Wow, December has FLOWN by!!  Our December is always so crazy at the studio until we shut down the last week of the year to spend time with family & friends and recharge a bit to get ready for the new year!  Christmas is days away instead of weeks so I started thinking about things I had to do on Christmas morning and came up with a list of tips that help me be prepared on “the big morning” so I can actually enjoy this time with my family.  Hopefully some of these hacks can help you out too!!!

Here are my 12 Insider Tips for a Smooth Christmas Morning!!!

Tip #1 – Charge your good camera, your GoPro, your cell phone…& make sure the memory disk in camera has enough memory for all your photos & videos you are planning to take today (because the kid’s aren’t going to stop in the middle of opening those gifts for you to change it out…haha!).

Tip #2 – Remember to take the time to take those special Christmas morning photos – the Christmas tree with lights on with all the presents underneath before everyone has touched anything…the kid’s opening gifts…the pile of wrapping paper aftermath…the kid’s showing off their goodies…

Tip #3 – Make sure you get photos of everyone…including mom and dad…if you have one, set up a tripod to record so you can have your hands free…

Tip #4 – Have scissors and trash bags ready at adults arms reach (but out of reach for little hands!).

Tip #5 – Outfits.  Some people have special jammies in a Christmas Eve box they do every year as part of a tradition or maybe you all have matching pajamas you wear every year.  Special pj’s or not, plan ahead & set them out ahead of time so you don’t end up with someone sneaking in a ratty tee shirt or too short shorts!

Tip #6 – Cookies, milk, carrots, oats…preparing snacks for Santa and the reindeer is great activity to do with your kids…as long as Santa and the reindeer remember to eat and drink their treats…*wink wink*!!!

Tip #7 – Plan ahead for breakfast so you don’t miss anything. A pre-made breakfast casserole made with eggs or French toast or even some cinnamon rolls you just need to warm up is your best bet so you can just throw it in the oven and stay involved with all the fun and not be stuck in the kitchen!

Tip #8 – Speaking of food & beverages….remember lids for cups…for everyone!!!  You would think kids spill the most but I think my husband spills more drinks by accident than my kids do.  The last thing you need is coffee or juice all over your floor…the gifts…sticky wrapping paper is not fun to clean up and not the greatest way to kick off your morning!!!

Tip #9 – Make sure you stock up on batteries! The worst thing is a kid opening a gift & wanting to play with their new toy and you don’t have the batteries it needs!!  Even the dollar store has batteries if you want to keep a small stock of each size for in a pinch!

Tip #10 – Have your Christmas music playlist ready to go to make the atmosphere cheerful. You can always throw on the Pandora app on your phone or the music channels on the tv but have it planned ahead of time so the kids aren’t throwing a fit waiting for you to do all your “get ready” stuff when they just want to get to opening!  It’s a nice background too when you are recording the kids opening.

Tip #11 – Make a plan to FaceTime or Skype family members when you are long distance so they can see their gift being opened. Or, take a photo of the child with the gift for the thank you note.

And finally….Tip #12 – Make sure once you get your photos captured you take the time to enjoy the moment and fun for yourself!!!!!  It’s great to have to photos & videos to look at later but nothing replaces being in the moment!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

XoXo,

Jeanine