Your Guide to What to Wear for Holiday Family Photos
It can be a hassle to get your family together for the annual holiday photo, but it doesn’t have to be. When in doubt, there’s nothing quite like that matching family set for the yearly holiday photo. As long as you plan ahead of time, you’ll have all of the details you need to make your holiday photo pop. Gather around and take a look at our guide of what to wear for your holiday family photos this season.
1. Accessorize It – Glam up your holiday photo by wearing accessories. Hair jewels are all the rage this season. If you prefer a classic look, go for a headband. A thinner headband allows for a quiet elegance while a thicker headband offers a bolder statement piece.
Besides wearing a headband or other jewelry like pearl necklaces or gold earrings, you can add background accessories. Each family member can hold up a sign with their name or numbers for the year. The signs can also be holiday sayings like “Eat, drink and be merry” or “Let it snow.” When it comes to accessorizing your holiday photo, just have fun with it and let your family’s personality shine.
2. Holiday Colors – Holiday colors add instant festive cheer to your holiday photo. Think deep reds and greens or dark blues. These all pair well with black or white. If you’d prefer darker colors, then try gray and black. Throw in a colorful headband on the little ones so they’re not totally wearing all black or gray. For a more casual look, jeans with cream or white sweaters are always a laidback winner.
3. Matching Outfits – Want a holiday photo without all the fuss? Imagine you’re all snuggled up by the fireplace in snowflake or reindeer pajamas. Matching pajamas conjure an image of cheesy old-school family photos with Mom telling you to smile, but there are so many ways to make matching outfits fun without feeling like you’re in elementary school again.
Try matching scarves if you’d all like to wear something different but want one unifying pattern or color that pops in the photo. Go for matching reindeer ears or Santa hats if you’d like to show off your holiday spirit. Whether you’re going casual, festive or with a theme, colors help keep photo harmony.
4. Festive Patterns – Break out the plaid flannel. Mix red plaid with green plaid and solid colors. These patterns all go well together. In general, both plaid and gingham are winter wardrobe must-haves. You’ll be wearing plaid and gingham through all the cool weather months.
Also, think about the pattern or design of your Christmas card itself. The card’s design should be kept in mind when you’re deciding what outfits to wear. For example, if you plan on doing a decorated Christmas card, you may want to opt for simpler outfits like solid holiday colors. If you plan on doing a plainer Christmas card, like a solid color and one phrase, have your family wear patterns or graphic designs that are bolder. These considerations will help balance out the overall look of the card.
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5. Graphic Designs – Graphic designs are great to play with for everyday wear, but these can be trickier to manage for holiday photos. For example, if you’re wearing a velvet dress, your partner is wearing a plaid flannel shirt and then your little ones are wearing graphic tees with cartoon characters on them, your family photo is going to feel all over the place.
If you want to have a fun photo without looking uncoordinated, then go for a matching theme. You don’t have to stick to holiday plaid attire or red and green. Try other out-of-the-box matching outfit ideas. Wear cowboy boots and hats together. Not everyone lives in a winter wonderland, so why not wear matching Hawaiian shirts? Celebrate your favorite sports team with matching sports jerseys.
6. Have Fun with Textures – Besides colors, patterns and accessories, you’ll also want to think about the texture of your clothing for the holiday photo. Go for velvet dresses and suits. Nothing classes up a photo quite like a velvet blazer. Just make sure that your textures, colors and patterns aren’t blending into the indoor or outdoor surroundings. If you plan on using a statement color or accessory, just make sure it’s enhancing the overall photo and not overpowering the look.
Consider the texture of your physical environment when you’re taking the photo. If you’re taking a photo outside in your backyard, think about the texture of the background. Is the background bold with pine trees and other flora and fauna? Then you may want to have simple solid colors with soft textures like cotton or velvet. If the background is plainer, like the front door of your home, then try bold patterns like gingham or a dress with sparkles. You can wear a statement headband or red lipstick to help make your photo stand out against the plain background.
7. Think About the Background – Now that you’ve matched up every bit of your wardrobe from head to toe, you’ll also want to consider the backdrop of your holiday photo. You don’t want your outfit to overwhelm the background, and you don’t want the background to overwhelm your outfit either.
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No matter what you choose to wear for your next holiday photo, have fun with it. Christmas card photos are still extremely popular, even among the younger generation like Millennials. According to GreetingCard.org, Millennials represent a larger buying population for greeting cards than even Baby Boomers, so the holiday family photo card is still alive and thriving.
Photos are about capturing memories, and there’s no better way to remember that moment than with genuine happy memories as you and your family find yourself laughing and enjoying the process. The first best accessory for a little added flair is a headband with clips, and the next best accessory is your smile.