A Very Merry Christmas + Tips for DIY Family Photos

 

 

We've never taken Christmas pictures as a family or sent out Christmas cards but since welcoming our daughter earlier this year, I really wanted to make it happen and start creating traditions as a family that they'll remember growing up and perhaps carry into families of their own one day.

I thought about hiring a photographer for a hot minute but then decided against it knowing that the current dynamics of our family (a never-not-moving baby and a super silly 8 year old) were better suited for pictures at home where they felt comfortable and relaxed. It was hard work, but I'm so glad we committed to at home family pictures, in matching jammies no less, despite my nerves and hesitation about getting a "good enough" photo for our first ever family Christmas card.

It was definitely a learning curve to get all 4 of us with a decent enough expression at the same time but here's a few tips for what I believe helped us the most:

Pre-Plan

Make sure the outfits are washed, ironed, and looking spiffy - whatever you need to get you and your family photo ready! It's also great idea to think about your photo layout ahead of time. Do you want a horizontal or vertical card? Where will your holiday greeting go? Be sure to leave enough "open space" in your photo for that festive holiday greeting. Thinking about these details ahead of time will force you to think about the composition of your photo before it goes to print - last thing you want is a holiday greeting that goes across someone's face.

Timing

Be thoughtful when choosing the time to take your family pictures. For us that meant after Emie's morning nap. She needs that extra 1-2 hours of rest before she's up and ready to go for her longest stretch of awake time. Make sure everyone is well feed and not hangry too - adults included!

Be Ready

This is probably my biggest tip because when good attitudes and happy demeanors are a ticking clock, you want to have all your ducks in a row and ready to go! Since the baby sleeps in our room and we were using the bed as our backdrop - I did a lot of prep work before we laid her down to nap. I cleared off the nightstands on either side of our bed to make sure our mess wasn't in frame, straightened the bed, and removed frames we had hung above the bed for a cleaner look that would allow for a holiday greeting above our heads to be printed on our cards. We also set up the camera on the tripod, paired the remote (my phone), and situated the tripod in the best spot. Here's Lila testing the remote:

 

While the baby was napping everyone else dressed in their jammies and once she woke up we dressed her, and gave her a bottle (no one wants a hangry baby) while I pulled back and drapes and took a few test shots to make sure the lighting was right.

 

 

Use a Tripod + Remote

Once you've set everything up - let your tools do the work! I have this tripod and it comes in handy for these exact situations. I also use this IR Camera Remote app that we just downloaded to my phone - easy peasy. We set the remote up so that it was voice controlled and we probably snapped close to 300 pics by voice only. It started out innocently enough with us adults yelling cheese! or smile! but then our silly 8 year old wanted in on the fun and started yelling poop! and fart! and before you know it, we were cracking up! But when the baby started screaming and shouting to snap a pic, we laughed so hard we cried.

Go With the Flow and Have Fun

It's hard to snap a family picture and expect perfection especially when little ones are involved. The kids were supposed to wear matching santa hats but the baby refused to keep it on. We tried to put a bow in her hair instead but she kept pulling it out and chewing on it. You win some, you lose some but I didn't let it ruin the mood or our pictures.

But because we knew that the baby would be more reluctant to cooperate, we did ask our 8 year old to always be ready and smiling because we knew that she was more than capable of being photo ready and that way we really only had to worry about getting one child to cooperate vs 2. For the most part she was a rockstar - always ready, always smiling:

 

But other times...she was just her silly 8 year old self and got a little carried away with that Santa hat.

 

 

All in all, I call it a success and look forward to many more years of family Christmas photos - but how will we ever top the matching jammies?

 

I hope my tips for taking your own family photos help next time you try to tackle this daunting task and if you have any helpful hints of your own, please be sure to share in the comments below! We could all use a little help, amiright?

 

But before I sign off I want to share a few honorable mentions and a few outtakes too because when you took 300 pictures just to get ONE shot, it just wouldn't be right not to share...

 

Honorable Mentions (the ones that almost made the card)

 

My favorite candid moment:

 

 

Goofy face 8 year old and chewing on the bow baby:

 

Almost, but not quite:

 

The Outakes (AKA the funny ones)

 

 

 

 

 

From my family to yours - we wish you all the merriest Christmas! 2017 has been nothing short of amazing - we welcomed our littlest babe and we've continued making this house our home while occasionally sharing our progress along the way here. As we leave 2017, I couldn't be more grateful to celebrate this Christmas with friends, family, and watch the magic of Christmas through our daughter's eyes. If you're an old friend or new here, thank you for all the support and encouragement along the way. See you in 2018!

 

XO,
Danae

Reviewing Our Couch - 5 Years Later

By far the thing I get asked most about on social media or the blog is about our couch. Despite it being nearly 5 years old, it's still all anyone ever wants to know about. I thought it might be helpful to put a post together with all the couch info in one place for all those who are always asking. I think it's safe to say that we've fully vetted all the pros and cons over the last 5 years so I thought we'd pass the info along.

 

It took us quite a while to find the perfect couch - but not for lack of looking! My other half has a really hard time making any sort of large purchase without exhaustively seeing all the options two or three times! When we moved in together we were couch-less for nearly 3 months before he felt confident enough that we had seen everything there was to be seen and were making the right choice. By the end of it all I would've bought any couch just to stop the insanity.

We ended up purchasing our couch at a local store called the Design Center Furniture - a place we visited three times during our search. We chose a Robert Michael couch from the Rocky Mountain Collection and what we loved most about the couch was that it was completely customizable. The top 3 things on my couch wish list were: comfort, washable cushions, and a loose pillow back. Being able to customize our couch allowed us to tick all those boxes.

 

CUSTOMIZATION:

 

Our first apartment's living room was over 15 ft long so we ended up going with a 2 piece configuration - a 1 arm sofa and chaise - making for an 11 foot couch! I loved that we had the ability to choose any configuration that would suit our lifestyle and a length that was perfect for our space.

 

We were also able to choose the couch fabric and fabric for 4 coordinating pillows. For the most part we chose a great fabric...it's very forgiving and has worn extremely well and since baby girl has come along...it's taken quite a beating. But there is a downside! The fabric is ribbed and directional which means it doesn't really allow us to flip the cushions or pillow backs for optimal wear. Since the ribbing is directional and if flipped the direction of the ribbing gets a "ruffled" look...but that's due to our choice in fabric and not about the quality of the fabric.

 

COMFORT:

 

I want our home to be and look lived-in and cozy and I think the couch really helps us achieve that goal. I think what makes our couch so comfy are the down filled cushions and one I recommend!

 

Aside from aesthetics, the couch is the epitome of comfort. The standard high density foam cushions are wrapped in down which makes it extra squishy and soft. I can't remember if this was standard or an option we chose but we love it. The couch is very deep which is great for tall people (not us) and our older family members do sometimes have difficulty getting up (pregnant people too - ha) because you really just sink into it and it's pretty low to the ground.

Next time around, we'll definitely get a couch with legs so it's higher off the ground and easier to get up from. No biggie though.

WASHABLE:

 

What I wanted most in a couch was removeable cushion covers that can be removed and thrown in the washer for easy cleaning - and after a scare with that spray hair coloring (red!!!) - I've never been more grateful to be able to throw the covers in the wash. I typically wash the covers 2-3 times a year but I stress less about accidental spills on our couch knowing they're so easy to clean.

 

After a quick run through the wash and spin through the dryer they're fluffier, snugger, and the couch looks brand new all over again.

 

LOOSE BACK:

 

This was also high on my list of must-haves! Loose pillow back prevents that smushed look you sometimes get with cushions that are attached to the couch - or if you have an animal who loves perching atop the couch. The loose back cushions are basically just giant pillows that can be fluffed and made to look brand new again!

 

 

It does mean that they often get disheveled throughout our every day use but I mean...how cute is this? Makes for great fort building too!

 

 

So after an exhaustive 3 month couch hunt, I'm super happy with our couch and am extremely impressed with how it's held up the last 5 years we've owned it. We aren't currently in the market for a new couch but I am sorta itching for a new one.

 

Here's what we'd do and wouldn't do next time:

Again: purchase a couch with loose pillow back

Again: purchase a couch with removeable cushion covers for easy washing

Again: purchase a couch with down filled or down wrapped cushions

Not Again: purchase a couch with directional fabric

Not Again: purchase a couch so low to the ground

Not Again: spend 3 months looking :)

And if you need even more couch inspo - here are a few couches that I'm really loving and would snatch up in a heart beat!

 Six Penny - Neva Modular Sectional

 Interior Define - Caitlin Chaise Sectional

 

 Article - Sven Chaise Sectional

  

West Elm - Andes Chaise Sectional

 

 Tell me! What are your couch must-haves and what is a normal life expectancy for a couch?