LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — The table is set with all the family favorites at the Back Mountain Makery in Dallas.
"This is what my table looks like all around the holidays. Sure, there might be turkey or ham on there, but really, it's about the pierogi, kielbasa, and pizza," laughs Matthew Tucker.
As people all across Luzerne County prepare to fill their own tables with the same staples ahead of Thanksgiving.
This morning we opened up at 9 and there was a line out the door, at least a half hour of people waiting to get their rings of kielbasi," says Leonard's Kielbasi Market's co-owner, Steven Makuch.
But this year, artist Matthew Tucker is, once again, taking these NEPA staples from the dinner table to the mailbox.
"Everyone around the holidays has their own specific item that they want sent to them from NEPA if they're not here, or on their table if they're having a dinner with family," said Tucker.
Tucker came out with his first edition of Christmas kielbasa cards last year,
They were so smoking hot that he had a hard time keeping them on the shelves.
"The kielbasa Christmas cards were a hit. We just had a great time with that. This year, we expanded to include pierogi Christmas cards and also pizza Christmas cards," said Tucker.
This year, he's getting a little saucy with his designs. The creations feature everything from Nuns serving up plates of kielbasa to Rudolph being led by pierogi instead of his red nose and stockings stuffed with slices of pizza.
"It says on the card, 'if you follow the North Star in NEPA, you'll pass about 50 pizza places along the way'," reads Tucker. "Which is absolutely accurate."
While also celebrating local tradition, and the small businesses, like Leonard's Keilabsi Market and NEPA'rogi, who keep it going.
"The love and hard work of our Polish ancestors that created this, so we make sure that the love and tradition is carried through," says NEPA'rogi manager Jasmyne Morgans.
These cards are shining a spotlight on what's most important this holiday season.
"Being able to bring what people like on their holiday tables and make people laugh, that's the purpose of the holiday cards," said Tucker.
While also giving people all over the country a little taste of home this holiday.
"We have customers as far as Alaska we've shipped it to, and they say, "Wow, that's the one thing I look forward to is a little taste of home," no matter where they are in the world," says
The 'Don't sleep on these cards' are available online at Tucker's website, at the Back Mountain Makery, Leonard's Kielbasa, and at NEPA'rogi in Luzerne County.