As noted before in this space, Chris and I have created our own Christmas cards every year since Ian was born. With each successive son, more photos and words were required – until eventually we were sending little booklets.
Like my parents and maternal grandparents before me, creating this personal Christmas card is an essential tradition of the holiday season. It’s another thing on the to-do list, adding stress and expense, but it’s always worth doing. (And thank you, Chris, for doing the whole thing this year!)
My artistic brother Jim, who also creates a distinctive annual card, recently sent this link to a fabulous unique Christmas card collection from the early 20th century. Check out the wonderful, whimsical artistry of the cards created by the likes of artists Thomas Hart Benton and Rube Goldberg.
http://dwortman.com/xmascardsf.htm
One of the most memorable cards we ever received was a spiral bound flip book of head-to-toe photos of a family of five. The photos have been cut horizontally in half so you could mix and match top halves and bottom halves. Chris was both impressed and outraged that we had been “outdone” by another family. However, we consoled ourselves that the dad in that case was an architect (read: anal and controlling) and had probably put his family through hell as he took photo after photo, trying to get the proportions just right. That said, I still have that card!
Complete the following sentence: The most memorable Christmas card I’ve ever received was….
