes for individuals who will understand them. In fact, this is one of the best ways to make a truly custom, DIY new years card. Whether you want to remind a friend about an embarrassing moment you shared together or write out a running joke you have with a family member, don’t be afraid to really individualize each and every card!
Unique New Year Cards
A homemade new years card should already be unique because you made it yourself. However, there are a few ways to make your card really stand out from the rest. So, here are a few unique new year card ideas to get you started:
- Photo collage of your year – A photo collage on the cover or inside of your new years card is a great way to update people on what you have been doing. Whether you took a vacation to Hawaii or just enjoyed quiet moments with family, you can make a beautiful card with amazing moments from the past year. They say that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” so adding a few photos to your card will say quite a bit!
- Utilize the four seasons – Every year, the four seasons pass us by. Using time and the seasons is a great way to show the meaning of the card through interesting decorations. You can use a wide variety of DIY card decorations to represent the seasons, from a snowman to beautiful spring flowers.
- Emphasize a big milestone in your life – Rather than focusing on your entire year, you may have one event that you really want to emphasize. Perhaps you got married, graduated from college, changed jobs, or had a child. No matter the event or milestone you want to celebrate, you can use words and photos to make a truly one-of-a-kind card.
- Highlight a photo of your pet – If you have a funny or cute photo of your pet, why not put it to good use? Most people love passing the hours looking at videos and photos of cute animals on the Internet, so seeing a cute animal in a beautiful card is even better. If you are an animal lover, this type of card will also help show an important side of your personality!
Vintage New Years Cards
Vintage cards are often some of the most fun to send and receive. People will see the amount of thought and effort you put into the card, encouraging them to keep the card for years to come. Here are just a few vintage new years card ideas for your next DIY project:
- Scrapbooking card – Scrapbooking is a hobby that has fallen out of fashion for many people, but this also means that it retains a certain kind of nostalgic, vintage appeal. Turning your new years cards into mini-scrapbooks can make them both beautiful and memorable.
- Window illustration – One visually striking way to make a vintage card is to create the illusion of a window by cutting out an arch in the front of your cardstock. In the background, you can draw, paint, or use a preexisting image of a beautiful landscape. Unless you use premade images, this idea will require some artistic skill to really make each window illustration look like a classic, vintage painting. To make things easier, you can also opt for a black and white photo.
- Aged sheet music – If you’re a musician, this is a great option for you. Simply cover your cardstock with aged-looking sheet music. Naturally, you will want to include new years greetings, but the sheet music will be the element that really makes your cards special.
- Handwritten letter – These days, few things are more vintage than handwritten messages. Rather than getting a “happy new year” text or email, you can actually sit down and write out letters in each card. This way, you can really talk about your year and wish the recipient a happy new year in a retro way.
What To Write In A New Years Card
What you write in your new years card will ultimately come down to you and what you want to express to your recipients. That said, you can never go wrong with a few of the following phrases:
- Wishing you and your loved ones a happy new year!
- I hope your new year is even better than the last!
- Sending new years greetings and lots of love to you!
- From our family to yours — happy new year!
While you can definitely use any of the phrases listed above, you can always make your DIY card more unique with a personalized message. If you plan to send out dozens of cards this year, writing unique messages for each one may not be very pragmatic. However, if you are just making custom new years cards for a few special people in your life, you should write something that let’s them know you are thinking about them during the holiday season!
Ready to make your own DIY new years cards? If so, be sure to check out our high-quality products on Fine Card Stock today, and let us know how you put our cardstock to good use!