25 dog Christmas card ideas you can actually make
Sorted by how hard they are: six you can shoot on your phone before dinner, the classic poses, matching outfits, snow, the funny ones, and two that are only possible with AI. Every example photo on this page was made with PawAndMe from two phone photos.
Easy ones you can shoot on your phone today
No props beyond what is in the house. The trick with all of them: get down to the dog’s eye level, turn off the flash, and make a noise once, not ten times.
1. By the tree, lights on, room lights off
Shoot in the evening with only the tree lit. Phones handle it fine now; hold still and tap the dog to focus.
2. The bokeh portrait
Dog three feet in front of the tree, you three feet in front of the dog. The lights blur into circles behind them.
3. Under the blanket
A red or cream blanket, dog’s head poking out. Works for the dog who hates hats.
4. Santa hat, one second
Put the hat on, take the burst, take the hat off. You need one good frame, not a cooperative dog.
5. Window light and a scarf
Mid-morning, dog on a chair by the window, a knitted scarf. The simplest card that still looks like a card.
6. Treat on the ornament
Hold a treat behind a hanging ornament so the dog stares at it. Crop the hand out later.
The classic card poses
These are the ones printers’ templates were designed around. They look best as a 3:4 or 4:5 crop with the dog slightly off-center.
7. The armchair portrait
You seated, dog on your lap or at your feet, tree to one side. Lamp on, overheads off.
8. Fireplace and stockings
Dog on the rug in front of the fire, stockings above. If you have no fireplace, a row of candles on a low table does the job.
With PawAndMe: Scene: Fireplace evening.
9. Everyone on the stairs
Family on the stairs, dog on the bottom step so it is closest to the camera and looks biggest.
10. The front door wreath
Dog sitting in the doorway under the wreath. Overcast days are best; direct sun makes black dogs disappear.
11. Wrapping chaos
You wrapping, dog in the middle of the paper. The honest card.
Matching outfits
The most-searched dog Christmas card idea every year, for a reason: it reads as a family photo, not a pet photo.
12. Matching plaid pajamas
Buy the human set first, then a bandana in the same plaid for the dog. A full dog pajama set is optional and usually unnecessary.
With PawAndMe: Scene: By the Christmas tree, matching plaid.
13. Matching ugly sweaters
Two sweaters, same pattern. Shoot in front of a plain wall so the pattern does the talking.
14. Red scarves, everybody
Cheapest matching set there is. Works for cats too.
15. Antlers on them, Santa hat on you
Or the other way round. The mismatch is the joke.
Outdoors and snow
If you have snow, you have the best backdrop there is. If you do not, there is a way around that below.
16. Fresh snow, mid-run
Burst mode, dog running toward you. Pick the frame where all four paws are off the ground.
17. Fairy lights at dusk
String lights between two trees, shoot in the ten minutes after sunset while the sky is still blue.
With PawAndMe: Scene: Snow day, dusk lights.
18. Christmas tree farm
Many farms allow dogs on a leash. Go on a weekday; the aisles are empty.
19. Sled or wagon
Dog in the sled, you pulling. Small dogs only, obviously.
Funny ones
A card that makes people laugh gets kept on the fridge until Easter.
20. Cookie supervision
Dog at the counter, cookies in frame, your hands decorating. Nobody has to look at the camera.
21. Caught with the gift
A half-unwrapped present and a guilty face. Stage it: tape a treat inside the paper.
22. Reindeer in training
Antlers plus a very small cardboard sleigh.
23. The naughty list
Dog next to a chalkboard that says NAUGHTY with the dog’s name under it.
The ones you can only make with AI
Some cards are not possible to shoot: the dog who will not sit for anything, the one who is far away this year, the cat who leaves the room when the tree goes up, and the owner who is never in the photo because they are holding the phone. These are the cases PawAndMe was built for.
24. You and your dog, together, in any of the scenes above
Upload one photo of yourself and one of your dog. Pick a holiday scene. You get a realistic photo of the two of you by the tree, by the fire or in the snow, with your dog’s real markings kept.
With PawAndMe: This is the whole product.
25. The pet who has passed
One more Christmas photo together, from an old photo of them and a recent one of you. Our In memory scenes are quiet, with no confetti.
With PawAndMe: Scene: In memory.
Want to be in the card this year? Two phone photos, one holiday scene, about a minute. 2 free photos to start.
Make our Christmas photoPrinting tips
- Download the 2K file for standard 5×7 cards and 4K for anything 8×10 and up.
- Cards are usually 5:7; shoot or create at 3:4 and leave a little room around the dog for the crop.
- Order by the first week of December. Printers slow down after that and the post office slows down after the second.
- Matte paper hides phone-photo noise better than glossy.
Looking for the cat version? Every scene on the Christmas page adapts to the pet in your photo, and pet mode makes a portrait of just them.