Ellen’s house of cards

Staring Monday, you can say it with Ellen instead of boring old flowers. Ellen DeGeneres’ American Greetings line of 32-assorted cards hits store shelves next week. As you can see, The Great Panted One appears on the cards in her signature slacks, sweaters/button ups and Chucks. This promo reads: “Your birthday makes me wanna dance!” And continues inside to say: “Which is weird because I’m in line at the DMV and now everyone’s staring at me. Enjoy your day!”

Hmm. While the card is pretty cute and fairly funny, I also think it’s just a little weird. Are there other lines of celebrity greeting cards featuring the star’s likeness? (I’m too tired to Google, someone please enlighten us in the comments section.) I guess it shouldn’t be any weirder than giving your mom a card from that crabby blue-haired lady Maxine by Shoebox. And I’m all for having America’s favorite lesbian next door express our birthday greetings for us. Plus, Ellen will say your thank yous for you at the bargain price of $2.79. Still, I can’t help thinking it’s a tad strange. Or perhaps it’s just a sign that our celebrity-obsessed culture has breached one of the few places it hasn’t invaded yet: Our most intimate communications of love, celebration and thanks.