Forget the fact that the stores have been in full holiday dress since Halloween, or that Santa arrived at the mall two weeks ago; the first real sign of Christmas just put in an appearance. That’s right, its official, the Christmas season has begun.  Yesterday I received my first Christmas card. It wasn’t just a “Wishing you a Happy Holiday Season” card, those are dead and gone. This was  color coordinated six photo montage featuring a yuletide rendition of the perfect family.

What used to be comprised of a simple holiday greeting with signature at the bottom, now requires a professional photo team complete with props and matching outfits. Who set  these diabolical holiday card standards is up for debate. What Hallmark started, professional photographers took to a new level. The Sears photo with pull- down alpine backdrop used to be cutting edge, not anymore.  The Christmas card photo bar has been raised  to new heights.

Full blown photo shoots start in September and go right up to December 24th. (Poor planners stuck with dates after December first are usually forced to cut their loses and send out their “holiday” cards as “New Year” cards.)  The families are easy to spot — children and parents are in matching outfits, and they are crying. (Not the kids, the parents.) They are being followed by a photographer capturing every happy moment.

Who am I to talk. I was just as crazy.  My last attempt at creating that perfect family photo greeting card was back in September, 2005.  The kids rebelled, actually staged a coup.  The boys refused to shave, the girls wouldn’t get out of their sweat pants; worse, my husband sided with the kids. Everything was digitally captured by a professional– not a single photo made the cut. I take these pictures out whenever I get the urge to try this type of lame-brain stunt again.  I did tried to convince them — Do it for me, I pleaded.–  Nope! Not a snowball’s chance in hell I was told.

With no fanfare my Christmas card era came to an end. I guess I could have gone back to boxed cards with handwritten notes, it just seemed too easy– no challenge– my heart wasn’t in it.  My advice: capture every digitally enhanced moment while you still can. You never know which photo shoot will be your last.