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UK Christmas Traditions for family photos
In today’s episode, I am pondering different Christmas Traditions that we have in the UK around family photos, both as gifts and the must-take photos I have for my family Christmas Day photos each year. It’s a relatively short list 🙂
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts too, you can comment under this episode’s social media post @photographsinashoebox
About Your Podcast Host – Sue Kennedy of Sue Kennedy Photography
Sue is a professional portrait photographer based in Harlow, Essex and she specialises in baby, child and family portraiture. Being a parent, she understands just how special your child is to you and her aim is to produce a collection of images that are natural and meaningful to your family. No two moments are ever the same and she wants to perfectly capture those early precious memories and the natural character of your child.
For more information please call 01279 433392, or visit the Sue Kennedy Photography website.
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Episode Transcription of Christmas Traditions
Sue Kennedy: (00:03)
Hello, and welcome to the Photographs in a Shoebox Podcast with me, Sue Kennedy. This podcast is all about helping and inspiring you to tell your family’s story in pictures with a gentle reminder to print the photographs you love.
Sue Kennedy: (00:23)
Today, I’m pondering Christmas traditions, specifically family Christmas memories involving photography. So each year I have a small list rattling in my head of the must-take Christmas photographs. So typically, it includes the Christmas dinner table, hopefully, before we’ve eaten everything on it, but not always, when we decorate the Christmas tree and the rest of the house, to be honest. And last year we had Christmas crackers that had photo booth-style props in them.
Sue Kennedy: (01:10)
So a little hats and glasses and other things on sticks that were Christmasy that you could pose with to do some family photographs. So they will be coming out again this year. So I think we might have started a new tradition there. And then also a few years ago, my husband bought a Santa hat with a wooly white beard on it. And we seemed to have a photograph of him every year with that. And also my daughter, not wearing the same hat, but she’s generally got one of the many Santa hats that we seem to have acquired over the years. And we were out shopping at the weekend and she was eyeing up more Santa hats. She likes the type that are on a headband rather than the full hat experience, shall we say? So it’s just interesting as I look back on some of the traditions that we have started in the photography department.
Sue Kennedy: (02:29)
So this year I’ve come across something new, which I quite like the idea of, Christmas tree decorations or photo ornaments as the Americans like to call them. So I’ve seen some fabulous examples. They can be on a metal base, a glass base, an acrylic base, and they are cut into the shape of a bauble. So you get the typical round versions, but you also get some quite detailed shapes and the advantage is they can be personalized. So you can literally put a photograph of your child on there and the year. And I’m told that some parents have done this every year since the baby was born.
Sue Kennedy: (03:16)
And it has become a fabulous tradition because you unbox the Christmas decorations each year and you are putting the ornaments on the tree each year and watching your child grow, literally. Sadly, they’re not easily available here in the UK or so I thought. It’s like, Facebook knows what I’m looking for because an advert popped up for a company in the UK that’s offering a very simple acrylic version. It’s just a simple circle that I’ve been able to personalise with a photograph of my daughter and the year that I took it.
Sue Kennedy: (04:02)
I have just used a photograph that I liked from a recent trip to the beach. So that is on order and I’m looking forward to receiving that. I just wish there were a few more options. But isn’t it funny how the things from America suddenly start popping up here? So let’s keep our fingers crossed that more suppliers start to offer them. I have spoken to a few suppliers and they have got the technology to do it, but they don’t believe the demand is there. So they haven’t actually launched it. But anyway, for us, it’s a good option because we are now past the stage where she will be having photographs with Santa sadly. So that used to be our photo tradition if you like. We would get the picture of her next to Santa and they come out each Christmas.
Sue Kennedy: (05:03)
So you’ve got to think about these traditions that you’re starting and how you will maintain them, or whether you are happy for them to evolve. I think the simplest one is to start, just do a Santa hat because you can do that with a baby and you can do that with a teenager. It might take a bit more negotiation with a teenager, but it should be possible. Anyway, I’d be interested to hear your Christmas photo traditions. So drop me a comment on social media at Photographs in a Shoebox. And that’s all for this episode. So don’t forget to subscribe wherever you are listening so that you never miss an episode. Thank you for joining me today and bye for now.
