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Family Xmas Photo Ideas: Creative Concepts For The Holiday Season

By Emily Hutton
  • Last Updated: Oct 2, 2022

Taking Christmas photos is one way to celebrate and immortalize your holiday celebrations. You’re not only capturing the happy moments for yourself and your family, but you’re also sharing them with the world. 

However, taking the exact same photos year in and year out can get boring. If you’re looking to mix it up this year, try some of the creative Christmas photo ideas in this article.

Tips To Take The Perfect Christmas Photo

Since Christmas only comes once a year, you have to make sure your photos look great. If you miss the moment, you’ll have to wait another year to get another shot at a Christmas card photo. 

Follow these four tips to get the best Christmas card and Christmas party photos that’ll make your family and friends jealous!

Capture Your Family’s Warmth

Christmas and family are inseparable. One of the most important things in capturing a good Christmas family picture is to emphasize relationships. Capture the warmth of familial bonds – parents and children, siblings – and make sure that your photos ooze togetherness.

Record Christmas Party Preparations

While your Christmas party is the main event, you can also capture the setup of that main event. Having your camera ready during Christmas party preparations is a surefire way to get a lot of good family photos.

 Spend some time during your preparations to go around and take photos of everything. Whether it’s your kids writing their Dear Santa letter or your spouse cooking holiday dinner, there are bound to be many happy moments captured on camera. Don’t forget to document the moment the star is placed on top of the Christmas tree and the lights come on for the first time!

Play With Burst Mode

Opening presents is another essential part of the holiday season. Seeing the faces of kids when they open their presents is one of the best parts of the holiday!

To make sure you capture all the details, use your camera’s burst mode. If you shoot with burst when your child opens their present, you’ll end up with a series of shots that capture the exact second they see their first Christmas gift – and likely the peak of their happiness.

Make A Photo Booth

If you’re hosting a lot of people at your Christmas party, consider making a photo booth so your guests can spread holiday cheer through social media. A nicely decorated photo booth can add a lot to your festivities and maybe entice camera-shy family members to join in the fun. 

It doesn’t have to be too elaborate. Simply decorating a wall with Christmas lights and a holiday wreath will work. If you’re pressed for space, you can even turn Christmas trees into a photo spot!

Cute Christmas Card Photo Ideas For Your Family

In addition to the Christmas party, holiday cards are another important tradition. If you’re looking to impress your friends and family with your photos this year, here are some great Christmas photo ideas you guys can try!

Have Fun With Christmas Props

Nothing says Christmas like festive props and decorations, which is why this is one of the all-time favorite family picture ideas. Put on your Santa hat and grab some twinkling lights, candy canes, and present boxes to arrange a merry Christmas photoshoot. Make sure your family puts on their best smiles to spread the holiday cheer around.

Baking Holiday Cakes

Even simple tasks like baking cakes and cookies can be made into a fun Christmas photoshoot. Put on your matching aprons and Santa hats, then just start capturing every moment as you prepare these tasty holiday treats. 

Focus the camera on your children for extra fun. There’s bound to be flour spread on their faces while they awkwardly measure ingredients. These great family memories will surely add some whimsical charm to your holiday photos!

Holiday Photo In Nature

If family Christmas pictures at home are getting old, then why not change the scenery? If you live near a forest or a Christmas tree farm, take advantage of the landscape. Go on a short hike during sunset and capture the perfect family photo alongside the natural beauty of your area.

Play In The Snow

Christmas and snow are inseparable. If your backyard turned into a winter wonderland, you can use it in your family Christmas photo! 

Spend quality time with your whole family frolicking in the snow and capture the happy moments. You can even put on your best festive jackets to make sure you have the best Christmas family photo you can ask for!

Make Almost-Perfect Family Photos

An easy way to make sure people remember your Christmas card this year is to lean into fun family photo ideas. Put on your holiday outfits and get ready for a picture-perfect family Christmas photo, but have just one thing go wrong. 

Maybe your youngest child decided to blow a raspberry at the camera, or the family dog decided to block the camera just in time for the shot. Whichever imperfection you choose, this near-perfect Christmas family photo is sure to bring a chuckle to anyone who receives your card.

Reenact Your Favorite Christmas Movies

If you’re feeling more adventurous this year, you can try quirkier Christmas picture ideas like recreating iconic Christmas movies in your family photoshoot. 

For instance, you can dress your child in Kevin McAllister’s clothes while you and your spouse become the Wet Bandits from Home Alone. Or you can have the entire family dress up as Ralphie and the Parkers from A Christmas Story for this year’s holiday photo. 

Whether they get the reference or not, your silly Christmas card photo idea is going to be remembered by family and friends!

Proper Family Christmas Card Etiquette

After you get your Christmas family photos shot and the cards printed, it’s time to send them out. To make sure this tradition goes well, there are three points of proper family Christmas card etiquette you need to remember:

Keep Track Of Your Christmas Card List

You can send Christmas cards to anyone, but you don’t need to send them to everyone. Keep notes on who’s on your Christmas card list and update them at least annually. If you’ve recently made a good friend, consider putting them on the list immediately. Conversely, if you had a falling out with someone you were close with, consider removing them from the list.

Keep Track Of Your Christmas Card List

The bare minimum hardly impresses anyone. If you just print your name on the envelope, your holiday card will look cookie-cutter and generic. A good tip when sending Christmas cards is to personally sign your name on the envelope of each card if you can.

If you’re sending out a small number of cards or preparing a card for someone you’re very close with, consider adding a personal note. This demonstrates that you’ve put a lot of thought and care into it, and whoever receives it will appreciate the gesture even more.

Include A Return Address

Return addresses are essential in any kind of written correspondence. If you’re sending to a new friend, the return address allows them to send a Christmas card back. For longtime friends, they’ll appreciate the reminder – and they’ll immediately recognize who sent the card.

Closing Thoughts

Christmas is a time for joy and happiness with the family. Sending out Christmas cards helps you spread that holiday spirit to family and friends. 

With these creative Christmas photo ideas, you can make beautiful and funny cards that everyone on your holiday card list will remember. Moreover, you can involve your family in coming up with these creative ideas!

If you’re planning to include photos from your family’s old Christmas parties, you need to undo the damage first. Contact Image Restoration Center for fast and affordable photo restorations!

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