Not only does the Christmas season provide us with the great opportunity of opening presents, it also gives us the great moments of opening up Christmas cards. In my family, from the end of Thanksgiving until a little after Christmas we can count on a constant bundle of formally addressed envelopes to be in our mail each day. Christmas cards are a great way for people to wish those people they care about, but may not get a chance to see, a Merry Christmas. It also gives everyone a chance to show off their beautiful families or how their kids have grown up.
We love getting Christmas cards in my family and have them prominently displayed in our house as part of our Christmas decorating. Christmas cards provide answers to questions (Oh that’s where Joey went to college), they provide confusion (Since when do they have a fourth kid?!), and overall they are nice reminders of the people out there who care for your family. Every year all the pictures are different, however, the same types of cards can be expected. Behold the types of cards you will receive this season:
My family’s Christmas card display
The white shirt/bare feet on the beach
The family seated on the beach huddled together with the sunset or the reeds in the background is the classic professional Christmas card. The perfect lighting, the perfect sandy feet, the flowing white shirts. All of it adds up to the perfect happy looking family on their beach vacation. These are the families who have their act together when it comes to the Christmas season.
The bragger
These families like everyone to know how awesome their kids are. Everyone is proud of their kids and since this is the one time in the year that some of these people are hearing about your kids, some people really just go for it. Maybe these overzealous parents should reconsider though when they get to the part about their kids tutoring in National Honor Society and have to use size eight font. We get it – your kids are saving the world for us all.
The college shirt
It makes it easy for those with weak memories when you can’t remember where Suzie Q goes to school because it says it on her shirt. Or even better is when the whole family is decked out in full-blown college apparel. You can always count on one or two cards being filled with college pride, whether it is the sporting of the college gear or the graduation photo.
The dog is the centerpiece
My family received a few cards this year where the picture of the dog was bigger than the kids. Granted, there are lots of cute dog pictures out there, but the people should be the main attraction not the dog in the Santa hat. People, your family is good looking too, so don’t let the dog outshine them especially if the dog is on the card as an RIP.
Within this category there is also the card where the dog’s named is sign, but it has a people name so you can’t remember who is the kid and who is the dog.
The collage
The collage option has become more and more popular as photo editing has become easier. The collage is a good option for those who have a hard time making decisions and can’t just pick one picture. This could be because one kid looks good in one picture and not the other so in order to please both, both pictures must be added. Another reason may be that unfortunately you just did not get any pictures of your kids together that year. Or maybe your kids are just really good at those one-on-one model shots.
The last minute “We Forgot”
This card sometimes contains a blurry photo. It may show up without any borders or “Season Greetings,” and is just printed as a 4×6 photo. Or it may show up right before New Years and can gracefully pull off the “New Years” card – unless of course the photo is blurry and then we all just scratch our heads.
Your vacation looked awesome
These cards feature the Grant Tetons, the kids snorkeling underwater, the family lounging in beach chairs by the pool with their Shirley Temples. Vacations are the optimal Christmas photo op. It is the one time where you and your siblings aren’t pulling each other’s hair out so taking a picture is actually feasible. In addition, you are so happy to actually be on vacation that it usually comes out with happy faces all around. When other families receive this card you don’t have to worry as much about how you look because the beautiful scenery behind you can deter some of the attention away from your sunburnt face.
Those kids you know only because of their card
Many times when the Christmas card opening is occurring there is the question, “Mom, who are these people?” Each year we forget who they are because, well, we only see their faces once a year. These are our parents’ friends who have become our “friends” because we recognize them. We have seen them grow up, seen their vacations, dead pets, and college decisions all through their Christmas cards. We are sure that there are kids out there who think of us as their “Christmas card pals” and could see us on the street and recognize our smiling face, but have no idea what our name is.
Merry Christmas! Hope you enjoy all the cards you get this season!
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Image 1 provided by author, all other images found here