Christmas Cards 2014

Hot chocolate, a corny Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel, and a stack of newly arrived photos - that's how I spent some of my time on Saturday afternoon.  Love it.  Love the season.

Christmas cards have been making their way into my mailbox every few days and I've been having fun adding to my little Christmas Card book.  This is the 5th year I've been keeping them like that and it's been fun to flip back through all the past years, seeing all of my friends' children at different ages.  However, I've been a little anxious to get my own cards pulled together and out the door (so everyone can have our new address) and I was so happy to see that my Christmas photos had arrived at the post office a couple of days earlier than expected.  I sat right down and started putting them together and stuffing envelopes. 

There are so many great card options out there right now, but I get caught in the "I can just do it myself" mode every year - you know the one.  The day spent outside with the tripod and the camera on the self-timer, fingers crossed the whole time that the photos will look even half-way decent when you get home.  The time spent on Pinterest looking at card ideas and cute quotes trying to figure out the Very Best option for this year.  Then trying to pull it all together in Photoshop, using only the 4 commands I am familiar with.  ;)  And doing it all at 10:00 PM (when I'm normally in bed) because you realize your coupon code for photo prints expires that day.

All things considered, I didn't actually mind the process - I'm just laughing at myself for rushing through it yet another year.  One of these days I will remember to take photos in October with perfectly coordinated outfits and all of November to pull the cards together.  For now though, my method did still result in reasonably cute Christmas cards for the year - phew! ;) 

Ok time for a close look at them, right?

Front:

Back:

Well, I'm off to take photos of the kids playing in the falling snow.  Maybe I can use those photos for next year's card and be super duper on the ball for next time?! ;)