When he was small, my youngest son had a habit of filling his pockets with treasures he encountered in his daily adventures. I didn't always understand the value he saw in his chosen objects -- really, how many rocks and sticks could one boy keep? In his eyes, though, each one was beautiful and important. Life is just like that on a larger scale, isn't it? We gather up the precious bits of our experiences and save them all to learn from and enjoy later. Perhaps you'll find a little something here that you'd like to keep in your own pockets. Thanks for visiting.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Smile! (Photo Christmas Cards)

When the Christmas holiday season draws near, my thoughts always turn to loved ones who live far away. My childhood years were filled with happy (and crazy-fun!) Christmas celebrations that involved many dear family members and friends (and wonderful food, wacky children's Christmas concerts, loud family games, and my good-natured Great Grandpa Charlie showing up smiling in a yellow rain suit to protect himself from other people's glasses of red wine that somehow always seemed to land on him during dinner!). Remembering those days always adds a special warmth and cheer to the current holiday season. Because so many of our closest relatives and friends now live great distances from us and from one another, it's impossible to see everyone at Christmastime like we used to, but I like to let them all know that we're thinking of them fondly.

For the past several years, we have sent out photo Christmas greeting cards to all of the special people in our lives. The hardest part of this process is taking a picture of Noah and Will to use for this project; it usually takes several attempts outdoors to capture one shot in which both boys are looking at the camera and smiling with their eyes open. (If you're not sure what I'm talking about, try taking an 8 and an 11 year old boy, one who finds it near impossible to stand still and not try to be a comedian, and one who squints violently in the slightest bit of sunshine and loathes wearing sweaters, and you'll quickly see what I mean.) 




A few jokes about me preferring not to send out a card on which the children look like grinning trolls usually gets the boys laughing and results in a more natural-looking picture.

Once I've captured the boys' true smiles, the rest of the photo card-making process is simple. From these many creative designs online, I choose one that suits our family's personality, upload the photo, add our own message, and place my order. What arrives in our mailbox a little while later is a package of cheerful holiday cards with a personal touch, ones that I can easily send to our family members and friends to let them know that they're in our hearts at Christmas and always.


Now that's something everyone can smile about.

 
***

 
This post is sponsored by Vistaprint Canada. I am being paid to write it, but the words, ideas, and opinions are all my own.

No comments:

Post a Comment