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Okay – I am not going to lie. I definitely have a love hate relationship with family pictures. Like many of you, we book a session with our favorite local photographer each fall to grab some family pictures of all of us in our best color coordinated gear. These photos grace various walls of my house (which I love) and of course are the material we use for our annual family Christmas card.

Now this is where I would like to stop and add a few things. First, when I was a kid growing up in the eighties and nineties, these annual family pictures were not a thing. I don’t think it was an option – were there even photographers that did this? I think now we have more photographers with access to better cameras so the result is pictures are more accessible, which is a positive thing but man I kind of miss the days of the plain Christmas card that didn’t involve a family picture. Remember those? Yes, sometimes an aunt or or neighbor would get overzealous and send out a family newsletter but other than that Christmas cards did not involve photographs.

Which brings me to my next point – while the end result is great, these pictures can be a huge stressor for mom. I’d say Dad too, but in most cases it’s mom that is planning the outfits, finding the photographer, getting everyone ready – you know because our mental load isn’t already jam packed. Remember those preprinted boxes of Christmas cards from the 80s? I’m bringing them back 🤣.

In all seriousness, it can be a lot of work. So I’m going to offer a few tips and tricks I have for easing the stress that of picking outfits and getting ready for pictures!

1) Pick your outfit first mom – I once read somewhere that outfit should be planned around Mom’s outfit. Mom cares the most about the pictures, and if Mom isn’t happy no one is. So Moms – pick something you love and plan the whole picture look around that and everything will fall into place.

2) Then pick one outfit at a time – What I mean by this is do not try to pick everyone’s outfit at the same time. It’s way too hard and overwhelming to be deciding on four outfits at once. Instead, after you (mom) pick your outfit, decide who you want to dress next – saving the easiest for last. In our case, I pick Luna’s outfit next because her stuff is still so cute, so I find something that coordinates with me that I love. Then I dress Gemma because she is picky, and then Anthony. TJ (my husband is last) because it is easy to find him a plain sweater or button down to match the rest of us.

3) Use an online photo collage app to make sure you like how the outfits look together – it’s hard to tell what everyone’s clothes will look like together. Plus, if you are like me, you are ordering everything online and you don’t want to get to the point where you order stuff, then it comes, and you don’t like how it works. So use an app like Canva, or pic collage and stick the all together to see what it looks like.

4) Don’t forget to mix patterns – sometimes people are afraid to mix up patterns or colors, and in the final picture everyone ends up wearing the same colored shirt and it looks flat. Remember, you can mix flowers, plaids and polka dots – just make sure there are some plain colors added in. Also add accessories for depth. A fur vest on your toddler, a fun belt or a cool headband can add to the picture.

5) Let the kids wear something they like and that is affordable- your son is complaining about having to wear “hard” pants and a button down? Tell him he can still wear his fun sneakers. Daughter isn’t a huge fan of dresses? Find her nice pants or a jumpsuit. If they are happier, the picture will come out better. Also, don’t break the bank on these outfits. My husband and son wear sweaters/jeans/pants/shoes they already have. The clothes I did buy were all under $20. Luna’s gorgeous dress was only $14. Affordable clothes are a must. Here are some places you can find affordable outfits for kids:

*Shein
*H&M
*Old Navy
*Target
*Zara

6) Plan haircuts the day of pictures – doing my hair and the kids hair for pictures takes me forever and never comes out the way I want it. If I can, I wait to schedule their haircuts and my haircuts the day of pictures so then they end up with freshly styled hair from a professional and I end up with a blowout.

7) Have fun – this can be hard to remember with everything that goes into these pictures, but in the end no one will remember the outfits or hair, just the smiles and memories. I ask for a picture alone with each of my kids and my husband because I feel like I never get this. Pick a photographer you are comfortable with and create some memories (and a beautiful Christmas card).