Our Christmas card photo session adventures

Kids and animals sometimes dressed in holiday garb (kids and/or animals) are part of our Christmas card greetings to family and friends. Every year the kids and I try to come up with a new and different idea for our annual picture. More often than not we aim for silly.

Before I get to sharing this year's card - which is a little out-there even for us - you need a few highlights on the history about our card pictures.

There was the year I crocheted Christmas cat sweaters per the girls' request. The photo involved our three cats dressed in those sweaters along with our flock of chickens mulling about... well, at least that had been the plan.
The 2008 Christmas Card

A couple of years before that it was the homemade Santa hats with matching hat for the cat and scarf for the chicken. Yeah really, we dressed up a chicken too.
2006 Christmas card

But the Almeida girls aren't only in our immediate family's card photo. Nope, grandpa likes to include them in his annual card... along with his hot rods (classic cars he builds).
Grandpa's Christmas cards through the years and then last year's card with a new car in-process

And we can't forget the year of the cat-that-got-locked-in-the-car debacle after a Christmas card shoot at grandpa's house. 
That was 2006

I share this history because we have never managed to get more than two species of animals in our annual photo. But this year L. has lambs in the backyard (they are wintering with us - a blog for another time) and G. is currently fostering a dog. This is in addition to the three cats and a flock of poultry (about 25 now) also living with us. And then L. reminded me of her beloved  pigs that lived with us for six months this past year. And while on the livestock subject, G. takes care of a cow at a local farm and is as much a part of the family as the rest of the critters. 

So needless to say, we have had a lot of animals in of our lives this past year. And if you have met my girls in-person you'll know that they love(d) each and every one of them. So this prompted a brainstorming session to come up with ideas for getting at least each species represented in our annual card. 

This was no easy feat until G. took on an assignment in her photography class at school using PhotoShop.

Ahhhh yes, I do love me some PhotoShop software, especially when my 14-year-old knows how to use the magic wand tool, has a good eye for visual details and here's the real key - she has the time and creative energy to tweak an image for hours to make it just right.

So a set up shot with a cat, a chicken, a dog and a lamb got us this far...

Yes, it was a little tricky because the foster pup is a high energy kinda guy, the blind cat doesn't like being outside and the lamb would rather eat grass then be on a halter. The chicken was the only cooperative one in the menagerie.

Then a background shot was chosen from one G. took during our hike on Mt. Will.

And a little PhotoShop magic by the teen and she got the school assignment (a mock magazine cover) completed....

The horse is one of several G. grooms and feeds at a local horse farm... she's a kid who is all about large animals

But this image didn't seem quite festive enough for our Christmas greetings so a couple of tweaks were made. Santa hats were added. The horse was swapped out for Groovy Smoothie the pig. And voila, our Christmas card was done.

And I'm happy to say that grandpa's card photo shoot was quick and easy this year. There were no cats (with or without sweaters) to contend with, just some creative chalk work thanks to the girls, a ladder for the photographer (me) to climb and a couple of hot rods.

I have absolutely no idea what my family will come up with for ideas for our card next year but I can say one thing... it's always an interesting and creative process!

Anyone else get a little crazy with their annual holiday greeting cards?