Inspiration
Capturing The Best Imperfect Christmas Morning
4th November 2022Ahhh Christmas morning breaks…. perhaps for you and many Aussie mums, the mind-bend crazy realisation of that moment, as you and your family rouse from sleep, is that you are literally staring straight down the barrel of a big climatic wave of family traditions, lunch dos and gatherings, food-induced comas, and big clean ups. This morning is the flood gates opening to that chaotic frenzy ahead.
For many, Christmas morning is a culmination of weeks' worth of planning, budget squeezing, worrying to make ends meet, never ending to-do lists, shopping lists, wish lists, dishing out Santa bribes, stringing Christmas lights and tree decorating, exhausting end-of-school concerts, half-asleep gift-wrapping sessions conscious of the fact that your crafty work will inevitably be terrorised and ripped apart by eager skilful fingers. And possibly for the non-fainthearted, resurfacing suppressed recollections of ankle biters crying in the Christmas toy aisle. And the list goes on. "Why do we do it? Next year will be different" is the question and promise one asks oneself every year…surely there's an easier way out of all these expectations for the average Aussie mum?
But in a blink of an eye, before the narrowing space and time between you and that imaginary finish line of Christmas Day draws to a close, it’s this fleeting Christmas morning moment with our kids, partners, pets, and family that we could actually take a deep breath for, appreciate and say life at this tiny micro moment is imperfectly perfect.
One thing Covid taught us was to appreciate what we’ve got and make it work. So, this year, instead or in addition to the picture-perfect Family Santa photo, celebrate and capture that morning's imperfectly perfect moment with a real family picture.
We asked kids fashion stylist Angie Lotz and social media specialist Alice Shaw how to take the perfectly imperfect Christmas family picture.
Here's their top 5 tips:
- Set your camera setting to multiple shots so every real moment is captured.
- Get everyone that's in the house into the shot, including the pets and grandparents. Put some music on, make it impromptu and make it fun.
- Background - real is ideal, and the messier the better. Inside or outside, natural light is ideal.
- Do something quick and fun to get everyone in the shot. Maybe everyone can open one present all at the same time. If Sam and Timmy are jumping over you in bed with the dog - snap that. Talk about any funny stories and moments. Perhaps dad just did a fluff and mum's hair is a mess and everyone is laughing - snap that!
- Find another word to use instead of "cheese". Perhaps a couple of funny word strung together like "cactus, porcupine, belly flops" - the more nonsensical the better and get everyone to take part in making up some funny word combos.
BONUS TIP: Enjoy and savour this fleeting moment. It’s not meant to be perfect; you've got the rest of the day for that.
Chaotic family life is the heartbeat of every Christmas morning. And just remember a few more hours and you are almost there home free, ready to make it all happen again for next year!
