The cards pretty much sell themselves but a well organised project can help increase sales. So what do you need to do to ensure you make the most of this opportunity?

1. Start early. It will take around 6 weeks from start to finish for a project like this so make sure you start early. If you present parents with Christmas card order forms in early December you will find that most parents have already bought cards elsewhere and your sales will be impacted accordingly. Aim to have order forms with parents in early to mid-November to maximise your sales.

2. Try and encourage the school’s teachers to have the children design their cards in class. If you leave this as a homework exercise (or as an optional task) your take-up rate will be reduced. Get the teachers involved as much as possible and try to make this exercise part of one of their art lessons.

3. Choose a provider that can help you with all aspects of the process and that has a good range of products from Christmas cards, to gift tags and more. The wider the product range the greater the sales.

4. Make sure every teacher understands the requirements of the Christmas card printing company. You don’t want drawing templates rejected because they do not meet the company’s requirements. Not only will it reduce your sales but you will also have a whole bunch of disappointed children. Not good!

5. Encourage the children to use as much colour as possible. The more colour they use the more wonderful their final designs look when they are printed. Line drawings are nice but a vibrant and bright Christmas card drawn by a child always looks appealing!