Going for the “Ho Ho Ho” with Funny Holiday Cards

Everyone enjoys receiving holiday cards in the mail, from friends and family around the country and even around the world. The cards with photos are especially fun since those offer a chance to see the growth in children, fun vacation destinations throughout the year and a warm message of holiday cheer and goodwill. Then there are those who are out for a laugh…

There are challenges associated with the creation a ‘funny’ holiday card. First comes the inspiration for the photo. This spark of creativity could originate from a classic movie, a scene indicative of the family dynamic or from a funny television or pop culture event. Inspiration for such a project may come from an endless, unpredictable source.

Then there’s the implementation process. The project typically requires the entire family to cooperate. I can speak from experience that getting a 7 yr old boy into a pink bunny costume does not come cheap! The details, the costumes, and the participants all make or break the perfect shot. And sometimes the ‘perfect shot’ happens quite unplanned and works beautifully.

Lauren and Ryan (formerly of Straight No Chaser) Ahlwardt paid homage to the classic Olan Mills studio experience. Having both been subjected as a child to the floating head of his sister in his baby photo, in Ryan’s example, or the fake wagon wheel and library backgrounds, they decided to give it a go. They donned not only matching red sweaters (note: Ryan is wearing a womens’ XL), but they got their cat, Rusty, into the photo. Not clear what their secret is to fitting a small red sweater on a cat…

Unbeknownst to them, someone sent their photo to The Ellen Show for ‘awkward family photos’.

The Stockberger family has turned their Christmas cards into an art form. “We used to send out ‘the peace, love’ message with a nice photo of the kids. Then their personalities started to shine and we began having more fun with it.” says Lisa Stockberger.

They now out-do themselves every year with sticking with a consistent theme: A Christmas Story. “One must be intimately familiar with the movie to understand the humor behind our cards, but that’s the fun of it”, Lisa Stockberger shares. Their first recreation from the movie was the classic flagpole scene. Her daughter’s tongue actually stuck. “Thanks to hot coffee, we were able to quickly detach it.” said Lisa. After she got the perfect shot, of course.

Last year I was finally able to implement a plan I had for many years – a family photo where I wear white, my husband wears black, and all 3 kids wear grey. It took years of patience waiting for the kids to grow to a size where I could find grey (tough color for find in kids’ sizes) turtlenecks for them to wear in the photo. Wouldn’t you know, that this idea would come to fruition the same year as a certain inappropriate book trilogy? So most recipients of our card questioned the lack of ‘color’ in our family shot, thus not ‘getting’ my intended interpretation and some were offended! (I simply told them to ‘lighten up!’) So this year I decided I would raise the bar a bit.

Keep in mind when viewing my family’s card for this year that my husband’s company makes fishing lures and fishing tackle, thus the ‘Fish Dynasty’ tag line. Finding hunter camo accessories was far more challenging than I had anticipated. Since when does Wal-Mart not carry camo bandanas?! Left with no other alternative than to buy fabric at JoAnn’s (after striking out yet again at Gander Mountain for more camo accessories), I made my husband’s and the boys’ neck ties and head bands on my sewing machine. The night before the photo was to be taken, the now 8 year old was complaining, “Why do WE have to be FUNNY? Other families take NICE pictures for their Christmas cards! And besides, I am too short to wear a beard!” I responded with, “That’s what’s funny about it!”

Regardless of how you prefer to share holiday tidings of goodwill and cheer, a few of these cards will certainly give you the blessing of a belly laugh and a sincere ‘ho ho ho!” Some may snort…it’s ok to express the holiday cheer! Merry Christmas, everyone!