How many photographs does it take to capture the perfect Christmas card photograph of my kids? Any guesses? 200. That’s how many. That is a crazy amount of photos to capture the perfect Christmas card, if you ask me.
If you have small children and have attempted to photograph them for your Christmas card, you will totally nod your head in agreement with these.
10 Stages Of Every Childhood Christmas Card Photo
Eyes closed. Bonus points for smile but still, eyes closed.
Aw, my kids love each other. #bestparentever. Malone! Stop hugging her to hard!
Nobody is capable of looking at the camera.
The baby is trying to escape.
The baby is crying.
Great, they’re both looking at something. It just isn’t me. FOR. THE LOVE. Send coffee and chocolate STAT.
I’m not exactly sure what is going on. But Lola is up to no good.
Are we done yet? No! We are not done yet! You do not understand how important this is to mommy! WE ARE MAKING MEMORIES!!
Could you just try tickling your sister and see if we can get her to smile?
Sigh. Nobody is looking at me AGAIN.
After attempting to get the perfect photo for our Christmas card, I needed a few laughs. Thankfully, Joe Boxer’s holiday ads are hysterical and creative.
Jingle Bellies Kmart Commercial 2014
As a family, one of our goals is not to take ourselves too seriously. As it turns out, I’m pretty sure that is one of Joe Boxer’s goals too. Santa baby. Seriously. I cannot have a beverage in my mouth when I watch this.
Joe Boxer pajamas will make your holiday memorable. Whether you give or get them as gifts, or buy a pair in advance so you look your best on Christmas morning, no holiday is complete without a new pair of pajamas. Lola is wearing these super cute Joe Boxer owl pajamas and Malone is sporting these plaid Joe Boxer pajamas. While I was at Kmart, I picked up these Joe Boxer Moosetache pajama bottoms for Michael because they were silly and fun. And I treated myself to a Joe Boxer penguin themed three piece set.
Eventually, I came up with a few winners from our Christmas card shoot in our Joe Boxer pajamas.
Lola’s best shot.
And Malone’s best shot. You might want to note the presence of a very special guest here. Draw your own conclusions.
And finally, shot I was looking for along- one that is worthy of refrigerator status for sixty five of our closest friends and family members.
Do you send holiday cards? How many of these photos have you captured yourself over the years?
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Joe Boxer available at Kmart. These cute children who do not look at the camera and all opinions are my own.
If I could just get my kids to both look and smile at the same time for ONCE, I would be the happiest mom on earth. It’s pretty much impossible, though.
It is so hard to get kid to look at the camera sometimes! I had a ton of photos of them not looking, but who wants a blog post full of that?
Been there, done that — and I feel your pain! All your pics looks great! Your subjects are adorable!! Have a great holiday.
Penny Struebig recently posted..2014 Christmas Exchange
Thanks Penny!
Love Joe Boxer! I have a Christmas photo of my daughter where if you look really close there is a tear droplet. She cried and fussed and I can’t even tell you how long it finally took us to get the photo and when I got them back I found the little tear. She’s now 21 and I show it to her and tell her the story every year. It’s kind of become a special memory for us.
Joie recently posted..Choosing the right clothes for walking
Aw that story is sad and amazing all at the same time. It is amazing what we put our kids through for the sake of a great photograph!
Bwahahaha. This made me think of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strips. Calvin was always making faces for the Christmas card photos.
Jennifer recently posted..Gift they Can Wear – Rileyroos Shoes
Oh you’re right! I forgot all about that Calvin and Hobbes one! Thanks for the memory!
Oh my god, they are so adorable! You sure did take beautiful photos of them, so so lovely!
Katarina K recently posted..Rock Winter Roll
Thanks Katrina! I’ve worked really hard this year to learn my camera and I am so glad my hard work is paying off!
We give out holiday cards at our family dinners and events. I am a little behind on getting them finished. Luckily, I am printing them myself this year so I still have a couple days to get them done!
Kecia recently posted..Your Child’s Own Superhero with HeroMe
I haven’t ordered ours yet! I am super behind this year, but plan on hand delivering a bunch of them!
Got to love the stress of getting a good family picture!
Stressful, but totally worth it!
It’s hard taking photos of kids for holiday cards. I try and take photos throughout the year and use candid photos in my cards.
I have tons of candids from the year, but I really wanted a photo of the kids in their Christmas pajamas this year! It is too busy and the kids are too excited to do that on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day!
WOW! What lovely pics! Your children are adorable! 🙂 Happy Holidays!
Alexandra McAllister recently posted..Holiday Shopping Habits
Thanks Alexandra!
The outtakes are always the best. I love how you captured so many fun shots and I think you definitely had a winner at the end.
Tiff @ Babes and Kids recently posted..Sweet Pix App – Photo Boards From Your Phone to Your Wall
There are times when I love the outtakes photos more than I love the the “good” ones.
haha! Those photos are great! I take our photos, and I try to structure an activity so I can catch the candid moments.
Sara P. (@SensiblySara) recently posted..Make DIY Reindeer Food and Fuel Santa’s Reindeer!
I’ve got plenty of candids- those usually go into our calendars that we make as gifts. This time around, I wanted to make sure I could really capture these two in their cute jammies!
Those pictures are so adorable! you should get them framed.
I plan on getting a few of them framed, for sure. My grandmother has already called and submitted her list to me. She’s an avid blog reader, which I think is ridiculously adorable!
These photos are so cute! It’s a real task trying to get a good photo!
Liz Mays recently posted..18 Happy Holiday Recipes
There are just so many moving parts to them! The lighting, making sure no one spilled anything on them, and so on. I am so thankful that I had good light by the window and fast fingers to snap the photographs!
Very cute! When I tried to get a holiday photo of my twins for their first Christmas, the photo card that my husband and I wound up with was quite funny! (One baby had a silly look on her face, and the other had a big look of surprise.) But a friend of mine told me that it was the best card she ever received!
Lauren @ Mom Home Guide recently posted..Christmas Pajamas & Holiday Countdown!
The best card they ever received? I love it! It does sound like a super cute card! I think this photo shoot turned out really cute and I love that my kids are exactly who they are in these photographs!
Hahaha, I go through the same stuff. Weird faces, no one is looking, the preschooler is a blur. It is so hard getting good pictures sometimes!
Echo recently posted..{Almost} Wordless Wednesday with some Homeschool!
I think every mom has, Echo! I didn’t realize it at all until I looked at the photo gallery, there are just so many classic outtakes!
“WE ARE MAKING MEMORIES!!” Haha loved that line! It is nearly impossible to get a good picture of Eve sitting on the couch. She’s just too wiggly! But I think there is so much to be said for the imperfect pictures, the ones that show what life is really like. Glad you got a nice one, though I think they all look great.
Bev recently posted..What do you mean I have to go back out in the pouring rain? + #MomTimeThurs No. 13
Thanks Bev! I have found over time that it really is about capturing the photograph to go along with the memories. Christmas Day is just to hectic and stressful of a time to try to get a shot of the kids in their Christmas jammies! Eve will start to wiggle a little bit less as she gets bigger, promise.
haha some of those are hilarious! Big brothers can sometimes smother those little sisters! I had a boy and a girl also my son was older and these photos brought back some fun memories!
Avry recently posted..Vintage Christmas Series “Vintage inspired vinyl decal platters”
I’m so glad I could take you on a trip down memory lane, Amy! Malone loves is baby sister so much. I knew when I started this photo shoot that there would be at least one baby smash photograph!
We don’t send out Christmas cards but I love getting all the cute photos of kids. I’m sure it’s tough to get the perfect shot.
April @ Everyday Fitness and Nutrition recently posted..Talking to Yourself: Positive Words to Keep you Moving
I love getting and sending Christmas cards, but sometimes they are just so much of a time suck. I love getting the photo cards with kids on them too. I keep all of ours and pull them out year after year. It is so much fun to see how families (and kids) have grown!
Aww, your kids are so cute even if not always looking at the camera. I think those are some of the best pictures sometimes. 🙂
Michelle recently posted..Olive Christmas Tree Appetizer Plate
I agree too, Michelle! My favorite one out of this whole set is the one where the kids are looking in the opposite direction!
haha…. it’s like a blooper reel. You should totally use some of the pictures for something for your friends and family–they are adorable. I know they’d get a kick out of them!
Mrs. Mashed Up recently posted..Too Good at Your Job For Your Own Good?
It is like a blooper reel. Maybe I’ll load them all into a digital picture frame!
Hahahaha this made me giggle because it’s so true! My princess will take the best pics…. But the road to getting it…. Ahhhh only if ppl knew lol
I agree. The behind the scenes of photographing small kids is really funny (and sometimes super stressful)!
I’m learning as a new mom that it is very hard to get your child to look good in family pictures. But they still turn out cute haha!
Lauren recently posted..Patterns
The older they get, the more you can bribe them with! We recently had family portraits done and I bribed Malone with a huge piece of chocolate cake for dinner if he did a good job!
It looks like the children fun, and very cute especially the little girl.
What adorable photos!! I haven’t tried holiday photos for my family in a long time. I need to revisit that!
melisasource recently posted..How To Make Your House A Smart Home
Oh my goodness these photos are priceless! Thanks for sharing them. They made my day.
Chrysa recently posted..Printable Santa Gift Tags and Other FREE Santa Printables
It is so rare to get a good picture of all 3 children, let alone the 5 of us. It’s a photoshop adventure trying to get a good photo.
Crystal recently posted..The JOY of the Season + Giveaway
Oh Crystal! I so get that. It is so hard to get a family photo with all of us in it! I often stop strangers while they’re taking photos and ask if they want one with all of them in it!
awwww bless they are so cute and i think you should make an album and send to grand parents just like this lol. I do not think my family have ever made christmas cards before but my brother, SIL and nephew have now started
Myrabev recently posted..{Fashion} My Work Look
Thanks Myrabev! Making Christmas cards is really fun! I’ll likely make something really special and fun for the grandparents out of these photos (I’m just not quite sure what yet).
Haha I’m so familar with these stages of child photo taking with my son! I love the image you picked at the end though, it’s lovely.
I had a really hard time choosing, but there really was a clear winner. I’m really glad that you saw yourself in this post too!
OMG! This post is awesome! It’s so true. Photo shoots are hard with little ones. Kids do the darnedest things.
Thanks for sharing this fun post.
Thanks Ramona! It is true, kids do and say the darnedest things. When we were at Kmart picking out their Joe Boxer pajamas, Malone asked if we could buy a pair for the neighbor lady that lives across the street (she’s like a grandmother to him)!
Pictures are adorrrrrable! You should turn them into a picture book for M&L! LOVE the Joe Boxer Jingle Bellies video. Teehee. I had the best buddha belly when I was little and my sisters used to love playing the drums on it! HA! 🙂 XO
Aw thanks Ellie! I think the Jingle Bellies video is hysterical too! I love the way Joe Boxer handles their commercials! I look forward to them each year!
OMG! These photo are just so adorable. I can so relate to trying to get that perfect picture. Then later when they grow and move out, that’s when you look at the photos and think how perfect each and every one of those photos were all along.
Digna D. recently posted..Liztek 7-Port Hub with 2 Fast Charging Port Review – Holiday Gift Guide Pick
I agree! I love looking at the photos now, and the kids are still living with me!
We heart Joe Boxer!! My MIL used to buy my hubs the actual Joe Boxer BOXERS and I would always steal them and sleep in them 🙂 Super comfy!! And Lola and Malone look adorable in their jammies!
Christie Elkins recently posted..December 2014 goals.
Joe Boxer is an amazing brand! I steal my husband’s Joe Boxers too. I love their pj line this year. So cozy and cute!
Wow, these are amazing & cute photos. Your kids are so adorable & I agree the pictures tell the story that they love each other. Thanks for sharing 🙂
We do send cards and somewhere along the way we embraced the French tradition of making them New Year’s cards. I like that we officially have until the end of January to get them out> It takes a lot of the stress out. Your kids are precious and photos beautiful, and yes those Joe Boxers commercials are a riot!
Valerie Remy-Milora recently posted..The Magic of Christmas Traditions
Very cute kiddies! I have had plenty of times where my heart has sank because one half of a photo looks amazing, while the other half does not. All of this reminds me of the commerical when the mother crops and cuts and pastes all of the good shots of her family from different images to create one perfect Christmas card. lol.
Yona Williams recently posted..Create a PickUrGift Wishlist and We Will PAY for a Gift of Choice up to $200 (Giveaway) – ends Dec 18
Oh my gosh these are so cute! I know I’ve got similar series of photos with my kids. Even though they are older, they still do the same things.
Kimberly Grabinski recently posted..How To Set The Perfect Holiday Table
Those videos are awesome and super funny!
And you’re chosen photo is very lovely!
Mommy Pehpot recently posted..Starbucks Coffee 2015 Planner Giveaway
Way to persevere, NJ! I think all the photos are precious; I like the blooper ones. Last year our card was a collage of one good one and five bloopers. This year we used two professional photos from James’ bar mitzvah, but one was a funny one. Of course my kids are a little easier to order around, but I remember those fun toddler days!
Dana recently posted..Memory holders
Oh the trials and tribulations of a Christmas card pose! We went through it last week too!
Lola and Malone turned out pretty cute, though!
Rabia @TheLiebers recently posted..#TuesdayTen: All I Want For Christmas