Holiday Chicken Karma

About a month ago, I started wondering what would make an interesting Happy Holidays card to send clients and non-client friends.

We’ve come up with some pretty funny cards in previous years but this year’s not looking all that funny so I was stumped.

Then I remembered Donald, the artist. I called and asked him if he could paint us an image to represent new beginnings – fresh starts for the coming year. I didn’t want Christmas trees, Santa Claus or palm trees with lights on them.

He said, “How about a baby chicken?” Hmmm. Let’s take a look.

A few days later, I drove over to Donald’s and he showed me an acrylic painting of a small yellow chick emerging from the whitest of cracked eggs on a green and red background. I loved it.

I wrote a straightforward headline: We asked our friend Donald to paint a holiday card. He painted this chicken.

On the inside, the copy reads: He said the holidays for him mean “new beginnings” like this baby chicken. We wish you a new beginning, new hope and fresh starts this year. All the best, Lois Geller Marketing Group. We’re a new chicken too (after 14 years as Mason and Geller Direct).

A smaller version of the painting appears on the back of the card along with: Win the original, 9” X 12”, New Beginnings Chick by Donald Sexauer. Just email loisgeller@loisgellermarketinggroup.com and tell her about your new beginnings.

Then, by a total fluke, I came across a place that sells fake eggs, real-looking but fake. Put one in a bowl of water for a few days and a yellow chick emerges. It comes out bigger than the egg. It’s fun to watch. I bought a bunch of them and sent each out with a card.

Here’s to all of our new beginnings this 2009. It’ll be a good year to help a friend, do random acts of kindness and create good karma in bad times – may they be oh so short.