A FAMILY has been sending out hilariously awkward Christmas cards for nearly two decades, with a different theme each year including ‘white trash’ and pageant royalty.
Laura and Mike Bergeron came up with the idea in 2003, and decided to dress up for their annual greetings card.
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The couple named their first ever look ‘forty and fighting it’, which showed Mike sporting an unusual tan and a fake moustache.
Every year the family, which has grown to include daughters Gigi and Juju, send out a joke card, with those on the mailing list in suspense every year over what to expect.
Explaining how the tradition started, Mike told BoredPanda: “I can’t tell you if it was me or Laura who thought of it, or even if it evolved between the two of us joking back and forth, but somehow we came up with the idea to dress up as different characters and make their holiday cards for everyone we knew.”
Over the years the couple have dressed up as ‘white trash’, sporting mullets, smoking cigarettes, drinking beer with Laura wearing a fake pregnancy belly.
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In 2005, the pair channelled creepy aunts and uncles, with Mike saying he finally braced his inevitable baldness and allowed Laura to shave his head – and has been bald ever since.
The following year the Bergeron’s went for a Dumb and Dumber-inspired look, and in 2007 they copied famous painting American Gothic.
The family wished everyone a ‘Merry Krishmas’, while both sporting bald heads and dressed and followers of Hare Krishna in 2008.
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Mike and Laura donned fake tattoos and bad eyebrows for 2009’s
card, which they dubbed Los Cholos.
And in 2010 they were joined by their eldest daughter, Gigi, for a 1980s-inspired portrait, showing Mike sporting some impressive facial hair.
Unibrows were the theme the following year, with baby Gigi even being given the fuzzy makeover.
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It was a gothic Christmas in 2012, which saw the couple’s second daughter, Juju, make an appearance for the first time.
The cover of their 2013 Christmas card said ‘may your holiday sparkle’, and showed the four-piece dressed in leotards doing jazzhands.
The 2014 theme was ‘The Holidays Are Such A Drag’, and showed them all dressed as the other gender – including Gigi and Juju.
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The family went high-fashion in 2014, channelling their inner supermodel for their fashionistas card.
The foursome brought out one of Mike’s characters, ‘Cousin Jerry’, for their 2015 offering.
It showed the girls barefoot, dressed in shabby clothing, holding weapons including a slingshot and a dead squirrel.
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Mike appears to have a black eye and is missing a tooth, while Gigi steals the show as she’s picking her nose.
2017 saw a classic ‘wish you were here’ snap, with the family posing on a fake beach in their swimwear.
They’ve covered themselves with epic sunburn lines, and said ‘Merry Christmas from Paradise’.
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Their Texas-themed shoot the following year saw both Laura and Mike dress up in double denim, while their girls went as pageant queens.
Mike said this year they wanted to capitalise on the girls ‘cuteness’,
and dressed them up as Little Miss West Texas and Little Miss El Paso.
The family channelled a bookmaker for their next card, which saw Mike sport thick chest hair, while Gigi insisted she be a goth.
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Over the years their cards have grown infamous, with Mike saying people ask to be added to their mailing list now.
He added they keep a list for future ideas, but usually start thinking up a concept in September
Mike added: “As our family grew, so grew the ideas about what we could do with the cards and the concept took on a whole new dimension.
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“My wife has always loved the tradition, though sometimes she worries that we won’t be able to keep coming up with ideas.”
“The holidays are so much fun for a child anyway; this tradition just goes right along with the spirit of the season for them.”
Meanwhile this mum covered her son’s bedroom in wrapping paper and blames it on his Elf on the Shelf.
Plus this thrifty mum makes fake fireplace so her kids have somewhere to hang their Christmas.
And Stacey Solomon has revealed the Primark bargains she’s snapping up for the kids this Christmas.
