Christmas Card Joy

They’re done! They’re stamped! They’re dropped in the mailbox! YES! I did it! I got my cards out before Christmas………..barely…I mean, not without some gasp-inducing challenges, side-splitting laughter, and a dose of creativity. Yes, it was a true journey to this point, my Friends…a true Martha ScrewIt self-induced bullshit journey.

Last year my mother’s close friend Loma Smith took some spectacular photos for our Christmas card which I still cherish and love.

This year I wanted to do the same, and remembered that my RCR Roller Derby sister Rochelle Ceniga had mentioned that she does family photo shoots, so thought I’d keep it in the derby family and give her a shot (ha ha – get it?). She was available within a few days which meant I needed to get a move on to get everything properly ready: the sets dressed, Banksy’s hair cleaned up, and outfits purchased. Hunt mode.

I had a very clear vision of what I wanted this card to look like: my two kiddos and me blissfully baking in the kitchen with matching aprons, hair perfectly styled, makeup perfectly applied, flour imperfectly flying all over the place while we stirred and laughed and ate chocolate chip cookie dough out of the mixing bowl, with the camera click-click-clicking away…aaaah, yes. It was going to be spectacular. Off I went in search of the perfect bowls and spatulas and coordinating aprons. Williams Sonoma had the aprons in kids and adults sizes, along with monogrammed spatulas and perfectly festive kitchen towels.

I found outfits for the kids at H&M that were just freaking awesome, and Nordstrom had a dress on sale for me that matched perfectly with my idea. We were all set.

Rochelle arrived with treats for bribing the kids into submission, and we headed into the forest for our first scene. The house I currently own is next to Tryon Creek State Park which has beautiful trails and creeks and all sorts of wonderful things to discover. Just a few short weeks ago, the woods were overflowing with all types of mushrooms and Banks and I reveled in the quest for mushroom treasure. The weather had turned, but we still had mushrooms to wonder at.

The kids and the weather both cooperated, and I was giddy because of the shots she was getting. We took more photos inside and the three of us enjoyed our time together immensely….I mean, like it was one of my favorite days with my kids in a very long time.

Rochelle sent over 150 amazing shots, and I was thrilled to get my Christmas cards all set up and ready to send out. I’m on a tight budget this year, so I decided that instead of the fancy dancy printing, I’d send my cards on over to Walgreens and save a whole crap ton of money. Their site was easy to use, and I was thrilled to see how inexpensive the cards were, how quickly they would be ready, and how pretty they looked. I got notification that the cards were ready, and forged through some snow and ice to go pick them up. I happily began addressing envelopes, when it hit me – “I should totally send a Thank You text to Rochelle and show her how marvelous they are!” I snapped a quick shot and sent them on over….as the progress bar indicating the upload moved to the right, something caught my eye.

WHAT THE HECK!?!?!? SERIOUSLY??? SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!

I hadn’t changed the text that auto-fills on Walgreens.com. Our last name is NOT Anderson…..my name isn’t Allison, nor are my children Will and Lilly…Jack is close enough to “Jax the Dog”, that I could MAYBE get away with that, but OMG! EIGHTY cards like this! I sent a panicked text over to my Derby Wifey Dame Over:

“Leave it! It’s hilarious!!!!”

“NOOOOOOO!!! I feel like an idiot!!!”

“IT IS HILARIOUS!!!!”

I agreed with her for about 30 seconds, but then pulled out my Silhouette and got to work cutting off the eye sore. I also hopped on Groupon and discovered some kickass deals for printed cards that could be at my house in a few days, so I ordered a few fancy ones just in case the cutting strategy didn’t work. Banks was a great little helper pushing the buttons on the machine. *insert eyeroll*

It took a few days, but I got through them all, and the envelopes are now stuffed, and it all worked out. Of course, after telling the story to my friend Julie, she BEGGED for one of the Anderson Family cards…she said she just loved them. She got one, but it was dog-earred and sliced to pieces. Maybe I should just reprint them? It’ll give a good laugh.

I guess I just had to do what I had to do to make things work, right? Now don’t you DARE start calling me Melissa Anderson!