*I* thought it was a brilliant beyond brilliant idea. I’ve loved the song “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” since I was old enough to wail it at the top of my lungs and drive my Mom up a wall.
When it came time to talk holiday card ideas, I had the song stuck in my head and started thinking of how adorable it’d be from Huck’s point of view. “Mom said a hippo would eat me up, but then, teacher said a hippo is a vegetarian!” and “There’s lots of room for him, in our two car garage- I’d feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage!” Adorable, right? Nate was worried not many people would know the song or understand, but I thought even then, it’s a darling thought- Huck wants a hippopotamus for Christmas, only a hippopotamus will do! I assured him it’s a Christmas classic and we’d be fine.
The reviews were mixed- I would say about 75% of it was completely positive, with some past brides leaving rave reviews via our Facebook page or the occasional happy text. A week later, my best friend Casi sent him a hippo dog toy (seriously, who knew they even made those?!) with a note to Huck saying, “I take things literally.” One bride wrote saying she didn’t quite “get” it at first, but then when listening to holiday music on the radio, heard the song. It wasn’t until we visited Nate’s family for the holidays that I realized some people don’t, in fact, know the song. I think it was Nate’s step mom who asked, “So, does Huck have like a thing for hippos or what? We’re confused.” My adorable mother-in-law, her parents, and sister had also never heard of the song, which resulted in me singing it for them repeatedly over Christmas.
Ah, well, it was worth a shot. I already have this year’s card planned out, and it’s a little more mainstream, so hopefully everyone will “get it.” :) I still couldn’t be happier with how it tuned out, hippo sticker on the envelope and all! :)
And for the record, yes… It’s a real song! Enjoy. :)
We loved it! Go Casi for scoring the hippo toy..we tried, honestly, and settled with a lion instead because it looked a lot like Huck!
We thought it was super cute! I used to sing that song quite often when I was little, so it made me smile to get the card from you guys (to be honest, I would sing or hum it every time I saw the card hung up with our other holiday cards). And how awesome about Huck getting a hippo toy! :)
It makes me so sad (and completely confused as to how it is possible) when I hear that there are people in this country who have somehow made it this far in their lives without enjoying this classic!
As I’ve said, it made my MONTH! Everyone who walked in my door for the two months following its arrival HAD to look at “the greatest Christmas card EVAR!” I even kept the envelope under it so I could show them the icing on the cake: the hippo sticker on the envelope! Thanks again!
See, I’ve got a massive collection of Christmas CDs and DVDs, so I got it as soon as I saw the picture on Facebook!
Now I’m sad I didn’t get a Christmas card. ;-)