evolution of Feger Christmas cards

so this is an exact duplicate of my Fishy Face Photography blog post. You can click there to get my rankings better or comment there or share from there or 1+ from there or whatever but this belongs on my own family blog too:) 

My list (with my cheezy examples) of the ingredients for 

the Best Christmas Cards

I love Christmas cards.
If you know me, you certainly already know that.
I should put this on my Frequently Asked Questions page but I'm wordy so I'll keep it separate.
Remember, not even I do all of these, but this my list for the ideal Christmas card.

• It should contain a family picture. If the whole family isn't in one frame, then every family member should be included. Kids may be cuter than you are, but your out-of-state friends may not know who those kids are and would rather see your familiar face. Pets are a bonus and are optional, but are in no circumstance a replacement for the family. The picture does not need to be incorporated in the card, it could be separate or printed on a Christmas letter etc. 
• Plan ahead. Secure your photographer, paid or non, you can't do it yourself usually. Budget your time and money. Coordinate your outfits. (See at Q on my FAQs page.) Time your hair, nails, and tanning to be set before that day. Warn/beg your husband and bribe the kids. Then after the session make sure there's time to, wait for processing, pick your card design and images, order the cards and stamps and return address labels/stamps, assemble them, then wait for December before you actually mail them out.
• Order more than you think you need, you may later remember your piano teacher, Sunday School teachers, mail carrier, someone who pops in or sends you a card for the first time, etc.
• If you're Christian, I think it should say Merry Christmas. I always have to cross through the "Christmas" part and put "Hanukkah" for my Jewish friends and I know them well enough to know that they still appreciate the card even if they don't display it with their other Hanukkah and "Season's Greetings" cards. If you are a business or send to people who aren't close friends, then you probably should be sensitive and just send a friendly greeting, the "Happy Everything" colorful cards are fun. 
• Include the year. 
• You should sign your name or have it pre-printed. If you have multiple people in the family, their names need to be included as well. 
• A hand written greeting, note, or at least signature should be included so your friends know that you truly are thinking about them and are not just having your kids stuff and stamp the envelopes. If you see people all the time or hand deliver the cards, this isn't as important.
• A re-cap of the year should be included I suppose. Since I have a family blog and am active on Facebook, I assume my friends are aware more information than needed. But if I know somebody who would like to hear some news, I'll write it for him/her. My High School math teacher is one such exception. I write a note to him about me and my siblings who are his former students as well, and love hearing about his travels when I open my card from him and his wife.  

and extra fun things are

• to make it memorable
• to have a catchy slogan
• be original and creative! 

Remember, I do not follow my own advice every year. I didn't even blog my card from two years ago. It was an off year. I try to go big every other year. It gets expensive!

Don't forget to save extra for yourself and for your kids' memory boxes!
I put an extra one or two in an album of our Christmas cards. I took pictures through the clear covers for you to see the evolution of our Christmas cards.
Enjoy!

2001

cover: "Let it Snow" [picture of me and my boyfriend sticking our smiling faces through giant snowflakes we made] (thankfully we later got engaged and married! Who sends cards out with a boyfriend when there's been no thought of marriage?!)

inside: Merry Christmas from a couple of flakes [hand written inside of store bought cards.]

2002

cover: Tiffany is dreaming of a White Christmas... [I'm sleeping on Steven's lap in front of a Christmas tree on the sand. We are in hats/scarves but I'm in flip flops.]

inside: ...but then she realized she was in Florida, and all of the snow melted. [picture of us standing in the water at the beach holding a Christmas tree up] We were married by this point. 

2003

cover: Greetings From Our Home To Yours [I'm drilling in our house numbers up on a column while Steven kicks back and relaxes and watches] (We had snowflakes in the windows, lights up, poinsettias, and freshly painted red and green trim.)

on the side: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... at our new house

2004

cover: Seasonings Greetings [we're dressed as spice and sugar in front of our spice rack.]

2005

cover: Season's Greetings from the Christmas Tree Huggers [We were on a tree farm, hugging a Christmas Tree.] We got negative feedback because I was hiding my pregnant belly. 

2006

cover: May your Christmas be Stuffed with Joy (or something like that, I just have the picture, no extra cards.) [I made a huge stocking and we stuffed ourselves in it in front of a brick plastic backdrop]

2007

cover: Merry Kissmas [Dylan is kissing my huge tummy] (I was pregnant and more than made up for the tree hugging card with this belly exposure!)

2008

cover: Merry Christmas from our Little Drummer Boys

inside: PA RUM PA PUM PUM

2009

cover: Docking in a Winter Wonderland [we were in a canoe with a decorated tree at a decorated dock]

inside: [a picture of our family sitting on the dock]

(My office did a Christmas card too! They went with my idea of "We're dreaming of a white Christmas, for you!" [I made our smiles paper white and put shining stars on the smiles and we did a tooth whitening promo which was our first promo ever and our first holiday card ever! My awesome boss loved the idea and my creation!]

2010

cover: We FISH you a Merry Christmas, [We're standing in the water at the beach dangling Isaac by a huge 5" fishing hook using a powerful fishing pole.]
{Click Here to see the blog post with better images/explanation}

inside left flap: We FISH you a Merry Christmas, [Isaac underwater pictures]

inside right flap: We FISH you a Merry Christmas, [Dylan underwater pictures]

inside middle and right spread: And a Happy New Year [family picture]

back: [my boys in the water]

I made my office a Happy New Year card instead of being holiday specific. 

2011

cover: Got Eggnog? [my 3 boys had eggnog mustaches]

back: [family picture]

2012

cover: Merry Christmas from our Three Wisemen [my three boys were sitting in a pile of books and were dressed nerdy]
{click here to see better images/explanation and lots of out takes}

inside right flap: [our family picture]  

inside spread: [full bleed pictures each of Tyler and Isaac in their nerdy outfits]

back: [magnet of my cute nerdy boys stuck on w/ a glue dot]

And that's over a decade of our cheesy Feger Family Christmas cards!