I absolutely love getting holiday cards, especially the ones with pictures on them. There is something about holding them in my hand while studying the details and taking in the moment. I enjoy seeing the vacations, pets, new babies, and adventures of friends and loved ones throughout the year. It’s like a re-cap of the year gone by featured with bright smiles of promise for a happy new year ahead. One of my favorite parts of it all is going to the mailbox, looking at the return address and getting all excited as I open the card in anticipation of what is inside.
It’s like a rush.
Will there be an engagement? Will there be a baby announcement? Will there be a new puppy? And then I see it, the card with the perfectly posed family. You know, the one where all of the children are sitting nicely and cooperating with the photographer. Not a hair is out of place, not a stain on the clothing, not a smudge of lunch on anyone’s face and not a frown or scowl among them. Just an adorable, happy, smiling group.
A twinge of jealousy passes through me and I think to myself, “How did they get everyone to sit still and cooperate?”
In years past, I have used a photographer and produced similar photos for my holiday card but it tends to get costly at this time of year when I am already shelling out money left and right. Couple the monetary cost with all of the behind the scenes work on my end (like scheduling the right time so that my four year old is not cranky, having plenty of snacks on hand to keep the meltdowns at bay and trying to get everyone out of the house in one piece) and it seems like a big undertaking. So this year I decided to save some money on my holiday card and take the pictures myself.
I mean, how hard could it be? Right?
Armed with the perfect outfits (matching pajamas) and the perfect setting (my bed with white linens on it), I grabbed my trusty iPhone and took a few test photos to make sure the lighting was ok. I then instructed my children to climb up onto the bed where I posed them perfectly. My sweet children sat as still as statues, smiled, never got tired of the hundreds of photos I was taking and complied with my every request.
JUST KIDDING!!!! If you have kids, you know that this is the biggest lie ever. Here is what really happened: opposite day began the minute I said “smile,” my bed became a WWE wrestling ring where new moves were likely invented, and my youngest child thought that I was taking video instead of still photos. Multiple times during our photo shoot, my oldest got so fed up with his younger brother’s antics that he stormed out of the room crying. And, if that wasn’t enough drama for a period of ten minutes, both of them were so annoyed with me that they decided to play possum, thus bringing my hopes and dreams of snapping the perfect picture to an abrupt end.
Instead of perfectly posed children with big smiles I got blurry pictures, only one child looking at the camera at a time, high blood pressure and a renewed appreciation for photographers. Should you be as ambitious as I was, I wish you sanity, a good sense of humor and a wonderful holiday season.
My advice friends: just hire someone to take the pictures for you and enjoy my outtakes below!
I love this and can relate SO MUCH!! We’ve had my mom take our photo every year since my daughter was born in front of the same tree at our house. The first two years went shockingly well… this year was another story!!! Girlfriend was NOT having it! As much as I want to continue the tradition, a professional might be the less stressful way to go! But at least we both have funny outtakes!
Thanks for sharing Mallory and so glad you can relate! In my experience, ages 3 and 4 seem to be particularly difficult to get a decent posed picture with their whole face in it. Isn’t it crazy how much effort it takes to get a “card worthy” photo?!?!
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