Holiday cards sent out by new mom and dad, Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz, showing off Bronx Mowgli

The new generation of celebrity babies certainly has its work cut out for it as the kids are literally growing up in front of the cameras! With the media scrambling for the all-important first look, Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz decided to scoop the paparazzi when they shared the first photo of their new son, Bronx Mowgli, on their 2008 Christmas cards cards.

The digital photo Christmas cards showed up all over the internet in time for the holidays, showing new mom Ashlee looking adoringly at her son, with proud papa Pete planting a kiss on the baby’s forehead. The newlyweds, who had a shotgun wedding in May, listed some of their favorite charities at the bottom of the card in the hopes that their friends – and perhaps, their fans – would take the spirit of giving upon themselves by supporting some worthwhile organizations.

The Simpson-Wentz duo is not the first of celebrities to give their offspring a unique name. Wentz explained to Ryan Seacrest that he and Ashlee bonded over “The Jungle Book” and that Mowgli, the young boy in the story, is a “cool name”. While it may appear that Bronx is just a case of naming after a location – like David and Victoria Beckham did with their son Brooklyn – the new parents are not sharing the reasoning behind the name. And with a peer group that includes Apple Martin, Kal-El Cage, Pilot Inspektor Lee, Moxie Crimefighter Jillette, and Tu Morrow, perhaps the reasoning behind the name is better left a mystery!

2008 holiday cards sent by James Lipton, host of Bravo's "Inside the Actor's Studio," and his wife, Kedakai

I am always curious to see what different styles of holiday cards are sent out by celebrities. This past Christmas season, I took a little time to peruse the Internet to see what I could find in the way of celebrity Christmas cards. One of the more interesting holiday cards I found was one sent out by James Lipton of Inside the Actor’s Studio and his wife, Kedakai.

The beautiful white holiday card depicts a Santa Claus figure inside what appears to be a crest with the card’s title, “An Exaltation of Christmas” above, all in gold. The design is a reflection of his fun word book, An Exaltation of Larks, which brings together veneries, that is, double meaning descriptions of things that can be grouped together. Sample Christmas-related veneries, such as “a rooftop of reindeer” or “a descent of relatives,” border the front of his holiday card.

It is not surprising to me that Lipton’s book has to do with words and phrases because on his show he has always struck me as someone who is not only intelligent but also a master of the English language. The fact that he has published a book that is about wording and language I find to be quite interesting but certainly not surprising. I hope next year I’ll come across the next rendition of his venery-filled holiday cards.

Holiday cards designed by Hank Azaria for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundations

With its canvas, seemingly of white construction paper and a color palette in line with your basic box of Crayola washable markers, a person could easily dismiss Hank Azaria’s holiday cards as horribly amateur for an adult celebrity. Please try to remember that while his resume includes 20 years of voicing cartoons like The Simpsons, it doesn’t list drawing them.

The holiday card that Azaria created for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has childlike simplicity. Multi-colored smiling faces and a scribbled heart with outpouring lines adorn the card and resemble another piece of charitable art from Christmases past, the LP album series, A Very Special Christmas. Azaria’s holiday card design is deliberate though, meant to evoke that most simple of times – childhood during the holiday season.

Children, as you might expect, aren’t well-known for giving lavish or extravagant gifts. Some celebutante, trust-fund babies might give outlandish gifts, but I digress. Instead, children only have a few things to give the people in their lives for the holidays. They give their imagination and talents…and they give simply from the heart. Could there be anything more heartwarming than something handmade from your child? The charming, almost-shy presentation to you is so endearingly filled with their hopes of you loving it after all their hard work… making it personalized just for you.

Hank Azaria

It should be no surprise that Hank Azaria’s holiday cards aren’t about something that doesn’t require assembly by an adult and isn’t a medium-sized pair of slipper-socks without a receipt. Hank Azaria’s holiday card is about something that’s simple and touching…the effortless and kind act of giving both genuinely and generously from the heart.

And although his heart and soul is forever in The Simpsons, Azaria’s live-action roles have been dotted throughout a typically animated career. I (like most people might) recall Hank Azaria’s face as Agador Spartacus in The Birdcage, but the voice-over actor has also been in several other comedic movies of note like the Ben Stiller vehicle, Dodgeball, and Grosse Pointe Blank.

And just as he leaves us smiling after watching him in one of his funny roles, children with HIV/AIDS and their families will be smiling from the help that he brings to them through the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Hank – keep up the good work!

Carmen Electra posing with her pooch for her holiday cards

I am always curious what kind of holiday cards are out there…especially ones sent out by celebrities. Since I have a bit of a crush on Carmen Electra, I thought it would be interesting to see if I could find out if holiday cards sent out by her might be floating around somewhere on the Internet. So after a long googling session, lo and behold, I was able to find it, and boy was I surprised!

Not knowing what to expect (but looking forward to something fairly sexy), I was amazed at how conservative Carmen looked on her holiday cards. Wearing a Santa hat, a thin fleece top, spandex pants, and winter boots and holding her dog, Carmen looked as pretty as she always appears in the movies or on television.

And then I thought, the times I have seen her being interviewed, she comes across as a decent, perhaps quiet person, with definite religious and moral values. Because of her obvious beauty, she uses that to her advantage to further her show business career, but rarely straying into what could be called “tastelessness” (her recent Playboy appearance notwithstanding).

I think she made the right choice for the holiday cards she sent out. After all, one does not want to offend during what is considered the most religious time of year for those who celebrate Christmas.

2006 Thanksgiving invitation holiday cards from Usher and mom Jonnetta Patton

Let’s face it, you have a lot to be thankful for when you’re blessed with selling 35 million records; winning 5 Grammy Awards; making eight number-one selling singles; launching a fragrance line; owning your own record label; and having a family that supports your career. When Thanksgiving rolls around and Usher is deciding where to spend the day, his mom, Jonnetta Patton, knows best. And she should since she moved to Atlanta for the greater opportunities that the city could provide for the young Usher and managing his career. At age 13, Usher’s mom entered him on Star Search, where he was spotted by an A&R representative from LaFace Records, and the rest is history.

For the 2006 Turkey Day celebration, Jonnetta Patton ordered personalized thanksgiving holiday cards inviting her entire family to her home in Alpharetta, Georgia. The third name on the imprint is James, Usher’s half brother. The holiday cards design she chose is classic and graceful. It features beautiful script writing stamped in gold foil that says “Happy Thanksgiving.” The color scheme is soft and elegant with just the right amount of embossed detail. Ms. Patton also showed her eco-friendly side by choosing a card that is certified environmentally-friendly and was made using wind power.

In response to his fame and fortune, Usher gives back with his charity organization called New Look, whose mission is to provide young people with a new look on life through education and real world experiences. He also continually calls young people to serve, which began with Project Restart after Hurricane Katrina and has continued over the years with New Look and most recently with his appointment as Youth-Chair of the Service Nation Summit. Usher is also one of the most active celebrities in the 2008 Presidential elections, leading youth rallies and organizing voter registration. In January 2008 Barack Obama asked Usher to serve as National Co-Chair for his voter registration campaign and to perform at the opening inaugural celebration. Usher is a busy boy!