- Xemlicham

As an adult, the holidays are filled with magic, yes — but they are also a LOT of work because… we are the ones making most of said magic!

So today I’ve teamed up with Minted to help reduce a bit of the holiday grind. I present to you: how to nail your holiday card without a professional photographer, and/or without losing your cool on your entire family.

No stress, no perfection required, just real life captured in a way that feels good. Let me walk you through it.

Thank you to Minted for sponsoring today’s email! Use code CARO for 20% off Minted stationery and gifts including holiday cards, and 10% off Minted art1.

OK, let’s start here… you do not need to hire a professional photographer in order to get amazing family pictures. If it brings you joy, working with one is a great option! But if it adds stress in any way, just skip it — the camera on your phone is fantastic.

Some tips for making your iPhone photos look professional:

Go to Settings > Camera > and turn on “Grid” — this will help whoever is taking the photo center your bodies in the image. You can also turn on “Level,” which helps them make sure the picture isn’t tilted.
Keep HDR on “Auto.” If you don’t see that option under Settings > Camera, your phone likely automatically does this.
Use Portrait Mode for that blurry background magic if you’re into it. Skip it if you’re not into the blurred background.
Instruct your “photographer” — AKA, whoever is taking your family’s photo — to tap on someone’s face before they take the pic. This will focus and adjust the light automatically.
If needed, edit your pic. In your Photos app, tap the icon that has three lines and circles beneath the image. Slightly increase or decrease the brightness, exposure, contrast, etc., as needed to make the colors in the photo pop. You can also adjust the orientation, or crop the photo, if it’s off-center or tilted.
- Another editing hack is to use a black-and-white filter, either in your Photos app or through Minted’s editing tools. It can instantly make a pic look cleaner and more professional.

Where to take the photo

Anywhere with good natural light! But not in DIRECT sunlight. You want lots of light, but no direct light on your faces, which will make people squint or cast shadows. Think near a big window mid-morning. Your backyard an hour-ish before sunset. Your front porch. Even just your couch if you’ve got a window nearby. You could also walk around your neighborhood and find a spot with some pretty trees, a grassy field, or a charming street backdrop. Or head to a public park nearby!

Whether you’re taking iPhone pics or are working with a real photographer, don’t go overboard trying to get to a picturesque but inconvenient location. Especially if small children are involved, the more convenient the place, the better — otherwise, you’re just inviting stress! What’s important is your fam, not the backdrop.

Who is taking this photo?!

A friend! But don’t just count on this randomly happening. Text them, intentionally, and ask for a favor. “Hey, can you come over Saturday morning for coffee and take like 10 minutes of photos of us for our holiday card? I’ll absolutely return the favor.”

That’s it. They don’t need photography skills. They just need to stand there, press the button a bunch, and maybe make your kids laugh (which is easier for literally anyone who isn’t their parent).

Just ask them to take SO many. Like 50 shots. You only need one to be good!

The candid shot where everyone’s actually laughing? Or most are laughing, and one person is just looking somewhat normal, even if they’re not all looking at the camera? That’s the keeper.

Another good option? Get a tripod and use your phone’s self-timer!

PS, is my friend who took ours!

The goal for this photoshoot is for the vibes to be HAPPY AND FUN! Not stressful and yell-y. The more fun everyone is having, the better the pics will be. If you are working with a professional photographer, they will likely have some tricks up their sleeve. Otherwise, here are my tried-and-true techniques for getting my kids to smile (a real smile!) for a pic:

Turn on their favorite songs. Songs about farts make them laugh? Great, blast ‘em. Get the person taking the pic to say words you know will make them giggle, such as…

Oh no! Is there poop on my head?!?! Who pooped on my head??
Wait a second!! There’s a bird pooping on my camera!!! WHO SAW THAT?? POO POO ON MY CAMERA!!!
WHOEVER LOOKS AT MY CAMERA AND LAUGHS GETS THE FIRST PIECE OF CANDY.

And most importantly, promise to take them to get ice cream after the photoshoot wraps.

The holiday cards I remember — the ones I really love getting — are the messy ones. The kid laughing while looking at their little brother. The dog mid-zoomie. Someone looking in the complete wrong direction. That’s REAL, and real is so much better than everyone fake-smiling at the camera.

I’ve spent years trying to wrangle everyone into cooperation — and coordinated outfits — for one perfect shot, and you know what I’ve learned? It’s miserable. For everyone. And the photos often look stiff and weird.

So let your child wear the ill-fitting shorts or ratty tie-dye T-shirt that they’re begging to wear. You’ll love the photo 10 times more a decade from now when you’re chuckling over the shirt they wore almost everyday for a year straight, compared to if they wore some fancy cableknit sweater and a scowl.

Minted has so many designs that actually look BETTER with imperfect, real-life photos. The modern layouts make even your most chaotic moment look intentional and sweet. Stop trying to force a perfect moment. Just capture a real one!

Don’t look at the kids. Stop talking nonstop, telling them to look at the camera. Your “photographer” needs to do all of the directing. Your only job is to look at the camera, smiling the entire time. Don’t make it harder to get a good pic of everyone by being the problem! Look at the camera and smile no matter what chaos is unfolding around you.

Plot twist: What if you just… don’t include a photo at all?

Text-only cards are beautiful and elegant and classic. One of my friends sends a gorgeous embossed text-only holiday card every year that I’m always so excited to receive.

Minted has SO many beautiful non-photo options like this, this, and this (pictured here from left to right).

This is my favorite move when I’m not in the mood to coordinate even the most casual family photo for a holiday card. I just choose a card design that incorporates multiple photos, then scroll through my camera roll from the last year and upload a handful of my favorite pics. This takes the pressure off getting one great picture, eliminates the need for even a low-lift shoot, and can give each person in your family a moment to shine! Here, here, and here are a few of our favorites.

Use the optional photo on the back of the card to announce a new family member, if you’ve got one!

If you have a new baby, let your holiday card pull double duty as a birth announcement, too! Minted has lots of options for back-of-card photo and text designs, so the front of the card can be your holiday greeting, and the back can be a birth announcement.

And finally, a loving reminder: If you skip holiday cards entirely this year (or every year), that’s great, too!

The Holiday Card Police do not exist. Your friends will still love you if you don’t send a card this year — or any year!! In fact, they likely will not even notice. I certainly don’t send a holiday card every year. I do it when it feels fun and skip it when it doesn’t.

If you DO want to send a card this year — if it brings you joy and not just stress — then let’s make it easy. Grab your phone, take some photos of your real life, pick a pretty card on Minted, and let them address the envelopes for you (recipient address printing is a free add-on and 1,000% worth it).

Real-life messy, blurry chaos is actually the reason for the season — so let it show!

Use code CARO for 20% off Minted stationery and gifts including holiday cards, and 10% off Minted art.

The Holiday Card Police do not exist, but the unofficial Grammar Police do exist. Here are a few tips to avoid typos on that card you’ve worked so hard to make!

How to make a last name plural

If the name ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh, add an “es”
- For example: The Joneses, The Prakeshes, The Cortezes
If the name is already plural-sounding, either don’t change it, or, if you’d rather, write it like: “The __ Family”
- For example: The Chambers, The Chambers Family
For any other name, simply add an “s”
- For example: The Smiths, The Ramseys, The Nguyens
NEVER add an apostrophe s — doing so makes it possessive not plural!
- For example: The Avary’s, The Fox’s — nope, don’t do that when addressing a card!

How to address a card when the couple doesn’t share a last name

I kept my last name when George and I got married, and friends have asked me over the years how they should address our holiday card. Even though we don’t hyphenate our last name, it’s OK to do that for a holiday card! So you can address to “The LastName-LastName Family.”

Each week we flip through the What To Cook archives to see what we were cooking this time in years past. The temps are dropping, costumes are coming out, and chilis are bubbling — add one (or all!) of these meals to your menu this Halloween week.

1. the perfect fall chicken and kale salad, 2024

This hearty good-all-week salad proves that kale doesn’t have to be boring! We pair it with juicy chicken, roasted squash, crunchy apple, a tangy dressing, and more. It’s SO GOOD.

2. creamy white turkey chili, 2023

Looking for a pre-trick-or-treating dinner idea for Friday? Make a big pot of chili! This turkey chili is lighter than a beef chili, but still delivers that cozy, creamy, cold-weather comfort.

3. beef and three bean chili, 2022

If beef chili’s more your style, here’s my fave. It stars big chunks of tender meat, three kinds of beans, and classic chili flavor that deepens as it simmers. Make it ahead of time — it will only get better overnight — and don’t skip our must-have accoutrements for the toppings bar: Fritos and sour cream!

4. seared tuna with sesame noodles, 2021

A 45-minute (max!), fancy-feeling meal that hits every note: crisp sesame-crusted tuna, slurpable noodles, and a rich, tahini-soy sauce that feels straight off a restaurant menu.

Our friends at Minted want to cover the cost of one What To Cooker’s holiday cards! Comment on this post by end of day Tuesday, 11/4, for a chance to win $350 in Minted credit2. Tell us about your October favorites — clothes you wore, home products you couldn’t live without, shows you watched, moments to remember, etc. — or, share which Minted holiday card design you have your eye on! We will randomly select a winner on Wednesday, 11/5.