A Picture Perfect Christmas Memory

In the years that I have been “adult” enough to feel the pressure of sending a holiday card, I have never succeeded. We didn’t do them when we got married and told ourselves that we would after having kids, but nope, still no Christmas cards. There were attempts, but we realized that by the time we took our photos, it was often too late to send the card! Besides, the photos will be posted to social media and that’s good enough, right?

This year, we are preparing for a cross-country move only days after Christmas and decided that probably there will not be a holiday photoshoot and for sure we will not be sending cards until after the New Year (with our new address!).

This morning, Facebook reminded me of a sweet memory of our Christmas photos from last year that was so perfectly dysfunctional in the way that holiday photos with young children often are. Every single one of them is a blooper and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

In the first place, these photos only exist because our church had a backdrop set up for families to take photos. By the time we got ourselves together to have our photo taken in front of the backdrop, the photographer was done for the day, so our photos were captured on an iPhone (which explains their poor quality).

"...I love these photos more than any straight-faced smiling photographs that would be the alternatives because it captures what life was like at that moment in time."

It was our daughter's first Christmas. Pause for tears. She was almost six-months-old and just so much fun! She always wore a big, goofy grin on her face that made her eyes squint. But when it came time to take our holiday photos last year, she opted instead for a puckered face, blowing raspberries for most of our mini photoshoot. All the while, she was squirming around everywhere and trying to get out of my lap, pulling my dress up in many of the photos that did not get saved.

This is nothing unusual of course, but just life with a baby! For that reason, I love these photos more than any straight-faced smiling photographs that would be the alternatives because it captures what life was like at that moment in time.

Before having our daughter, I had a much different perspective on the holidays. It was important to me to have the right outfits for Christmas events, make loads of homemade cookies, and do as many holiday activities as possible. Of course, none of those things happened that year. I was much too busy with a young baby to bake batches and batches of holiday cookies or shop for the perfect holiday ensemble. There were no “silent nights,” that’s for sure! The new-mom life was exhausting! I had quickly learned that bundling a baby up to see lights, or attend Christmas parties, or any such holiday activity just was not worth the effort. Oftentimes, I would find myself in the back room at a party, nursing my daughter for long periods of time and missing out. I look back on last Christmas now and miss it. As tiring as it all was, those were also some of the most blissful days of my life.

Even with our daughter being so young and not knowing what was happening yet, her being with us just added so much joy to the Christmas season. As anyone with children in their lives will know, there just isn’t the same kind of Christmas magic without them. They will also know that where there are children, there is dysfunction. It may be frustrating at times, but it keeps us laughing and keeps us humble!

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!