People have enjoyed sending and receiving Christmas cards since the 1840s. When I was an entomology graduate student in 1991, I made my first hand-drawn Christmas card with an entomological theme. Then and now, I often take inspiration from my research, surroundings, or current events to create an insect-themed design. My goal is to develop a novel twist or fresh perspective on a familiar theme and insert insects into the story for a (hopefully!) humorous result. Developing an idea into a card is real work; it may begin with a flash of inspiration, but the successful realization of my ideas takes hours of drawing and a lot of thinking about how to present insects to a general audience. I probably can’t teach anyone to make entomologically-themed greeting cards. However, by sharing some of my favorite designs and their origin stories, I hope I can help you think about ways to find and share the holiday joy in the insects (or other organisms) you know and love.
