Darby's Christmas special...
This year, I really wanted to make a holiday video starring Darby. After months of searching, I didn't think it would happen. The dog-themed digital ecards that I was familiar with didn't have an option to fully include your pet. At best, you could select a similar breed or upload an unedited photo at the end. Also, most don't have an option to embed videos on your blog or share them on Facebook, both features I was looking for. I considered making a video from scratch, but that made be feel overwhelmed, not part of my Christmas gift to myself -- to simplify and enjoy the season. So I had pretty much given up. Then a friend "elfed herself" on JibJab and posted it on Facebook. I had totally forgotten about JibJab. Do dogs work in their videos? Yes, they do. It took a few tries to make a successful Darby head, the ears and the neck took the most finessing. And it is a little annoying that you cannot go back and rework the head once it is saved. But I got the hang of it pretty quickly. And having my pup star in a claymation Christmas special with the music of Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters is awesome.
So if you're stressing about sending holiday cards (too much paper, money, and time) or digital cards (not personal enough), I highly recommend JibJab. To get all the features I mention, you do have to subscribe. It is $12/one year. But here is a special offer: you can get
10% off 12-month JibJab.com subscription with Code JIBJAB10
.
P.S. JibJab also has ecards specifically for dogs. I just didn't think they were as funny. I love seeing Darby wearing little red mittens and dancing with Santa. That's just me.
P.P.S. If you want to do the one I did with more than one dog, there is an option for that. Or you could do you and your dog. They actually make 5 versions of all their holiday cards to allow for different size "casts." Another nice feature.
Happy Holidays!
