THE FIRST CARD

Keith has been drawing our Christmas card for over two decades, and a festive collection has grown year by year. This is the first card he created. It’s special to us for a variety of reasons which I detail on the new page devoted to our holiday cards.

MEET THE RAT

Keith worked for the railroad on the Soo Line, later bought by the Wisconsin Central, later purchased by the Canadian National. Different names, same place, same friends. Each year, he still delivers a special version of the card for his railroad brothers featuring a little cartoon of the railroad rat.

The Rat was born from a collaboration between Keith and a group of guys who were facing a lay-off. They weren’t sure they’d be rehired and wanted to be remembered as the Railroad Rats. They watched over Keith’s shoulder as he tried to capture their idea in a drawing. The Rat became a mascot of sorts. Keith featured him in the company newsletter, safety projects, merchandise, and art projects he made for the company, and some even say Keith was the one drawing them on boxcars — but they have no proof for these scurrilous accusations. About fifteen years ago, we started using this rat cartoon for every card. He’s a cute little psychopath (the rat, not Keith).

THE RAT GAME

A lot of friends have saved their personalized cards from year to year. They tell us they display their collection on a shelf, a table, or a fireplace mantel during the holidays. I thought I would start doing the same this year. I also thought it would be fun for the family to make a matching game where you try to pair the right card with the right rat. I could only fit eight rats on the sheet, so it looks like I will have to make a couple more versions of the game to include all the other rat cartoons. Cheating is allowed if someone needs to reference the Christmas card. I decided when we play it, the first person to get the most correct answers wins a block of cheese.

THE COLLECTION

Of course, the centerpiece of our website’s Christmas card page is Keith’s jolly collection of cards. There is a small thumbnail version of each of the twenty cards on the Collection section of the page. If you click on the image, you open a page showing an enlarged version of the art and the intimate story behind each creation. We hope you enjoy it.

THE NEW CHRISTMAS CARD

Keith is hard at work every day drawing the elements of this year’s card. I originally made this section to show photos of the card progressing each day, but we decided that would spoil the surprise for friends and family when they open their mail. Instead, I added this teaser poster and will post the card a few days after it’s mailed.

WORKFLOW PROCESS

I still think the idea of sharing the process Keith uses to create the card is fascinating, so I am planning to put together an entertaining process story and post it for next year.

THE IDEA ARCHIVE

Look at all these blank post-it notes. Running out of ideas is my worst nightmare, so I made a place on the page where you’re invited to email your ideas for Keith’s next card. We have a folder of our old, rejected ideas, hoping they can be reworked to make them winners. We go through them each year to get our juices flowing - but a folder of your ideas would be much more exciting!

GET ON THE MAILING LIST

If you are not receiving our Christmas cards and would like to, there is a place on the page where you can get on the list. Also, we are grateful of this endorsement from some old guy who sits around at the mall. Keith says he’s nice but I think he might be an identity thief. Regardless, he’s been on the list forever and really likes the card. He even has his own fancy mailbox at the post office. For what it’s worth…