Say CHEESE!

Every fourth of July holiday our family gathers together in Watercolor, Florida for a fun and relaxing week at the beach! This has become somewhat of a family tradition and we have created so many cherished memories each year. While we use it as a time to relax and unwind, we also have one very important deadline and that is to get the family Christmas card photo!

While it can be a daunting task (there are 11 of us), it has become a very special tradition and one of my favorite parts is being able to look back on each year and remember the fond memories we made each trip and see how everyone has grown.

Wear WHITE Please

I do have one requirement and that is that everyone wears white! There is nothing more classic or timeless than a photograph on the beach all dressed in white. One year I tried to change it up and was going to have everyone wear a different colored shirt from the local store, but at the last minute I changed my mind and made everyone put their whites back on… it was quite funny and very ME! And the photo turned out perfectly — despite all of the eyes that were rolling!

Over the YEARS…

What fascinates me is the approach to the way we do our Christmas cards, and any greeting cards for that matter, has changed drastically over the years. What previously was a time-consuming process having to glue or tape your photo to the card, physically address, stuff, and stamp each Christmas card, has been transformed into a relatively simple process through companies like Minted and Paperless Post.

Don’t get me wrong, there is something beautiful and incredibly special about a hand-addressed, beautifully lettered card, and certain occasions certainly require this level of detail, however even I have recently switched over to the digital printing of my holiday cards.

Last year (2016) was my first experience digitally printing our holiday card and I will admit I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out. We selected Minted and since we already had our photo from the beach it was a fairly seamless process from start to finish! We selected a simple, classic card design from the “Wonder” collection and added details like a custom stamp, envelope liner, and personal message to make it feel more special.

I love the tradition of sending a card and that no matter how it’s assembled, by hand or digitally, it remains a relevant and personal way of sending holiday wishes and family updates to extended family and friends around the world… It’s fun to look back at all these moments as we gather to celebrate yet another season – Happy Holidays!