Getting the kids involved with photography during the holidays is a great way to add meaning to the season.
By establishing some fun, new traditions or organizing events centered around photography, you can give your
kids something more than gifts to look forward to as the holidays roll around every year.
Take an annual photo
Each year, on the first day of winter, usually December 21st, take your child's picture in front of a landmark
near your home (a big tree, a familiar building) or in front of your home itself. Keeping this series of photos
in a single album or flipbook is a wonderful way to keep track of changes that are too subtle to observe in the
course of day-to-day life. Get tips for taking pictures in the snow.
This project can be a fun way to work on counting with your preschooler or more abstract ideas with older kids.
For each of the twelve days of Christmas, eight days of Chanukah, or seven days of Kwanzaa, give your child a topic
to photograph.
For example on the third day of the holiday, ask your child to take three photos that say something to her about
the spirit of giving. Print them out right away and affix them to a big piece of poster board, starting with "one"
at the top, down to the highest number forming a row at the bottom.
The magic of numbers and the themes of the season can come to life for your child all at once!
Under the tree is too easy! Make everyone work for those gifts, all while having a memorable time. For kids
who can't yet read (or even those who can), give photo clues for a scavenger hunt. Try taking close-ups of a
pet's fur, a child's pillow or doll, the kitchen counter or whatever you choose. Let each photo clue lead to the
next (have the picture of the child's doll waiting to be found by the pet's bed, for example).
After your child has found all the clues, have a prize waiting wherever the last clue has led her. Her biggest
holiday gift or a framed photo of something important to her (the entire family, a favorite toy, herself) makes a
wonderful reward.
The presents are opened and everyone is full. Now what? Make a stack of 4" x 6" family photos, vacation photos,
landscape photos, or best of all, a mix of these.
Have each person take turns drawing three photos from the pile and laying them out on a flat surface in the
order in which they were drawn. The first picture will be the subject of the beginning of a story; the second
picture, the middle; and the third will be the ending. Using a stopwatch or timer, give each person one minute
to weave the three photos into a tale, tall or otherwise. Watch the memories and the laughs start to flow!
At HP's Activity Center,
kids can easily make holiday cards for their friends and family, either with their own photos or family favorites.
With these cards, kids can start creating their own holiday spirit! Snapfish,
HP's simple online photo sharing site, offers even more options for creating fun, personalized
photo greeting cards.
For a simple holiday centerpiece, purchase a photo tree at a gift or photo frame store, and fill it with photos
your children have taken and/or photos you have taken of your children. This decoration will provide the
grown-ups with a great conversation-starter with the kids, beyond asking what grade they're in—again!
Landscape-oriented, wallet-size photos happen to share dimensions with tent-shaped, card stock table setting
place cards (3 ½" x 2 ½"). For your holiday gathering, instead of writing people's names on their place cards,
affix a wallet-sized photo of each guest at a much younger age. Kids will love seeing what the grown-ups looked
like in a former age, and it's a great way to give your holiday gathering a sense of history.
A scanner will enable you to use pictures from a time before there were digital cameras.
Try inexpensive frames instead of paper place cards for your 3 ½" x 2 ½" photos. Your guests will appreciate the souvenirs!
If you like the idea of a keepsake of the season that tells a story, you can make a scrapbook that records your
family's tale over time. Every year, ask members of your family to bring a few photos of highlights of the previous
year to include.
In the book, write a few questions that every family member, including the kids, can answer every year. For
example, "What was the funniest moment of this year's Christmas?" or "What was the best gift you received for
Hanukkah this year?" The questions can be as factual or as funny as you choose.
While it might take a little organization and cajoling to get each person to participate, everyone will be
grateful to have such a wonderful document of your family's history.
This year, include your printer in the holiday fun. With
HP's newest compact photo printers
getting your photos out of your camera and into your hands is a blast for you and your kids! With newer models
you can add captions to photos with either a stylus or the printer's touchscreen keyboard. Built-in borders
and graphics make designing your own greeting cards and scrapbook pages a snap. No PC required!
Take a free online class
in digital photography! Explore the many features of your digital camera, find tips for cropping and editing your
images, and discover new ideas for sharing your photos in creative ways.
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