Tomorrow morning marks the big reveal of this year’s holiday photo card, and, just to take the edge off, here’s a little titillating tease that is actually much worse than the actual card itself. For the first time, it’s a double-sided photo, which means there are two pics for your viewing pleasure, or displeasure as the case may be. In a 180 from last year’s too-cute-for-words sweetness, 2012 may be the scariest card I’ve ever done. For that reason alone, I love it. (As for the blood on the paper version that was sent out to my closest friends, relax – it’s not real. But the knife is…)

And a bit of musical inspiration for this year’s fiasco…

Coming Tomorrow… with one more sneak peek a little later.

Don’t… go… anywhere.

This weekend my brother is joining me for some time in Boston – starting with a bit of holiday shopping at the outlets, and then some quieter time just taking in the sights and sounds of Boston as it gears up for the season. It comes just in the nick of time – I’ve got to get out of dodge before my holiday card officially hits the internet… tomorrow at midnight. Yes, you must stay tuned for that… it is not to be missed.

At this point in the parade of holiday photo cards, I can admit that I was getting a little lazy, and in 2009 I could barely muster the effort to come up with anything other than a sneak peek at an upcoming project. This one was all about the wings, no more and no less. And the mop of hair, which I don’t usually keep that long. Ho-ho-hum.

Though I’ll be in Boston this weekend, there are two very important Victorian Holiday Celebrations going on that you should definitely attend if you’re in the upstate NY area. The first is the Sharon Springs Victorian Holiday Celebration started by those industrious Beekman Boys two years ago, taking place on Saturday, December 1, 2012. This looks like it will be a grand event, from the costumes to the food to the Bloody Mary cocktails and several live performances. There is even a special Beekman 1802 Cancellation Stamp being offered at the post office for those who want their Holiday Cards to have a little extra pizzazz (I didn’t dare think to subject the postal workers to my cards – not sure how accustomed they would be to blood on the envelopes…)

The second event is the Troy Victorian Stroll, which marks its 30th anniversary this year. Set to take place on Sunday, December 2, from 11 AM to 5 PM, it will feature musicians, magicians, dancers, refreshments, rides and crafts. This is always a great day judging by the photos of past strolls, and Troy has the historic buildings and architecture to make it even more authentic. Next year I am determined to make it to one of these, as the opportunities to take out my gray top hat seem to be getting fewer and further between. (The folks at Price Chopper will just never get used to it.)

Last year around this time I made a trip to Boston in which I did a day or two of holiday shopping – not to actually find many gifts, but just to enjoy the season in Boston. Setting aside the time to simply walk and wander, to take in the holiday displays, enjoying a cocktail or two, and spending moments with a few of my closest friends made it more fun than the harried, rushed, and stressed out holiday shoppers for whom finding gifts was only a tedious chore. It’s a practice I put into play at various times during the season, whenever I need to be reminded of the meaning of Christmas. Whether it’s taking an extra five minutes at lunch to watch the Christmas trees going up, or sitting down in the middle of the mall while the whirlwind of frenzied activity swirls around you, it’s good to stop and let the craziness flow by. It’s not about the gifts and the excitement, but of slowing down and realizing what we already have. The pause is what’s important, the time to be still is what matters.

This was a quick one-off shoot behind the local Price Chopper, taken by Andy, that had me enjoying a bit of Jack and a smoke. It was more beloved than I anticipated, and has entered folklore in that I recently had someone ask if I was going to do another card like the one where I was puking behind a dumpster. Any time the truth gets twisted in such a manner means a story has made the rounds more than once. As Oscar Wilde noted in one of my favorite quotes, “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” As you can see, there was no emesis behind or in front of the dumpster, just some swigging and smoking.