So here is it for those who were waiting patiently….

I would like to wish everyone a joyous holiday season!

If you are one of my family member and you haven’t received our card yet, they are in the mail (really!).

For this year’s card we decided to move everyone around the scene. And since Mr. S. & I still prefer the blocks to our kids it only seemed fitting that we should be playing with them.

The colorful blocks are the Alexander Girard Alphabet Blocks by House Industries. These were one of the first things we bought for Sam (even before he was born). They are a little pointy on the corners so they only come out on special occasions. They have carved letters, hand silk screens puzzle and letters. Plus one side has the beautiful carved suns on it (one of the things Alexander Girard is most famous for).

Girard Blocks

Girard Suns

*To see all of our holiday cards click here. Does anyone have a favorite?

**I will be posting a few things next week in between all of the family time.

Holiday Card 2010

Our 2010 card was inspired by Maisie. She was starting to get into everything including all of the Christmas lights and ornaments. Sam was very excited to be wrapped up in lights and make a face. Maisie was tricky to shoot since she didn’t want to stand still. She is dressed in one of my childhood dresses.

Interesting tidbit is that the “painting” over the fireplace is of Fonthill, where we were married. Our TV is actually mounted over the fireplace. We change out the “painting” depending on the year. In 2009 the painting was of George Washington visiting Bartram’s Garden (the 18th Century Home of John Bartram a famous naturalist and botanist) which is nearby in Philadelphia.

*To see all of our holiday cards click here.

2009 Holiday Card

In our 2009 card we returned to our Living Room fireplace. The card was inspired by Sam’s love of music. Interesting tidbit is that Sam’s guitar is actually fake. At the time he had a little yellow plastic one, that was pretty ugly. That year he actually got a 1/2 size real electric guitar, which he still enjoys playing, although the only thing he has mastered is his rock face.

Christmas Morning 2009: Sam's New Guitar

Here is a picture of the kids rocking out last winter (a band is the works)…

Our Little Musicians in January 2011

As you can see, this is much closer to how the house normally looks with a 2 & 4 year old.

*To see all of our holiday cards click here.

One of the things that our family is known for is our holiday photo. We (I mean mostly Mr. S.) have been creating a holiday scene every year since Sam’s first Christmas in 2007.  We have tried a few different things in the last few years but have now set some ground rules.

1. We always take the photo in our Living Room in front of the fireplace. (I suppose this means that we can never move.)
2. Create a different scene each year.
3. All members of the family must be included (including Spot and Spike).
4. Try to have fun!
5. Shoot the photo the weekend after Thanksgiving so that we have enough time to get it finished.

It takes quite a bit of planning to come up with a theme and to get everything set up. We have also reshot some of our photos when things haven’t worked out. It also requires LOTS of patience to get the kids to stand still long enough to get a shot (this year involved bribing them with waffles and snacks). There is also of course some Photoshop magic thrown in to complete the scene. I am not going to unveil this year’s card quite yet, since we just got them back from the printer’s yesterday afternoon, and no one except us has seen it. I thought I would put each year up individually. Enjoy!

Anyone else have any fun holiday photo traditions?

*To see all of our holiday cards click here.