Fr Jim has this cranky take on holiday cards from NPR today.

Family (Christmas) cards display — on the front — a photo of a happy family, typically wearing red-and-green scarves or red-and-green sweaters. Sometimes the family dog is included, wearing a scarf covered with slobber. Just as often, family cards show the clan on their summer vacation, posing jauntily in bathing suits in the Caribbean. These cards don’t say “Merry Christmas” as much as “Look where you didn’t go!”

But I enjoy the photos more when they’re inside the card, not the card itself. Because more and more, even devout Christians have been replacing Jesus, Mary and Joseph with themselves.

I wonder if our card (below) which has our picture with the dog and a spiritual message and manger image would calm his dulcet tones?