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Usually I write a nice, spiritual paragraph to accompany our Christmas picture, and then I post it here so everyone can feel warm and fuzzy. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Except this year we had quite an adventure trying to get the perfect Christmas card picture.
(I wish I had the emoji with the crying/laughing face to sprinkle throughout this post. It would be SO appropriate. That and the monkey with his hands over his eyes.)
Here’s what happened. I thought about hiring a photographer to take our picture. But then it was nearly impossible to find someone who was available when Paul wasn’t working (and who wasn’t charging more than my entire Christmas budget for one. stinking. picture). So I got the genius idea to just take the picture ourselves, at home, when we we were free (and when I was having a good hair day). The day before Thanksgiving we set up a nice little photo shoot and tried to get some good pictures on my camera. I filmed part of it (which you can see here).
The only problem is, when you take your own pictures there’s no one to tell you that you have lipstick on your teeth. Which I did. Big time. Yes, Paul was there. No, he didn’t notice. So besides the fact that he made a TON of goofy faces when I thought he was smiling, in the ONE good picture we did get, I have lipstick on my teeth. I tried to edit it, but the quality of the picture really wasn’t good enough for editing. I got a good “Thanksgiving” picture for Instagram and that was that.
We decided to try again later that weekend. I checked my teeth for lipstick and set the camera timer. It did not go well. I felt like Phyllis in The Office episode where they try to get the “jumping” picture for the office Christmas card. I just had the hardest time looking normal. What.
Let’s just look at a few outtakes:
Are you wiping tears of laughter from your eyes? I am! I decided I couldn’t start the timer, get settled, fix my vest and smile normally in ten seconds. So I ditched the vest and we FINALLY got a decent picture. I don’t know how you people with kids do it. LOL.
So the next time you see a perfect Christmas card picture, just think of me and laugh. It might not have been as perfect as it looks. I think there’s a life lesson in there for all of us. 🙂
Merry Christmas from the Pendells!
Come Home For Comfort 
Photos can be the bane of our existence, but they also create lots of memories. Glad you were able to find a workable one amidst the struggle! 🙂 I don’t have a tripod (gasp!), so that’s another of my issues. Photography’s always a challenge, but I enjoy it!
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I got a tripod and a remote for Christmas and it makes pictures SO much easier!
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Christmas card pictures are definitely a labor of love. They take a lot of work most years, but are always worth it. I love getting picture cards in the mail and always appreciate the effort they take. You did a great job with your at home photo shoot. Those can be so pricey with a photographer so I’m glad you came up with a great money saving option at home. We used to have my mom take our pictures (engagement, Christmas card, etc) to save money and they turned out great. Love your best shot and the outtakes made me laugh. It takes a lot to get a good picture of everyone. It’s like a Christmas miracle to get a picture where we’re all looking, most are smiling and no one is crying. haha
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For some reason, this year was such an epic struggle…it’s a good thing I didn’t try to get the cats in there. LOL.
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Awww it turned out perfect! Listen, you would laugh so hard to see my blog outfit outtakes.lol And the next time you have lipstick on your teeth, send me the pic and I’ll fix it for you😉
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I will do that! I tried to edit it in PicMonkey, but it made my teeth too white and it looked obvious. 🙂
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So funny! Getting a good picture is hard. I think I took about 30 pics of my son for our card. At least you have some fun pics to look back on!
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I can’t even imagine putting children in the mix! LOL!
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The video montage is hilarious! Cute picture though!
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I just thought it was too funny not to share! 🙂
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So cute! Sometime the outtakes are my favorite photos! You definitely found the perfect one!
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Thanks! I was cracking up going through those pictures. 🙂
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You got a great picture…that is why you should take a lot at one time, I have found this to be true with trying to get a good photo of all my grands.
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Thanks, Arlene! Yes, I’m SO thankful to have digital pictures these days. 🙂
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🙈😂 There you go! That was funny to read about. The bottom right photo says it all! Love the result, though! Such a great pic!
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Thank you. Haha!!
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The picture is perfect!
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It only took 27 tries. 🙂 Thanks!
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You are too funny and I feel your pain. We always take our Christmas card pic by our tree. This year we had to take at least 8x’s before we got a good pic! It is always comical at first and then everyone is like come on just sit and smile! Even the dogs start getting fidgety. Oh well, we have christmas memories that we can laugh at. 😂😊 Your Christmas photo turned out perfect!
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Isn’t it crazy how hard it is to get everyone looking at the camera and smiling normally at the same time? 🙂
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Love this! Merry Christmas!
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Thank you! Merry Christmas to you!
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