Christmas Cards...

Christmas cards...some consider them a love/hate part of Christmas: love to get them, hate to do them. Picking out the perfect card is often the easy part, but addressing them, writing a personal note (if you still do that), and then actually getting to the post office to fork over the money to mail them can put dread in our hearts. Me, I love to get cards in the mail. I especially love when they are picked to reflect the giver's personality or selected with me in mind. I am a bit of a card snob. I have spoke before of my love of getting a few laughs in the card aisle. I take my time when choosing any card and I figure if I'm going to spend the ridiculous price they charge, it is going to have to mean something to me or the recipient. I remember getting very insulted when I came upon my husband tossing a card I gave him into the trash. I mean really, how ungrateful!! He laughingly reassured me that it was not because he didn't appreciate the sentiment, but he didn't feel the need to keep what would become "clutter" (gross irony coming from him: Mr. Tornado). He then spoke those fateful words: "I'm just not that into cards" Gasp!! The truth was out. The same fellow who kept every letter I sent him when we were dating no longer felt the need to have cards given to him! Well, I could have taken it personally, but since he is a big sap in many other ways, I relented, and no longer buy him cards, unless the occasion is very special. He is not off the hook with me, though. He still buys me very carefully selected cards and always writes a sweet note in them. He knows what is good for him....

Anyhow, I digress as usual, so back to the topic at hand. I have always sent Christmas cards. I may not send as many as I did in years past, but I figure, if I don't make the effort to keep in touch with someone during the rest of the year, then sending the perfunctory Christmas card seems rather silly. For the record, my cards always include a picture of my children. Unlike me, they always look cute in pictures and I figure the people I send my cards to will surely enjoy seeing how they grow. Like every besotted mother, I believe this whole-heartedly. That is why I love to get cards that include pics of my friends' and family's children. Cards with kids are the best, and quite frankly, make all others seem rather dull in comparison. So, my advice is to take the time, make the effort to take a good holiday photo of your kids and stick it into your cards. It is a Christmas task that will be appreciated by most, and you will have a lovely "snapshot in time" to look back upon and ooh and aah over when they are older... and not so cute!!

My annual "photo shoot" is more Griswald than Rockwell. Two grumpy boys shuffling begrudgingly outside to stand against my carefully staged (of course) backdrop, my girlie posing and running around pretending she is a fashion model; and later,repeated whining by those lovely children to "hurry up" and "that's good enough" followed by a bit of pushing and shoving from one to the other and blaming one another for screwing up this shot or that. Christmasy it is not...Throw in me yelling at the culprit of the moment alternated with pleading with them to cooperate, and we look like "funky family" of the year. More festivus than festive!! That said, we always end up with a photo that makes me swoon over their cuteness... and a couple of candy canes later coupled with a return to "normal" clothes, and all is forgotten!! And, I have a great keepsake of a moment in time that I can scrapbook and pretend that they are always lovely, and me serene...

Here are a few of our past Christmas card photos. Aren't they adorable? See?? It's worth the trials and tribulations of it all!! This one is my all-time favourite: My sons were three and five at the time...

Oh, I know you've seen this one before, but it bears repeating for me...Triple Dog Dare!!

Here is a great Christmas shot of Lani's daughter ( from The Wooden Porch blog...one of my favourites...!!) and a little friend posing by a vintage truck...perfection!!

Kiana Griffin photography, courtesy: The Wooden Porch blog

And, (drumroll please), here is the end result of our annual Christmas photography shoot (by me), and the photo that I turned into a card with the following caption:

Listening (?) to The Night Before Christmas

(note the ipod in one son's ears...and my other son looking at a basketball mag!). Even with the props, Sophie still did not get the sarcasm of the shot!!

So, consider this my Christmas card to you. If you peek inside my card, it gets really corny:

Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night!!