Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Cool Yule, Happy New Year...
Here is our 2013 Christmas card. Each year our card focuses on what we are thankful for, as well as the different things the kids want as they grow.
This year I took the photos myself, not wanting to spend the money on a photographer. It is almost impossible to get my boy Kid #1 to smile right, he was harder than the 1 year old Kid #4! You could try to barter for the services of a local photographer, if you look on Craigslist you might find someone who is doing it as a hobby. I don't mail out paper cards anymore, so this is what I created instead.
You can see how each child listed something they are grateful for. When they are in the middle years they list a wish as well, like world peace or no more hunger. When I sent out paper cards I would create an insert that I glued to the inside of the card. Sometimes this would include a favorite quote.
The weekend after Halloween we would start talking about what they are thankful for, and what they wanted for Christmas. When they are little what they want changes a lot. Also I wanted them to think about all the different things they are grateful for, not just write down the first thing that came to mind.
The thing that they want to the most is the one thing they absolutely want Santa to bring, and this does take some coaching, or creativity on Santa's part to deliver. 
On Thanksgiving we will write our letters to Santa, and write out our text for the holiday cards. The earlier you do this the less you have to worry about near Christmas.
I would print some dark handwriting paper for small children, the kind with dotted lines in the middle so handwriting is neat. I would tape this underneath plain white paper so they can see through it, one page for each kid. They would write out their wishes and things they are thankful for, and sign it on a separate line.
When my hands didn't hurt me so much I would write out Happy Holidays in calligraphy.
Once the text was written I would scan it and use image editing software to cut out the gray/white and paste them together. Many years I sized this to the inside of my card, printed it on pretty parchment paper, cut it out with scrapbooking scissors, and used a glue stick to attach to the inside of our card. I then inserted photo if the card was not a photo card.
This year if I was going to spend the money on postage I would have printed my image out and mailed it as a postcard. You can get some good deals, especially around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, for printing from sites like Snapfish.
Here are some of our cards through the years:
Unfortunately if I saved the scans from previous years I saved them under a weird name and now I can't find them.
2006:
Andy 9: I am grateful for my family and the fun we have together. I hope our family lives a long, long, long time.
Linda 8: I am grateful for my family and the love they give me. I hope everyone has a happy and fun year.
2008::
Andy 10: I'm grateful for Bionicles, Pokemon cartridges Emerald and Pearl and DVDs over the past year (insert mom yelling here), but more importantly friends and family because they don't give me coal. I wish for a white Christmas for my friends and family because some of them won't get snow.
Linda 9: I am thankful for my family because they love me. I wish happiness to my friends and family.
2009:
Andy 11: I am thankful for all my privileges and wish eternal happiness for my friends and family.
Linda 10: I wish you good luck. I am thankful for my friends.
2011:
Andy 12: I am grateful for our house and that we can visit our relatives sometimes. I wish you happiness.
Linda 11: Linda is grateful for boys, cake, cats, and Mom and Dad. Linda wishes you a long life.
Ella 2: Ella is grateful for chocolate, cats, and Andy and Linda. Ella wishes you many giggles.
2012:
Andy 14: (This is the first year bribes were involved in getting them to do the card) For this Christmas I want chocolate. I wish for world peace.
Linda 13: I want Bullseyes candies for Christmas. I hope everybody has a lucky year.
Ella 3: I want a puppy. And an alligator. How about chocolate? How about a cat? A chicken. I have been good x (times) 2.
2013:
Andy 15: I am grateful for modern technology which allows me to play video games.
Linda 14: I am grateful for the friends I have made this past year.
Ella 4: Ella is grateful for kittens and puppies and everything.
Katie 1: Katie is grateful for bath time.
* Also see our Random Acts of Christmas Kindness Advent Calendar – RACK Printables, Cover Photos, and Links
We hope you enjoyed our Happy Holidays from the French Family - A Gratitude Tradition for Your Holiday Cards post
Original post: ~ The More With Less Mom - Words of wisdom to live frugally and well
Happy Holidays from My Family – A Gratitude Tradition for Your Holiday Cards