Creativity of Tampa holiday card designers knows no limit

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It's a tale of a Florida Christmas: A gator in a Santa hat, relaxing on the beach covers the front of a Christmas card designed by Genevieve Meza.

"I kind of liked him sitting in the chair relaxing because in Florida we don't get snow, we are sunny all year round," said Meza.

Shannon Browning has some different creatures stirring in her painting.

"These are my aunt's dogs that I've painted, they're under the tree," said Browning.

Meza and Browning are among the artists creating images for one-of-a-kind Christmas cards at the MacDonald Training Center Fine Arts Program in Tampa.

"These are cards that are handmade by individuals with disabilities and it showcases their talent and what they do at the center," said Meza.

"It gives them a way to voice their artistic skills to not just us but to the community as a whole we also sell them online which is cool because it's not just Tampa Bay it's everywhere," said instructor Lauren Holmes.

The artists have autism or other intellectual and developmental disabilities. They benefit financially from the sales of these cards.

"It actually is split, it goes back to them and it goes back to the program here," said Holmes.

Through Christmas cards, they create joy.

"Seeing what I've done and the accomplishment I've made while painting a card that's what makes me feel good about doing the card," said Meza.

"It's so people can enjoy the holidays as much as we do makes them happier," said Browning.

To order Christmas cards from the MacDonald Training Center, visit https://macdonaldcenter.org/shop/