Holiday Card Hurrah

It's time for me to start thinking about our annual holiday card -- the closer to Thanksgiving you do it, the cheaper, and it's something fun to think about and put together. We've done a photo card every year since we got married in 2009. It's a fun exercise and a time capsule -- I have a box with all of them in it so far. I also feel like they should be for everyone -- not just people with kids. 

I've noticed an increasing trend of only putting kids on the holiday card, which bothers me. Mostly because it seems to make more tangible this idea of losing your identity to the process of child-rearing, or of saying, "this is what truly matters" and taking yourself out of the picture. I enjoy so much more when the whole family (especially dogs and cats and various critters) are featured, too. 

Something that has always bothered me is the lack of diversity in the card offerings. Not race as much as age and relationship status/family types, since they are doing a great job with representing a variety of ethnicities. I'm seeing more and more same-sex couples with children, and single parents. 

The biggest change I saw this year though, thank heavens, is the inclusion of more people without children. There's always been young couples who've just been married, and of course the horrid pregnancy-announcement-holiday-card, but on Shutterfly I saw middle-aged couples without kids, couples with dogs, and a single woman with her dog. HALLELUJAH! I saw a couple where the man had a hearing aid visible, which was lovely too. And some older couples who did not have a bevy of grandchildren with them -- older couples that seemed to be without kids. 

It is about freaking time. 

Representation is important in every sense, and it has felt very much like "these cards are not supposed to be for you, what the hell are you doing here?" in the past. I got a National Wildlife catalog and they are now doing photo cards that support their work, but ALL OF THE CARDS HAD KIDS. Which made me titchy. 

So imagine my happiness to see such a diversified set of families featured on Shutterfly! (TinyPrints, you have some work to do, even though you're related.) And, couples without children were labeled "The ___ Family!" 

I know not everyone WANTS to do photo cards, and cards in general seem to be falling out of fashion (which is sad and indicative of the end of civilization I think), but everyone should be able to see themselves in something you create to wish others well at the holidays. If you want to do a card, you should be able to envision yourself on an example without erasing tiny humans from the picture. It should put the message out there that you are worthy of a photo card, too. That it's perfectly acceptable to have a photo card with you and your dog, or you and your significant other and cats. 

So appreciative for these very easy fixes that have been a long time coming.