Christmas Card Pressure
It’s officially that time of year! The season for eggnog, sparkling lights, and bookoos of annual Christmas cards.
I love Christmas cards. I can’t help but smile every time I see my mailbox decorated with Christmas cheer from friends and family. There is something about receiving a Christmas card that makes you feel special, even if it’s a generic card, with the typical “Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays” message and no personalization whatsoever.
And while those little cards bring me joy, I have to be honest and admit that I begin to stress about our yearly Christmas cards—sometimes as early as December 26th. But my stress doesn’t come from finding the perfect template or picking which computer-generated greeting we use. No, mine comes from trying to figure out next year's idea.
You see, we don’t send typical Christmas cards. While I love the templates offered on Shutterfly and Minted, I come from the world of design, so I feel it is my duty to create our own. And these aren’t just any Christmas cards; they are themed.
The first year we sent out Christmas cards was our second year of marriage. Since I couldn’t send out the typical “First Christmas as Mr. & Mrs.” card, I began to think of something else we could do. I had gotten an incredibly talented friend to turn my husband and me into Bob’s Burgers characters for his birthday that year, and after seeing the finished product, I wondered if I could do something with it. After sprinkling a few Christmas decorations on the building and trees, the Bob’s Burgers Christmas card was born.
I will admit that I set the bar a tad bit too high with that card because I knew every card we sent would be held to Bob's standard. Feeling the pressure to create something equally as good for the following year, I remembered an idea I thought of at the beginning of Garret and my relationship—you know, after knowing I would become Mrs. Danks.
Our second Christmas card was a play on the popular film "Christmas with the Kranks." But to make it our own, we changed Kranks to Danks, and voila, we were staring in ”Christmas with the Danks." Once we settled on this idea, we ordered our wardrobe and turned our garage into a makeshift studio—thankfully, my husband and I come from the film industry, so this was just another Tuesday. After hours in Photoshop and Illustrator, the sequel was ready to be released.
Less than a week after sending out the 2019 cards, I began feeling the Christmas card pressure again. How in the world could I top a Bob’s Burgers Christmas or find another movie with such a perfect title for our last name?
With six-plus months of downtime this year, you would think I could have come up with an amazing idea, but I hadn’t. And it wasn’t for lack of trying. Since I do my best thinking on the treadmill (anyone else like this?), I ran to our garage, jumped on my favorite quarantine purchase, and began writing down anything Christmas related. After an excessive 7-mile run, where I watched a Netflix version of a Hallmark movie, a lightbulb went off, and I finally had a perfect idea.
This year's card would reflect a Hallmark original Christmas movie. But rather than being part of Countdown to Christmas, our’s was part of Christmas in Quarantine. And I have to say, it might be my favorite. As I began working on this year's card and breaking down the process, I started to realize the amount of work that goes into a Christmas card. Even if you don’t take it to the extreme like I do, there is still so much that goes into creating your annual card.
Creating the perfect Christmas card involves 14 steps.
Conceptualizing a theme or direction.
Coordinating everyone’s outfit.
Choosing a backdrop:
Do you like the idea of taking your photos inside, on a film-like quality set? Or, are you a purist who believes nature provides the most idyllic backdrop and setting? Shooting indoors gives those with adjustment disorders peace of mind, knowing few things could cause a delay or rescheduling. Shooting outdoors, specifically during the golden hour, will provide some of the most stunning images, but you will be up against the sun. You could face unexpected weather, particularly if you are shooting in Texas, where there is a chance of experiencing all four seasons in one day.Finding a professional photographer with a portfolio, you like and identify with.
Requesting that your family remain all smiles while the photographer attempts to catch those million-dollar smiles and genuinely happy moments.
Googling the various Christmas card websites to see who offers cards that reflect your vision—while checking for active coupon codes, allowing you to get the most bang for your buck. (Side note: I do not consider an online printer if they don’t have a valid coupon code.)
Picking the right template to frame your faces. Whether it’s Fun & Whimsical, Modern & Simple, or Snowflakes & Winter Scenes, your style sets the tone for your card.
Writing the perfect holiday greeting that shares your message without sounding offensive or too wordy.
Selecting a scripture that appears under your greeting.
Deciding the paper you want for your cards. Are you a standard matte person? Premium glossy? Pearl shimmer? Card stock because it’s free? Do you want flat or folded cards? Are you a fan of embossed foil or rounded corners? All questions you must ask yourself.
Choosing envelopes. Do you go with the standard triangle closure? Or spruce it up with scalloped envelopes?
Addressing the cards. If you suffer from illegible handwriting like I do, you might research custom stamps while asking yourself, “Is $12 worth the price of my sanity?” After weighing the pros and cons, you realize the stamp is equal to nine 20 oz Diet Cokes so you quickly remove it from your cart and jump over to Pinterest for handwriting inspiration and tutorials.
Placing the order. After submitting, you pray the final product looks like your preview. Keep in mind, you could order (and pay for) a premium glossy card but instead, receive a standard matte that makes you and your husband look like Oompa Loompas. If this happens, don’t freak out. Just call a customer service rep and beg them to place a rush on your new order, free of charge—in the spirit of Christmas.
And lastly, add postage to every card before dropping then in the mail.
Christmas cards are hard work, but worth it. And while most of us might be cheesing for the camera or hoping we don’t get called out for our perfectly photoshopped hair and unusually rosy cheeks, we love the tradition of the Christmas card. Sure, it may not be a real-life glimpse into our lives, but those cards show that you and your family survived another year.
To me, the fact that people take time to share their love and happiness with others, especially in an unusually gloomy year, warms my heart. Seeing the smiling faces of family and friends and the innocent laughter plastered across a child's face, you can’t help get the warm and fuzzies when you open a Christmas card.
So, even when your life isn’t Christmas card perfect, and you feel like you’re just surviving and not thriving—remember we’re all hiding our struggles behind an Instagram filter. And while none of us have it together right now (albeit introverts like myself are thriving in quarantine), there is nothing wrong with pretending like we are a picture-perfect, hallmark worthy, greeting card family.
