It is that time of year again when parents line up the kids to take the dreaded family Christmas photo. For 11 years I have avoided this but the bug hit me and we jumped in feet first with our first family Christmas Card.

The idea came to me as we stood in the front yard of our new home. Before we ever moved in, the yard was designated as the neighborhood soccer field so everyday kids and at our house playing. It is a great piece of real estate out front so we decided to claim it in the name of Texas. After living in the Lone Star State most of my life, it is hard to call any place else home. BUT, we do call South Carolina home and we have made some wonderful friends who put up with us even when we wax nostalgic.

The photo itself took a couple weeks to plan since we needed props. Believe it or not, we did not own a pair of boots — a Texan without boots? After designing the layout of the card, I spent two days shooting each piece of the puzzle before taking everything into photoshop and making the final image. I loved the font. I got the inspiration from a bottle of beer called “Holiday Cheer” — it sure put me in the spirit but the bottle label jumped out at me. After doing some searching, I found this Ball Park font for the card.

Only then did I have to deal with a printer who ruined the first run of cards then took forever to print the next run. It took so long to get the cards, I was on assignment in Florida and didn’t even see them before they were mailed. On a side note, that’s not so bad since I got out of  filling out almost 200 cards.

Since I was taking the photos, it was hard to shoe horn me in so you will find me on the back of the card. I dislike hanging lights! I love looking at lights but not hanging them. It seemed ironic, my picture would include a light strand.

It was fun coming up with a concept and seeing it take shape. Will the Christmas card be an annual project? We shall see.

Until then, have a Merry Christmas!