Too bad vacations only come along maybe once or twice a year.  I know, for me, just looking at vacation photos brings a smile to my face.  And, when I do bring them out, the results are always the same.  We sit around the kitchen table and laugh and start telling the same stories we’ve all retold time and time again.  But it doesn’t matter.  Vacation photos let us take a break from the mundane and go back to a wonderful time when we left our cares behind – be it at the office or at home – and just relaxed.

It almost seems unfair not to share that feeling with others and Christmas photo cards are the perfect way to do that.  Just imagine the look on your friends faces when, in the middle of winter, they get your Christmas photo card showing your family on a relaxing cruise or lying on a beach.  And it doesn’t have to be fun in the sun that makes everyone smile.  I’ve lived many a vacation vicariously through my friends when I see them skiing down a killer mountain or riding a donkey down the Grand Canyon.   Just seeing families enjoying time together makes everyone feel good.

I think some of my favorite vacation photos tug a little at my heart strings too.  I come from a very large family and all our vacations when I was young included my grandparents who are no longer with me.  Those vacation photos are priceless and I know that turning them into Christmas photo cards will also mean something special to those I know and love who fondly remember those times as I do.

Lots of people I know make vacations family reunions.  What a great idea to take those vacation photos and share them with extended family members or those who couldn’t be there through a Christmas photo card.  It serves double duty – reminds everyone what a great time they had and maybe causes anyone who missed it to be sure they are there for the next one.

Last year I sent Christmas photo cards with a picture of my grandkids. Just them in the photo, no parents or grandparents. I didn’t think this was weird when I did it, but looking back I’m not too sure. I mean they aren’t my children. I got the idea because I always relied on my daughter to take pictures but sometimes she would forget to bring her camera when she came to visit and all of our great adventures could not be photographed. And she sends out photo cards for the holidays; she has the family dress up in September to take a family portrait to be used on the Christmas photo card.

Since I couldn’t rely on my daughter to take pictures I decided to buy a digital camera. That’s right; I never owned a camera before because I hate to be photographed so I didn’t want to impose myself on others by clicking a camera in their face. I took a course offered at town high school and I was prepared for our next outing even if my daughter forgot her camera again. I had so much fun snapping away and I had the added bonus of not having to wait to see the pictures because it was my camera!

When Christmastime came I decided to send out photo cards for the holidays to show off my new hobby. I will probably do this every year from now on. I still haven’t decided if it was weird or not to put someone else’s children on a Christmas photo card, but I think they are mine too!

It’s 2011 and it seems that everyone is sending photo holiday cards. Aunt May and the kids out in North Carolina, Uncle Ben in New York, and just about every dog in the world wearing a Santa hat. I don’t personally own a dog, and don’t get me wrong I do like some of them, but enough already. Where are all the other adorable pets out there? I’m tired of Fluffy, Princess or Cujo propped up in front of a tree and decked out in their tiny reindeer sweaters.

I grew up with the usual array of run of the mill pets. A hamster, a handful of goldfish named Jaws one through ten. All with the proper burial, sent to fish heaven via my toilet bowl. My poor mom being so sweet sent them flushing every single time. Let’s see, what other pets did I own…… a rabbit, a turtle, a snake, an iguana and of course a dog. With all the different animals to choose from, why do we always get the picture of the family dog?

I would love to receive Christmas Photo Cards from my cousin Stan and his amazing pet spider. I could picture Gwen (his spider) sitting all pretty with a tiny red bow. But it always has to be the dog. We forget the less fortunate pets out there that maybe aren’t so cute and cuddly. These pets,  just like our cats and dogs, are members of our family. So this coming Christmas when you check your mailbox for holiday cards, count how many pictures of dogs you have piled up. Take the time to remember all the lonely snakes, iguanas and more that get pushed aside for another boring dog.

My best friend moved to London 6 months ago, and while I was super emotional watching her pack up and leave, I also felt a calming voice in the back of my mind, soothing my troubles with this tiny glimmer of hope: “you can go visit her!” And visit her I did! It was amazing to reunite with her and spend time with her, just like old times. But the best part about this trip? This was my first time abroad, an experience I will always treasure. Thankfully, this little vacation produced about a billion vacation photos. I honestly could not stop clicking my camera, snapping every chance I got to remember each and every detail of this trip. I can’t even begin to tell you how many pictures made it home with me, and I wanted to share each and every one with every person I knew.

With the Holidays close at hand, I thought it would be a great idea to send out Christmas photo cards with some of the highlights of my trip. It was such a thrilling experience, one that I want to share with my friends and family. I’m busy choosing pictures from this great vacation now, and I think they add such a personal touch to these cards. No frumpy Christmas sweaters, or forced poses in front of a Christmas scene. The landscape itself is the star of the show; I’m just the extra standing-in for a while. Fortunately, some Christmas photo cards offer multiple “windows” in which to put pictures. I plan on sending out pictures of the landscapes, not just of me standing in front of Big Ben with my toothy grin (believe me, I could not stop smiling my entire time there, except for when I had to leave and say goodbye yet again to my friend). I hope these photo cards can spread a little joy, and maybe spark the interest of some of my friends and family members so that they will actually want to take a trip themselves! If they need a tour guide, I’ll definitely be ready!

How do you organize the Christmas photo cards that you save? My sister, brother, our cousins and I love to send photo holiday cards. The problem is what to do with them. My OK-the-holidays-are-over solution is to put them in a box. Each year. Which means one box a year for…well, a lot of years.

Throwing out the cards has never been an option so I have attempted to sort them by person and year. Oh look, here is my nephew Jimmy at age 2. Aw, here’s cousin Ashley at age 6 with that red velvet dress. And my husband’s cousin Emily, her husband Paul, and their three kids. Here’s Jimmy again, with Santa. After a few days (ok, weeks) with little progress, I would put the boxes back in the closet.

Much to my surprise, this problem set the stage for a wonderful, thoughtful, useful gift this Christmas. My daughter and two of my teenage nieces organized the Christmas photo cards in a set of six albums!

They divided up the cards by families. My parents and each of their siblings are in albums that include their offspring and grand children. My 2 siblings and I and our children’s photo holiday cards are all displayed in one place. And, there is room to add more photo cards.

My daughter reminded me that it’s important to use high quality paper and materials for storing photos. She certainly did a wonderful job with all of mine. I’m sure we’ll enjoy the photo cards in their new home for many years to come.

I am not artistic in the least and I may even be a worse photographer, but last year I decided to make my own photo cards for Christmas. I get plenty of Christmas photo cards and I am always jealous of the creativity of some of them, so I figured I could give it a shot. I already had the perfect subject: my precious niece, Sarah Elizabeth Hess, passed away January 5, 2008. She was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and we were told by her doctor that she wouldn’t live past two-years-old. Well our little miracle lived to the age of 13, and in her short time on this earth taught us more about life than most people will learn in a lifetime.

In her honor, one of the schools she attended, Jefferson Elementary School, planted a beautiful pine tree right in front of the school. On the tree they hung dozens of colored foam hearts that her classmates had cut out by hand. We call the tree “Sarah’s Heart Tree.” Needless to say, every time I pass the school I cry, but I also smile and am filled with gratitude that this little school in northern New Jersey paid such a tribute to Sarah.

So with my digital camera in hand I took some pictures with the intention of designing my own Christmas photo cards. The only problem was that in each picture (and this really wasn’t my fault), you could see electrical lines, or the school sign post, or the school itself in the background and it took away from the focus of Sarah’s tree. So pretending to be the artist that I am not, I decided to go for a detail of the original design. I zoomed in to an area that was densely populated with the foam hearts and even got a hint of the darker green tree that was behind Sarah’s tree. And if I do say so myself, it turned out rather nice. So now that I am a pro, I am constantly scouting scenes for this year’s Christmas photo cards.

Taking digital pictures for Christmas photo cards has become all the rage in recent years. It gives parents a chance to show off their adorable offspring as well as the chance for non-parents to brag about their wonderful pets, and occasionally, other possessions. It is fun to send these photo cards as well as to receive them. It gives everyone the opportunity to play “catch up” in a visual way every year with people they don’t see that often.

However holiday photos do not have to be shared via holiday mailings to evoke fond memories. Recently while cleaning my parents’ house, I came across a small 4 x 4 grainy green photo taken with an old Kodak box camera from the 1960s. I almost tossed it into the “trash pile” until I took a closer look. There was a picture of Santa Claus wearing a very fake-looking white beard and sitting on his lap was a young, pudgy girl around the age of eight or nine. The pair in the photo was sitting next to a magnificent looking evergreen tree decorated with homemade paper ornaments. The little girl was me and the scene in the picture came flooding back to me, bringing tears to my eyes.

The Santa in the picture was actually my grandfather. It was the annual Masonic family Christmas party. The real Santa had called in sick at the last minute and they asked my grandfather to take his place. He was a good choice due to his massive 6’4” frame and he didn’t need a pillow to fill out the Santa suit. I guess they didn’t expect that one of his six attending grandkids might recognize him as their “Pop-Pop.” And recognize him I did when I sat on his lap to have my picture taken with Santa. It was not his voice that gave him away; it was his huge hand with his well known ring that caught my attention. I immediately said, “Hey, you’re not Santa, you’re Pop-Pop!” Grandpa quickly shushed me with a hasty explanation and said it would be “our little secret.” I managed to keep the secret from my brother and four cousins that day and that secret between my grandfather and me became a special bond between us for many years. I had forgotten all about it until I picked up the photo that day.

My grandfather is no longer with us but I will never forget the man most people called “Big Jim.” He was my special Pop-Pop and for one day, my very own Santa Claus.

Most parents I know are proud to show pictures of their kids, and like me, most parents are happy to hear compliments of how great their kids look, especially in their Christmas photo cards sent out during the holiday season. The invention of digital photography has made it super easy to get great pictures for your family photo cards.

For a few years now, many of my friends would comment about my children and how great the photos looked. And they weren’t just passing comments like “nice Christmas cards” or “kids photos look great” statements; friends would go out of their way to ask me what type of camera I had because the colors looked so vivid and the pictures so clear and mention how they wanted their own Christmas photo cards to look just as nice. A few friends even went out and purchased the same camera. Of course, with our rapidly-improving technology, cameras continue to get better and better. Gone are the days of grainy family photo cards.

My great photos were left in the dust when several of my friends purchased even better cameras that put mine to shame: pictures on the beach with water droplets suspended in mid-air; close-ups that showed every single detail of a child’s face; nature photos so vivid you felt you were there. Truly stunning photos! I have never been one to keep up with the Joneses but quality photos are an investment worth making in my eyes. So I definitely think it’s time for a new camera and a new level of picture-taking. Hopefully, those compliments will start rolling in again.

I love taking photos, and I love sending and receiving Christmas photo cards. This past holiday season, I received the best card ever. I truly believe a photo tells a story. Well this card told a story of love, devotion, and family. My best friend and her husband adopted two beautiful children from an orphanage in Russia. The process was hard, the trips were long and tedious, but overall the journey was amazing. After many months of research, filling out tons of paperwork, and several interviews, they were informed that they were going to be parents to two beautiful healthy children, one boy and one girl, both of whom were under the age of two.

When I received their Christmas card last holiday season, the four photos that made up the card told a story of just how incredible their journey really was. Two children from the opposite side of the world were placed in a home with the most loving and caring parents any child could ask for. Two parents, who had longed to start a family, were now blessed with two miracles. In the photos, the smiles on the children’s faces were priceless as they posed in their Christmas outfits experiencing their first American Christmas. The smiles on their parent’s faces told a story of love, happiness, and devotion. I have received many cards over the years but this one in particular will always stand out. I am already looking forward to next year’s Christmas photo cards from this amazing family.

For a couple living on our own, taking a picture of my husband and me in front of our own Christmas tree or other holiday decorations to use in our photo cards for the holidays is often more difficult than it would seem. We’ll try to use the timer and set the camera up on a piece of furniture, but it is difficult to get the angle right and take just the right scene. Sometimes, I think it would be easier just to have my mom take the photo. Coordinating schedules in order to get it done in time for our Christmas photo cards, though, can pose a problem. We’ll often resort to taking the picture ourselves, with my husband holding the camera out at arm’s length. It is definitely very difficult to get the perfect photo that way!

A solution to this problem is a gadget I stumbled upon a few years ago while looking for a unique gift. It is a foldable/extendable pole which securely attaches to your camera. It still has to be held, but you can’t tell the holder is holding it, the way you can when you see my husband’s arm in the shot. Also, there is more flexibility in the position and angling of the camera, so it is more likely that you will be able to capture the scene you want. I have found this gadget to be very useful on vacation as well; we used to have separate pictures in front of the same sites, and only one or two pictures of both of us together (because how many times do you really feel like asking strangers to take your picture?). Now we can get the perfect shot ourselves, whether it’s to be used in our Christmas photo cards or just in our vacation photo album!