Parent Talk Today

Holiday Family Photo Tips

It's December, when we all want to preserve those special times with our families, whether it’s decorating the Christmas tree, lighting the menorah or preparing a Kwanza feast. Time for Mom (AKA the Official Family Photographer) to grab the camera! 

But will there be any holiday photos of YOU for your family to enjoy years from now? If you’re a mom, I dare you to take this challenge: Write the names of each of your immediate family members on a piece of paper, grab 100 holiday photos from the past few years and count how many times each person appears in them.

“I’ll bet your children are in 90 percent of the photos, your husband in 50 percent, and you — well, you’ll be lucky to be in 10 percent of them,” says Lisa Bearnson, founding editor of Creating Keepsakes scrapbooking magazine and co-author, with Siobhan McGowan, of Mom’s Little Book of Photo Tips (Creating Keepsakes Books).

Let’s admit it: Taking pictures of your kids is great fun, especially at the holidays. But it’s important for you to get in the picture, too. Years from now, your children — and grandchildren — will treasure the photos that show your personality, your love for your family — and all those wacky hair styles from decades past. Here are some tips for keeping yourself in the action during those holiday family-photo shoots.

Smilebox Makes Scrapooking, Greeting Cards, Invitations Easy and Fun

I recently discovered a cool new way to create scrapbooks, cards and blog posts with music, movement and more. Check out Smilebox.com. Here's a sample of what I made today. (And it took a whopping 10 minutes, including importing the photo and choosing music.) Thought it would be a kick to share it with you and to tell you how easy it is to create these projects.

If you're like me, you have tons of photos sitting on your computer, and you'd like to have an easy way to share them with family and friends. Smilebox works with Mac or PC and it lets you easily import photos and music. Check it out:

Make a Smilebox greeting