The holidays are finally here, with big in-person gatherings back on the cards for the first time in three years.
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If you’re looking to have some fun with friends and family, or send something funny to those who can’t join you, a personalised Christmas-themed video is a great way to go.
Of course, you could create your own, but that’s a lot of hassle most people could do without. If you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a celebrated carol singer, snowman or one of Santa’s elves, these apps and services make it possible.
Portable North Pole
Portable North Pole has been around for a while now, but it continues to get better. There are loads of options if you’re willing to pay for a subscription, but the website and apps for Android, iOS and Amazon Appstore (available on Windows 11) all let you create a personalised video for free.
Image: Portable North Pole
Just head to the website or app and select ‘Create my free video’. Enter the first name of your child and see if Santa can say their name. If not, there are lots of generic names (such as ‘My Friend’ and ‘Champ’) to choose from.
Then, enter their birthday and a photo, plus one of the existing descriptions. Select ‘Create video’, then register or connect your Facebook/Google account.
After a few seconds, the short video will be available. It expires at the end of January, so you’ll just need to download or share it before then.
Just make sure you get everything right before creating the video – you can only get one free per account. Paid options range from a one-off $4.99/£4.49 call to the full rage of features for $13.99/£13.99 per year.
Elf Yourself
Portable North Pole is designed for one person, but Elf Yourself means you can get friends and family involved too. Each personalised video contains up to five different people strutting their stuff as elves in a variety of different funny scenes.
To get started, just head to the Elf Yourself website or download the app for Android and iOS. From the main screen, just take new photos, add them from your camera roll or connect Facebook/Instagram to get the faces you want to use.
Elf Yourself
Once you’ve added up to five faces and added a custom greeting (if you’d like), click ‘Let’s Dance’ and choose from two free dances every day. Then, just download it or share like you would with any video.
High-quality downloads are available for a one-off $5.99/£5.99 fee, or you can access all 29 dances with a $5.99/£5.99 per year subscription.
JibJab eCards
Video eCards from JibJab can still offer a lot of fun. A particular favourite of ours is the Christmas version of viral song Gangnam Style, but there are lots of other videos to choose from, All of these can be personalised for free with up to five photographs that are placed into the video in a similar way to the Elf Yourself video.
JibJab
It’s well worth taking a look at JibJab, as there are 200+ different video cards that you can personalise, so there’s bound to be one that hits on a personal joke that you share among your friends or family.
As with any other eCards, these can be sent instantly or at a specific time via email.
You may also be interested in how to make personalised Christmas cards.
