Jeff and I have been putting together odd holiday cards since 2006.  I haven’t posted them all together before, so here they are for the world to enjoy! Our first spontaneous attempt in 2006 involved our “son” the antique ventriloquist dummy named Crispin, and the Menards Christmas tree display.  We set our camera on a timer, put it on a shelf, and started a huge tradition!  I had just moved to Minnesota that Christmas, it was a crazy exciting time. In 2007, our family grew with the addition of our little Hopscotch.  We had no idea what to do for a card, so we put on costumes and filled the background with photos from the crazy adventures we had that first year together. In 2008, our family grew again, but not quite as much as this photo would lead you to believe!  This card was signed “Bonnie, Jeff, Hopscotch, Possum and some kid”.  (We borrowed our friend Kelsie’s son for this one and stuck him in a wig, he is amazing.) In 2009, we asked Paul who happened to own a Jesus costume (and wore it well!) to pose in a birthday celebration photo.  We walked to the Salvation Army down the street with him in costume to buy some props and found Jeff’s amazing sweatshirt there.  The cashier was in awe as she helped Jesus buy a framed photo of himself. My scream of laughter is real- we did not know that the candles were the kind that re-lit when blown out.  I thought it was an appropriate trick! In 2010, Jeff’s brother Nick joined us in the celebration and bared some skin with us all.  I was not actually topless for the shot, I reconstructed my side-boob from parts of Jeff’s skin that did not have hair.  The tropical background was particularly meaningful as we were suffering through the harshest winter I’ve experienced since moving here. In 2011 we moved into our house, and this card made fun of our (lack of) domestic abilities.  We really lit that chicken on fire, and burned our clothes before the photos. The 2012 shot was a parody of an old father’s day photo we found in our internet travels.  Most people referred to this as “the cult leader” card.  I discovered that Chinese Crested hair does not stay in beehive form for more than 30 seconds. We were at a complete loss for ideas this year.  We’ve both been focusing on our art and expressing ourselves more than ever, so it is fitting that in 2013 we left all the jokes and parodies behind.  This year we made a card that represents us more than any of the others did, and still manages to be completely odd.  It gets harder every year to top what has been done but it is amazing to look back at all of the years past and remember where we were!