If you’d like to send a special holiday message to your loved ones, why not go green and make your dog the star of your seasonal greetings? Here are five ideas for eco-friendly holiday-cards that are fun to make and fun to share.

1. Care2 Greetings

Make a difference by sending a free Care2 e-card — you’ll be generating donations for worthy causes. For every e-card you send as a Care2 member, you’ll earn Butterfly credits, which can be spent on great gifts like safe drinking water for those in need, as well as carbon offsets and help for shelter pets. Care2 has an assortment of holiday templates to choose from, and you can upload a photo of your dog to personalize your greeting.

2. Get digitally creative

If you’ve got some basic photo editing skills, you can dress your dog up digitally for the holidays. Take a photo of your pet, top him off with a Santa hat, and add a seasonal message.

If you can’t draw a hat, it’s a snap to search for “transparent santa hat png” to find enough Santa hats to dress up a fleet of reindeer. Spread some holiday cheer by emailing your digital artwork to friends and family.

3. Be a merry poet

If being crafty isn’t your thing, express your Christmas creativity by penning a custom carol or Christmas poem to email to your loved ones. Here are a few lines to get you started:

Twas the night before Christmas, it was calm and foggy,

Not a creature was stirring, not even the doggy;

[YOUR PET’S NAME] was nestled all snug in his bed,

While visions of [YOUR PET’S FAVORITE THING] danced in his head;

And I in my PJs, with one promise to keep

Am sending you a greeting before I go to sleep

I wanted to wish you some holiday cheer

Along with a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

4. Get dressed up for the holidays

Another great idea for a festive e-card is to take a photo of you and your dog dressed up for the holidays. Recruit a friend or family member to act as your photographer. Then glam yourself up in festive colors.

If your dog isn’t into wearing hats or silly clothes, hold a holiday decoration such as an ornament or bow near him when the picture is taken. Just make sure the decoration is out of your dog’s sight so that he doesn’t mistake it for a toy.

5. Make a handmade holiday card

You can transform old Christmas cards, scraps of used wrapping paper, and holiday flyers into your own handmade holiday card. Use a blank greeting card made from recycled paper as your canvas. You can buy them at craft stores or make your own by cutting an old file folder into a card shape.

Then cut shapes out of the old cards, wrapping paper, and flyers to create your own festive scene. Here’s detailed instructions on how to make this card of a dog eagerly awaiting the treats inside his stocking.

Are you making your own card this season? Do you have any tips for creative cards? Let us know in the comments!