I try to do photos with the kids each year before Christmas.  Sometimes it is myself and both kids.  Other times it is my kids and their three cousins.  We try to tie the photos together but not do a theme (there is always the one that forgets to dress correctly and was also 10 minutes late).  You might want to do this as a tradition to send photos as Christmas cards to family or just to get a nice 8×10 photo to frame on your wall.  Here are a few ideas to save you time and money for your holiday photos.

1- Go easy with the clothing.  Don’t spend hundreds of dollars on outfits they will never wear again.  Find something easy, like a color, to tie the photo together.  I like the idea of red shirts and blue jeans.  Make sure they all have the same color red (blue-red vs orange-red).  You can do something like all white shirts too.  If you have accident-prone kids have them put on their outfit right before you start the picture taking.

2- Use props.  If you are getting the pictures done in a photo studio they will often have props.  This can be as easy some oversized Christmas ornaments or a cute background of trees in the snow.  If you are taking photos on your own go to a park or somewhere outdoors.  Use nature as your props.  You can find candid props, like giant pumpkins, pine trees, have the kids sit on a bench.  Make sure the background behind them is attractive too.

3- Skip professional haircuts and cut your kids’ hair at home.  Save time & money by doing it yourself.  These clippers by GL are great for little kids and teens. They are easy to use and come with a few clip sizes.  I love how they can be charged and then detached from the cord making the hair cutting quick and easy.  These are regularly $79.99, on sale for $26.99.  Plus if you use code: RX8K9VHZ you can get a 40% discount bringing the total to $16.86.   These work great on my son’s hair and I love how simple they are to use.  You can check out GL’s store for great gift giving ideas for the whole family.

4- Trim your list.  If you are mailing out cards limit how many you send out.  Don’t send them to people you haven’t talked to in a few years or you aren’t close with.  If you feel obligated to send them one, do it virtually instead.  You can post it on social media, message the photo to them, email it to them or order the photos online with a link to others where they can order their own copies to print (and pay for themselves).

5- Print photos online.  I like Costco’s options (I can send them in online and pick up in the store a few days later.  SmugMug also has printable photos you can order online plus other photo gift ideas, like mouse pads and coffee mugs.  Get your photos taken and ordered soon enough to have time to address and stuff envelopes, stamp them and get them in the mail so that they’ll arrive before Christmas.