Before I had children, I received many holiday cards from friends featuring smiling babies and toddlers. And they all looked more than thrilled to be posing for the all important statement that yes – their parents have given birth to THE most adorable child/children EVER.
So of course, I assumed that I would do the same with our own annual holiday mailing. And we had a good start the year that Oliver was born. He was old enough to sit on Santa’s lap and not cry or look like a festive potato, so I used one of the pictures I took for the card:
A little dark – but it did the trick. And I was even able to come up with a cute caption for the inside – something along the lines of “...and I want a remote control, and some paper clips, and a calculator, and a cell phone…OOOH and a few pennies…”
I ordered my holiday cards through Shutterfly and was very happy with the finished product.
Then I had the twins.
They were born a couple of months before the following Christmas, and to say that I didn’t quite have my act together would be like saying that the Titanic was short one or two lifeboats.
This is the closest thing I have to a festive group shot that holiday season:
Aside from the bizarre tree that looked like a porcupine with a mohawk gone awry (Chris wasn’t at the top of his game either when he went out to buy it), and the fact that my oldest child wasn’t in the picture, you couldn’t have paid me to publicize that picture of my exhaustion and general dishevelment. Now of course, I have no such compunctions since I’ve looked like that for the past four years and am used to it.
The following year when Oliver was two and the twins were one, I TRIED to pull something off with the help of some toys and cookies (and a table to trap them against their chairs):
But no dice. That was the best of the bunch.
In 2008, I thought I had a great plan in grabbing them right before we left for a holiday party. I promised Tic Tacs (ah – the days when they thought Tic Tacs were candy…) for each pose:
Sadly, the Tic Tacs were a distraction and caused too much jumping up and down and arm waving. Not to mention the Tic Tacs visible in their mouths in some of the livelier shots. Above, is the most normal looking one of all the pictures I took. FAIL.
Finally, last year, I did manage to get a group picture in front of our tree on New Years Eve. It was too late to do a card, but I think this one would have been “good enough.”
I mean – with the exception of the Irish cross ornament growing out of Eleanor’s head.
But THIS year… THIS is going to be the year. I WILL get a decent group picture on a card and put it in the mail, even if it’s an image of them in their underwear in front of a trash can. I’m sure a Photoshop-adept friend can help me paint in a tree and some pants. If necessary, I will send out a picture of someone else’s children. But I’m mailing a damn holiday card and Merry Christmas, Hanukkah and Quanza to all and to all a goodnight goddammit!
So what luck that I was asked by Shutterfly to review their new line of holiday cards for 2010!
I’ve always loved holiday photo cards best. They don’t even have to be of people. Just knowing that there is a personal photograph involved makes the message all that more tangible. Why offices continue to send out those boring generic holiday cards is beyond me…what a waste of paper.
Since my number one priority is the picture, the designs I prefer are rather uncluttered with just a simple statement of good wishes. I also look for “holiday” cards as opposed to Christmas cards since not all of my friends celebrate the same religious holidays.
Here are a few that fit all of my requirements (click each image for full details):
I also liked this one as an alternative to the lengthy holiday “letter.” Just enough space to give a few highlights (and a better chance that the recipients will actually read it!):
I don’t think I will go with the option above since I could NEVER limit myself that that small amount of text… But the other three are definite possibilities.
This is the year! We will send out a holiday card – and even if the picture stinks, at least the design will be lovely.
Do you want 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? Click here to go to Shutterfly for information on how you can get 50 free cards this holiday season, and make sure to select Clever 1000 as the referral source.
This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.