November 18, 2008 07:00 ET

Digital Christmas Greetings and Photo eCards From Smilebox Make Creative Holiday Wishes Affordable During Tough Economic Times

REDMOND, WA--(Marketwire - November 18, 2008) - According to a recent Nielsen study, more than one-third of U.S. households plan to spend less during holiday 2008 as compared to last year and only 6 percent plan to spend more. As economic uncertainty ushers in the holiday shopping season, consumers are turning to Smilebox to affordably send their Christmas greeting cards and scrapbooks to everyone on their list for free or as little as $2.99 for premium designs.

Buying and mailing traditional holiday photo cards can cost hundreds of dollars whereas Smilebox photo greeting cards can be personalized and emailed to an unlimited number of people for less than the cost of one paper card. Smilebox's wide selection of animated holiday designs created by leading multimedia artists give customers dozens of choices for scrapbooking, recipes, invitations, greetings and slideshows -- all at a reasonable cost and without sacrificing personalization or creativity.

"Our sales have more than tripled since this time last year and we continue to see strong month-to-month growth," says Andrew Wright, founder and CEO of Smilebox, Inc. "Smilebox is resonating with consumers as a result of its convenience, cost effectiveness and the emotional impact it generates."

Smilebox also offers convenience features that take the hassle out of the holidays, such as the ability to schedule a Smilebox to be emailed on a specific date, such as Christmas Day or Eve, and allow recipients of an emailed Smilebox to save photos directly from the creation to their computer or save the entire Smilebox creation as a keepsake.

Smilebox lets customers create truly personal digital designs by simply dragging and dropping photos and videos into animated templates, personalize them with music and words, and share them via email, blog or print.

The Smilebox catalog features more than 700 designs for every occasion from leading providers such as Making Memories, K & Company, Anna Aspnes, Design By Dani, as well as the Smilebox Studio design team. Available for the PC or Mac platforms, Smilebox is available for free download at www.smilebox.com.

About Smilebox, Inc.:

Smilebox is a photo-sharing service that lets consumers quickly turn life's moments into digital creations they can share with others or save for themselves. Customers can choose from hundreds of greetings, scrapbooks or slideshows, drop in their photos and videos and add personal touches including music and text. They can email, blog or print their creations. Smilebox distribution partners include Hallmark Cards Inc., Hewlett-Packard, NBC Universal Inc., Lifetime Entertainment Services, Six Apart, Ltd., Atom Shockwave and Rogers Media Inc. Based in Redmond, Washington, Smilebox, Inc. was founded in 2005 by Andrew Wright.

Smilebox is a trademark of Smilebox, Inc. All trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.