The Quest for the Perfect Family Christmas Card
It’s almost Christmas, making it a perfect time to talk about holiday traditions. Last week my wife and I took our son Cristian to see Santa, which led to an annual rite of futility, our family Christmas cards.
When I was single, Christmas cards were easy — I didn’t send any. After getting married, my wife Esther sent out cards for both of us. My contributions were limited to printing mailing labels and dropping the cards in the mailbox.
Becoming parents meant sending out family cards. We didn’t want images of the perfect family posed in front of a fireplace wearing matching Christmas sweaters with a golden retriever in the foreground.
We don’t have a fireplace, matching Christmas sweaters, or a dog.
I spent countless holiday seasons laughing at images of our friend’s kids that doubled as Christmas cards. They screamed, “We successfully reproduced” or “Here’s a picture of our precious child sitting on a creepy old man’s lap. What were we thinking?”
It’s amazing how parenthood changes one’s perspective.
