Should your Pet be a Part of the Annual Holiday Card?
The practice of sending holiday cards has been around since the early 1840’s. In fact, Sir Henry Cole who helped set up the early post office wondered how the post office could be used for ordinary folks. His idea was Christmas Cards. With the help of an artist friend, they designed the very first Christmas card and sold them to others. For about 8 cents in today’s money, people could buy and then send a card to friends and family members. However, those first Christmas cards are now quite rare and sell for thousands of dollars today. So, as you know the popularity of Christmas cards escalated over time and became reached by folks from all walks of life. To this day, even with the advent of technology, people still send cards by snail mail for Christmas and other holidays and often times, the family dog makes a cameo appearance. So, should YOUR pet be included in the annual holiday card?
Pets are considered to be a part of the family for most of us so we like to include them whenever possible. If you’re one of those people, I say include the fur babies in the annual holiday card. I always like to include my fur babies. You might be wondering where to begin. It can be as easy or as complicated as you want; this all depends on how much time and creativity you have on your hands.
Keeping it simple. If you’re already overwhelmed by obligations of life, holiday shopping, holiday parties and more, I say go easy on yourself. Simply put, address your holiday cards as normal and simply add your pet’s name to the bottom of the card. Many pet parents will often add a hand-drawn paw print or even a paw print stamp in the form of a stamp to the bottom.
Take a few candid photos. Everyone loves to see an updated photograph of their friends and family, so why not include your pet in the annual holiday photo? One of my clients included their turkeys, yes the real live birds, in their holiday photo. Nowadays, you can prop your cell phone up and set a time on your phone to take your photo within a few seconds. This is great because you just might need multiple tries to get all of your family members and your pet(s) to “smile” for the camera. In a matter of minutes, you can have a beautiful photo ready to upload to Shutterfly or any other photo card maker and within a few days, you’ll have a set of adorable cards ready for mailing.
Go professional. If you have a few extra bucks and the thought of organized chaos in your living room produces too much anxiety, call in the professionals. You can opt to go to a studio or arrange to meet a photographer at the destination of your choice. I really love Sue with Black Cat Photography. No matter what you choose, there never seems to be a shortage of professional photographers.
Dress up yourself and your pet. Get creative. Why not dress up yourself and the whole family in holiday pajamas? It will make for an “awwww” producing photo and who doesn’t long for a little wow factor when they are taking and sending out a family photo? If you’re not up to wearing your holiday jammies for all to see then a little red and white or cozy sweaters go a long way to make a festive photo. If your pet doesn’t mind wearing holiday jammies or even a Santa suit then dress your baby up!
As you can see, the options are limitless when it comes to sending out holiday cards. Get creative if it doesn’t cause you too much strife, you’ll be glad you did. Just remember to keep a copy for yourself as a memento and memory that you’ll enjoy for many years to come and even long after your pet has crossed the rainbow bridge. Do you include your pet in the holiday card? How creative do you get? Add a picture in the comments below I would love to see it.