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Whether you’re celebrating your child’s high school graduation or your own long-awaited completion of an undergraduate or advanced degree, it’s time to let the world know about a very important achievement.
Make your custom winter graduation announcements come to life with images that capture the best parts of the winter season and your personality. Check out these photoshoot ideas plus a list of some of our favorite grad card templates you can use to broadcast your success to family, friends, and those in academic circles who offered you so much support along the way.
Winter Graduation Photoshoot Ideas
Many of the most memorable winter graduation announcements feature a photograph of the new grad. This central design element is a chance to show off your child’s accomplishment — or perhaps your own.
Here are some winter-themed photoshoot ideas that could work for your graduation announcement. Remember to pair your favorite concept with a few winter graduation outfit ideas that complement the theme. Taking pictures in your graduation gown and then switching to a dress, suit, or other more “streetwear” option gives you a more dynamic array of images to choose from when it’s time to upload your photo and finalize your custom grad announcement.
Fun in the Snow
No list of winter photoshoot ideas would be complete without at least one setup that took full advantage of the snow.
Winter weather is free, saving you on renting a backdrop or a venue, and a little snowfall sets the mood instantly. Poses can be as simple as your grad standing with their arms outstretched as snowflakes cover them from head to toe. Or you can go for an action shot — think making snow angels in their graduation attire or having a snowball fight with their classmates.
Winter Beach Photoshoot
Depending on where you live, winter might not automatically mean snowstorms and icicle props. Graduates in southern states and other warm-weather locales can take advantage of their surroundings by staging an unusual and very memorable graduation photoshoot right on the beach.
The first option is to fully embrace your beachy backdrop and wear a bathing suit underneath your open graduation gown. The second is to go fully formal, donning button-up graduation attire and your cap while posing in front of the ocean or other beachy landmarks.
Christmas Lights Photoshoot
It’s winter, so why not incorporate the holidays into your graduation photoshoot? Christmas lights are one of the easiest and most impactful ways to salute the season, and they bring a celebratory feel to your setup too.
You can wrap yourself in Christmas lights for a more tongue-in-cheek shot, wrap them around your porch, drape them across a plaid blanket-lined trunk bed, or put them on an actual Christmas tree and pose in front of the display. Nearly endless possibilities, and each one will underscore the joy everyone feels over your winter graduation.
Skaters Gonna Skate — and Skiers, Too!
Grads who love active pursuits might want to incorporate their hobbies into their photoshoot. That could mean tossing on your cap and gown while you attempt a double axel on the ice rink or navigating the bunny slopes with a mock diploma in your hand. Even sledding will evoke the rush of cold air and fun that winter activities bring.
Sleigh All Day
Join forces with some of your fellow grads and rent out a horse-drawn sleigh for a few hours. You can each have your photographs taken in the sleigh plus a few group shots. Use a graduation announcement template that has multiple photo frames, and you can include solo shots as well as a group shot that acts as a nod to all your high school or college BFFs.
Winter-Themed “Confetti” Toss
The time-honored confetti shot is a grad photo classic. It’s easy — you get dressed up in your cap and gown, toss some confetti into the air, and hope your photographer captures the magic of the cascading bits and pieces.
Now imagine pairing your favorite senior picture ideas in winter settings with a confetti toss that has a more seasonal twist. You can toss fake snow, real snow, tinsel, pinecones (the miniature ones are probably safer), or — if your area doesn’t get a lot of snow — some leftover fall leaves.
13 Custom Graduation Announcements for Your Winter Commencement
Put your winter graduation ideas into action using one of these Graduation Announcement Cards from Truly Engaging. From templates that put your winter graduation photos center stage to modern designs that feel sleek and sophisticated, this list includes our favorite examples of graduation announcement templates that can be used to fit your winter theme.
1. Humble Cap
Humble Cap uses a simply gray background and block lettering to help your name and likeness stand out. There are spaces for two photos — one snowy candid and one more formal pose, perhaps? — and the small graduation cap graphic leaves no doubt which achievement you’re celebrating next.
2. Graduate Grid
The three staggered photos that make up Graduate Grid are ideal for showcasing a series of action shots or highlighting several of your favorite hobbies. Upload a trio of pics detailing your skating prowess or go for a Christmas theme.
3. Fun Celebration
Fun Celebration brings sneaky pops of color into play thanks to offset shadow borders peeking out from behind your graduation photos. Switch up the coloring to match your current school colors or your future college’s chosen aesthetic and wear a university sweatshirt or t-shirt to match.
4. Chic Three
Soft script trails up the left-hand side of Chic Three, lending the design an air of elegance that will look right at home next to a few of your favorite sophisticated winter graduation shots. This design would work splendidly for a past, present, future concept with a winter twist.
5. Brilliant Border
Edge-to-edge framing turns every inch of Brilliant Border into an opportunity to show off your favorite graduation photoshoot image. That extra real estate means your snowy backdrop or Christmas accessories will show up beautifully whether you opt for the traditional graduation card print or an alternative iteration such as a Truly Engaging magnet or postcard.
6. Cheers Grad
Hip, hip, HOORAY! You’ve achieved something huge, and now it’s time to celebrate your winter graduation in style. Cheers Grad does just that, utilizing a contemporary curved picture frame, modern lines, and a short and quirky message to convey a little bit of your personality and a whole lot of charm.
7. Onward Grad
Onward Grad looks to your graduate’s future with a design that feels both modern and timeless. Streamlined text printed in easy-to-read fonts give way to a large, oversized “GRAD” line that practically shouts about this momentous achievement. You can easily switch up the background color to a more wintery or holiday-related hue.
8. On The Edge
On the Edge combines an offset photo with oversized text declaring the star graduate a member of the Class Of ____. To amp up the glitz, add raised foiling to the “Class Of” lettering, and your winter-themed graduation announcement will sparkle and shine.
9. Modern Scholar
Modern Scholar is full of little design details that come together to create an interesting and eye-catching whole. From the statement “Graduate” text that dips down into your photo frame to the whimsical lowercase text used for your event details to the unique asymmetrical outline of the photo frame itself, this template exudes fun and promises to stand out in a sea of other graduation invites.
10. Strong Foundation
For grads and families who take great pride in sophistication and tradition, there’s Strong Foundation, a graduation announcement that shares your photos and event details in a straightforward and attractive manner. A geometric overlay with bold text joins two mirror-image photo frames. Upload shots of you looking back at your accomplishments and then forward into the future, with plenty of winter details for ambience and charm, of course.
11. Bold Rapture
Bold Rapture is another winter graduation announcement design that uses every inch of printable space to let your chosen image shine. Text is kept to a minimum, with the oversized “graduate” print used as the singular declaration of your awesome accomplishment.
12. Brushed Corner
Our Brushed Corner template comes with a surprise splash of color that swoops across the upper right-hand corner of the design. The grad’s name sits at the top of the vertically oriented card, with event details shared in sideways print on the card’s right edge for an added bit of whimsy. Change the color in the corner to align with your school colors, or choose a deep forest green or brick red for the holidays, topped with raised foil lettering for seasonal sparkle.
13. Stacked Snapshots
Stacked Snapshots is one of the sportiest designs on this list. The Class of 2022 lettering combines scripted text and jersey-like fonts to underscore your grad’s athleticism, and there are three stacked photos for you to fill with your favorite graduation images.
When Should You Send Winter Graduation Announcements?
Winter graduation announcements that include an invitation should be mailed early enough to arrive about two to three weeks before graduation day. That gives recipients a decent head’s up so they can make plans for things like time off work and childcare, if necessary.
If your graduation announcement won’t include an invitation and is simply a way to make friends and family aware of your grad’s accomplishment, you can mail the announcement two to four weeks after the ceremony. To streamline your to-do list, customize your chosen template before the ceremony, upload your photos and then complete the design once you have candid shots from the big day.
Who Should You Send Winter Grad Announcements to?
When you’re deciding who you should send winter graduation announcements to, stick to one simple rule: If someone is on your holiday card list, they should get a grad announcement, too.
You should also include people you’ve met recently as part of your academic journey, such as professors, your boss at your recent internship, and your high school advisor who helped you fill out your college applications.
Include even those people who might already know about your graduation. They might still like formal notice and many people — such as your parents and grandparents — might keep the announcement as a keepsake (or you can print your graduation photos on canvas!).
Finally, include yourself in the number of invites you ultimately order. It’ll be nice to have a copy of your winter graduation announcement to put in your scrapbook or a picture frame.
Browse All of Truly Engaging’s Graduation Announcements
To find your perfect graduation stationery, browse Truly Engaging’s full catalog of winter graduation announcements, including grad announcement cards, postcards, and even magnets.