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Christmas

An Average Mom’s Christmas House Tour

December 22, 2014 by danawyyc 1 Comment

It turns out I am not the only one whose house doesn’t look like a magazine. My friend Katie writes short book reviews that don’t pull any punches over at Brass Knuckle Book Reviews. She decided to do a Christmas House tour too. Check it out! 

I love drooling over the beautiful Christmas house tours that are on Pinterest and some of my favourite blogs at this time of year. But, like Dana, my house looks nothing like that. There are not even small sections of my house that look like that.

Unlike Dana, I don’t have the excuse of being 9 months pregnant. I’m just an average mom, and I think my house looks like an average mom’s house at Christmas. It’s not messier than everyone else’s, right??

Here’s my Christmas tour!

messy xmas - Christmas Tree - talkinginallcaps.com

This is our tree. I may have over-estimated the space we had available in that corner. It’s also about to fall over because my husband did not anchor it to the wall like I asked him to. It’s totally blocking our access to toy storage in the corner, but I still love it.

messy xmas  - couch - talkinginallcaps.com

In this shot, you can see the tree encroaching on our couch like a triffid. We also have another festive pile of Christmas stuff here. And one of the kids has added some joyful red marker to the couch, clearly to add to the Christmas spirit of our home. There’s also an ornament on the couch. The kids and the cats keep taking them off, which is making me crazy.

messy xmas 2 - talkinginallcaps.com

On the couch, we have a festive assortment of Christmas stuffies. They have clearly been arranged with special care.

messy xmas couch 2 - talkinginallcaps.com

Just above the stuffies, I have some unopened shipments of Christmas presents on display. I haven’t managed to get them down to the basement yet, much less wrap them.

messy xmas doll house - talkinginallcaps.com

We got some tiny lights and a teeny fire pit for the dollhouse this year, which I think looks insanely cute. You can also see the wreaths and garland sitting on the table here, because the sticky stuff that I used to put them on the house was not sticky ENOUGH. I’ve been meaning to find an alternative, but I’m really busy watching the tree slowly tip over.

messy xmas TV - talkinginallcaps.com

We also have some festive Christmas penguins. These are flanking the focal point of our living room, our TV.

messy xmas mantel - talkinginallcaps.com

Here is our Christmas mantle. I shoved our regular mantle things to the sides, and then put some of my Christmas toys up there. I bought the garland this year, and I meant to put it ON the mantle, but I can’t figure out how to make it stick. This is a recurring issue with me, apparently. So instead, the garland is hanging right on top of my “Merry Christmas” banner from Target.

You may have noticed that we don’t have stockings. My daughter is four this year, so I think she’s finally old enough to notice. I need to buy some. It’s the 21st of December, and I still haven’t gotten around to this.

messy xmas books - talkinginallcaps.com

In this shot, you can see the giant silver bin where I keep our Christmas books. I always have books readily accessible for the kids, because I’m a librarian like that.

You can also see some additional mess here. I cleaned yesterday, so this is at least 75% less messy than usual. But you can still see the white paper stuck to the floor where the kids spilled something on a colouring book.

messy xmas felt tree - talkinginallcaps.com

I made this tree out of felt, and then I made felt ornaments to stick to it. The kids actually never play with this incredibly thoughtful DIY project, because the ornaments don’t stick as WELL as they want. I put it up anyhow because I am proud that I actually MADE something that I saw on Pinterest.

messy xmas outdoor lights - talkinginallcaps.com

This is a shot of our exterior Christmas lights. As you can see, they are still sitting in a Tupperware bin by the front door. Again, today is December 21st. I would like to get them up before Christmas, but it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t happen this year.

messy xmas Christmas Penguin - talkinginallcaps.com

My husband bought this Christmas penguin from Earl’s 20 years ago. It’s paper mache, and it was made by someone who doesn’t know what a penguin beak looks like. But I still love it. We put candy canes in his Santa sack every year. We then find small pieces of candy cane stuck to furniture and floors for the rest of the season.

messy xmas artwork - talkinginallcaps.com

I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to ways to creatively display your kids’ art work. But I still just tape it to the wall.

messy xmas fridge - talkinginallcaps.com

Our Santa photos are on the fridge, because… what do you do with Santa photos? I have never been able to figure this out.

messy xmas kitchen - talkinginallcaps.com

Here’s a shot of our kitchen, where the décor includes some festive Christmas treats lovingly tossed on the counter for people to snack on. You have to search through the rest of the mess though, so it’s a fun challenge.

messy xmas Christmas Cards - talkinginallcaps.com

This is our Christmas card display, and I actually love it. I just took put of those stick-on Command hooks on either side of the window, and tied a couple of long ribbons to them. Then I used small binder clips to attach the cards. For the rest of the year, I hang some of the kids’ art here too.

That’s it! If you don’t have any lights up, or don’t own stockings, you are not alone. And I’m pretty sure our kids won’t be irreparably harmed. Messy Christmas! I mean Merry.

Filed Under: Thoughts Tagged With: Christmas, Home Tour

A 9 Months Pregnant Mom’s Christmas Home Tour

December 18, 2014 by danawyyc 11 Comments

I don’t know if you are familiar with a Home Tour. I didn’t know anything about them until recently when I fell into a bad crowd. Of design bloggers. Honestly, they are lovely people. Many of these design bloggers do gorgeous home tours that showcase their beautiful homes that look straight out of a magazine, like my friend Jo-anna.

Now I know their homes don’t look exactly like that all the time. I know the pictures were taken just after the house was cleaned and all the dishes and kids toys have been put away. I know that there are rooms that don’t get photographed at all. But my house has never ever looked even remotely like one of those houses.

Now that I am preparing for Christmas while 9 months pregnant with a 2 and 5 year old my house looks even less similar. I have actually managed to  put up all the decorations already this year. But that’s because I started really early because everything seems to take me forever right now. I wrapped all the presents over 3 days. And it’s not like I did any fancy wrapping either. I literally wrote on the wrapping paper with jiffy marker. By the time I got to the presents from Santa… Well, let’s just say that Santa should fire the elf that wrapped those presents. I’ve also reduced the number of decorations I’ve put up this year. In part because I’m having a baby in early January so everything needs to get put away right after Christmas and mostly because I can’t manage to get some of the areas that I would put the decorations clean.

I thought doing a home tour of our home would provide a refreshing contrast to many of the Christmas home tours out there right now.

So come on in!

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour - outside - talkinginallcaps.com

I actually really like our Christmas lights, but we’re redoing the area in front of our window so right now instead of  a dying bush with pretty coloured lights on it like we had last year, we have a stump, a dirt pile and pots with dead flowers.

 

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour - fireplace - talkinginallcaps.com

One of my favorite Christmas decorations is our felt Christmas Stockings from Etsy. We don’t have a mantel on our fireplace and I have struggled every year with how to hang them up. I think this year I finally figured it out.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour - fireplace - talkinginallcaps.com

I attached hooks onto the wall on each side of the fireplace and hung the stockings up with clothes pins along a string. The fireplace itself has never actually been used. We currently have it blocked off with a piece of wood held in place with duck tape because it was so drafty. Classy I know.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Christmas Tree - talkinginallcaps.com
Our tree is beautiful and this picture really doesn’t do it justice. We carefully placed it in the centre of the room because there wasn’t any other place we could put it this year without blocking the TV. And we just can’t have that. We have high ceilings so bought a tall tree. Two things to note: everything looks smaller in Costco and if you are ever buying a tall tree think about how wide the base is. We have tall ceilings but a small house!

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Gingerbread House - talkinginallcaps.com

My son begged me to build a gingerbread house this year. I have no problem getting them to stay together but do not have much skill with using the icing for decoration.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Gingerbread House - talkinginallcaps.com

We are currently lovingly displaying it on our kitchen table amongst the mess which we can’t seem to actually clear off this year.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Nativity - talkinginallcaps.com

We tend to get a little something new each year for Christmas and this year’s edition is a wooden nativity.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Nativity - talkinginallcaps.com

Which is basically lost in the clutter that is all over our bookcase.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  kitchen - talkinginallcaps.com

In the kitchen you’ll find our little Christmas whisk.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  kitchen - talkinginallcaps.com

And typically a huge mess.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Christmas Cards - talkinginallcaps.com

I decided to extend the string and clothes pin idea to our Christmas cards and I really love how it turned out.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Christmas Cards - talkinginallcaps.com

It’s conveniently located across from the bathroom and above the overflowing laundry baskets. This is also the same space that I display the kids’ artwork.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Bathroom - talkinginallcaps.com

Inside the bathroom is our fancy Christmas themed soap dispenser.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Bathroom - talkinginallcaps.com

And clutter that I should really put away. And a lot of toothpaste and soap residue. I love this sink but kids sure make a mess of it in a hurry.  I have tried to take as-is pictures of our house for this home tour, but I really debated whether anyone actually needed to see this. I’m pretty sure the answer is no, but it saved me from having to clean it up right now. I”ll get to it. Eventually.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  2nd Tree - talkinginallcaps.com

We have a second small tree from our first house that we let the kids decorate this year.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  2nd Tree - talkinginallcaps.com

It was pretty adorable to see how they put the ornaments on. There is a ring right at 2 year old height where you can find all the pink ornaments.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Train - talkinginallcaps.com

Below the tree we have a Lego Train set up. We have a Lego Christmas train for it too, but my husband’s nerves can’t handle the kids playing with it without supervision and I am way too tired to do that job so it only comes out when he’s able to watch them with it.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Elves - talkinginallcaps.com

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the Danish kravlenisser or Crawling Elves (we just call them Nisse). This are a little bit similar to elf on the shelf. They are paper elves that pop up around your house and move around at night. For some reason one year I decided that we should have a new one come out each day in December until Christmas and that they should all move around each night. I have no idea why I set the bar so high. This year, the Nisser are much more likely to hang out in groups so I don’t have to find new places to put them.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Elves - talkinginallcaps.com

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Advent Calendar - talkinginallcaps.com

The Nisse also bring the kids candy for their advent calendar. Which this year is located on the floor next to their dresser full of dress up clothes.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Presents - talkinginallcaps.com
The presents that don’t fit under the tree are stuck on a table in our back bedroom. surrounded by more mess.

So that’s our house this year. Yes, there are some rooms I’ve skipped. All you will find there is more mess and no Christmas decorations of any kind. Even though our house is far from perfect this year (not that it is anywhere near perfect other years) and I am exhausted, our kids are still enjoying our decorations and loving our Christmas traditions. I’ve found that letting go of some of the expectations I have for myself is making me happier too. Christmas dinner this year is going to be a no cook, order in pizza dinner. It’ll be different, but I think it’s going to be great just the same.

A 9 Month Pregnant Mom's Christmas Home Tour -  Santa Skull - talkinginallcaps.com

Merry Christmas!

Filed Under: Thoughts Tagged With: Christmas, Home Tour

How to Take Photos of Kids in Front of the Christmas Tree

December 20, 2012 by danawyyc 5 Comments

Taking great pictures of your kids by the Christmas tree can be challenging. This week I tried to figure out how to take better pictures of my kids in front of our Christmas tree. I’ve put together some tips and things to try to get the kind of photos you want.

1. Turn off Your Camera’s Flash

No matter what kind of camera you have, and what your lighting conditions are, nothing will take the magic out of your Christmas tree photos more than using your camera’s built in flash.

 

kids and Christmas Trees

Christmas - Pre - 2012

2. Pay attention to the Background and Foreground of your Photo

No matter how good your photo is, it’s still going to look like crap if there’s a bunch of junk cluttering it up. (Like in the photo above…)

Clear a Path
At least clear a path.

3. Practice First With a Doll or Stuffed Animal

Stuffed animals are much more patient subjects than children. Be sure that you have an idea of what you want to do before you involve your kids. You’re probably still going to have to make some adjustments. Kids move around a lot more than inanimate objects so you may have to increase your ISO and reduce your shutter speed (more on that on point 10) but at least you’ll have a starting point.

more christmas pics
You’re going to have a limited timeframe so you might as well make them count.

4. Keep Your Camera Steady

Unless your room is really well lit, you’re probably going to be dealing with a lower light setting. To get a good exposure you’re likely going to have to use longer shutter speeds (so your camera takes a longer time to take the picture) This is going to make it important to keep your camera steady so that you’re not getting movement from camera shake. If you do capture any movement, it’s better for it to be because your kid is moving not you.

If you have one, you can use a tripod, but you can also use the ground, a stack of books, a table etc. You may also want to consider a remote for your camera (surprisingly affordable) or the timer on your camera (probably only useful if you can get your kids to stay still-ish).
Keep Camera Steady
I’m pretty sure that tree is not actually moving.

5. Shoot Low to the Ground

If you have small kids you may even want to lie on the ground to get a better angle.
more christmas pics3

6. Put Your Kid a Few Feet in Front of the Tree

It’s natural to want to put your kid right in front of the tree but you’ll typically have better shots if you move them a few feet away. You’ll be able to see more of the lights on your tree and you’ll be able to manipulate the aperture to blur the background if you want to.
more christmas pics2

7. Stand Back and Zoom in

Another good strategy is to also increase the distance between you and your child. If you’re farther away, you’ll be able to zoom in which will blur the background which is great for portraits and give the Christmas lights a pretty look.

Christmas - Pre - 20121

8. Use Something to Help Keep your Kid From Moving Around

This is important for two reasons – 1. to keep the tree in the background and 2. to reduce motion blur. For older kids, bribery can be a good tactic,, younger kids may benefit from a mark on the floor for where you want them to be. For babies, your best best is going to be an unfamiliar object that you don’t mind being in your shots.

use something to keep still
This tree was the perfect distraction.

9. Try to Light up Your Kid’s Face

Depending on the lighting in your house and how much your kids move around, you may want more light to get a good shot. One thing you can try is getting some natural light on your kids face. I tried this below, but my tree is too big for me to move around and my window is right beside the tree making it difficult to get the tree in the background and the sunlight on my child’s face.
more christmas pics1-001
natural light
This does give a interesting look.

The other option, and the one that will give you the most consistent success, is to use an external flash with the flash pointed at a wall or ceiling. This will light up your child without taking away the beauty of your tree.

With Flash
Taken with external flash pointed at the wall.

10. Pick Your Camera Settings

Using the above strategies, you may be able to get great pictures just putting your camera on the no flash setting.

If you have a DSLR and want to play around here’s what I found helpful:

  1. Set your camera to Shutter priority. This will let you manipulate how long light is allowed to hit the sensor. A longer shutter speed will tend to make your christmas lights look prettier but it will also capture more movement from your kids.
  2. Set your ISO and shutter speed. You want as low an ISO as you can get away with and the longest shutter speed.
  3. You’ll probably want to start with an ISO of at least 400 and may need to bump it up to upwards of 1600 if your kid is moving around a lot.
  4. Start with a shutter speed of about 1/2 a second. If you’re getting good pictures try lengthening the shutter speed, if you are getting blurry pictures decrease it.
  5. Play around with the ISO and shutter speed settings. Increasing the ISO will allow you to use a longer exposure (longer shutter speed). (For more depth on how these are inter-related you can see my post on How to choose what professional mode to use).

DSC_0079
It’s not the sharpest image but at least she’s not blurry. Here I had to bump up the ISO to 1600 to get a good image.

A few more of my favorite shots:
DSC_0071

stand back and zoom in

flash

DSC_0115-001
Not what I was trying to do, but kind of interesting.

 

Note: Aside from cropping the above images were not digitally manipulated.

Sources used for this article:

http://www.augustteaphotography.com/taking-pictures-of-your-christmas-tree/

http://www.sarahcblog.com/2011/11/how-to-photograph-kids-in-front-of-the-christmas-tree/

http://faithfulstepsphotography.blogspot.ca/2011/12/photographing-kids-in-in-front-of.html

http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2008/12/04/photo-tip-christmas-tree-pics/

Filed Under: photography Tagged With: Christmas, tutorial

How to Take Better Photos With Santa (and How Not to)

December 1, 2012 by danawyyc 8 Comments

bettersantaphotos-001

Even though my oldest is only 3, I have quite a bit of experience taking small kids to see Santa. Partly for my blog post where I talk about what it’s like to take photos with Santa at different  malls in Calgary and partly because I think it is just plain fun. My friends and family have kindly supplied me with some photos to round out my own to help you get better photos with Santa this year.

1. Prepare Your Kids Ahead of Time

Read your kids stories about Santa, show them movies with Santa (if you can find one with their favorite character, even better) and show your kids pictures of them or other family members with Santa to familiarize them.

566336_10151312554677040_337526886_nUnless the photos looked like this.

It can also be worthwhile to seek out a Santa that is more natural looking and inline with their expectations.

603961_372686899487334_671224799_nIf you wouldn’t sit on that lap, why would you put your child on it?

2. Dress for the Occasion

Even if you’re going to get a free photo, consider what your kids are wearing.

131559_112148458855831_5035859_oThis shirt of Gordie’s is really cute, but doesn’t look great in a Christmas photo.

IMG_0080
This may be going a little too far.

S S At the very least, take off your kids’ coats!

You may also want to consider what you’re wearing that day… just in case.

image_1354210759337049If you look closely you can see Santa at the back.

3. Use a Partner

Especially if you are taking the photos yourself, bring someone with you so they can help you position and distract the kids to help keep them from freaking out.

Crying with SantaFreaking out.

4. Try Backing In

If you have a really little kid, try holding them facing you and backing them into Santa, keeping their attention on you. Then back away and quickly take the picture.

gordie with santa0001[2]Sometimes this works.

Lola- Eff you Santa! 2011
Sometimes, not so much

5. Time it Right

Arrive a bit early so your kids can see Santa from a distance before it’s their turn. Make sure they are not tired or hungry. Bring a snack just in case. Weekday mornings and evenings are usually quieter time to visit. Whatever you do, don’t go when your child would normally be napping.

DSC_0074
Not a good time.

6. Give Them Some Moral Support

Having a friend, sibling or even a favorite toy may be all your kid needs to feel comfortable and stay focused.

396652_10151165250754639_428035946_nWorked like a charm.

7. Be Flexible

You may be able to get a better picture by not trying to force a smile.

gordie and santa 20100001[2]That’s a pretty cute pout.

You may also want to consider letting your kids stand beside Santa instead of on his lap.

53308_10150347928425173_5766155_oSanta may be holding him back, but they are all in the picture.

8. Make use of Some Photography Tips

If you are taking the photo yourself, try setting the white balance to match the lighting (florescent or incandescent bulbs). Or you can adjust that on your computer afterwards.

baby Dana and santaWas 1982 really this yellow?

If the room isn’t very bright, bump up the ISO and hold the camera steady (close to your body, try to kneel or set the camera on something to use as a makeshift tripod). Also double check that your camera is focusing on your child instead of the background.

photo (53)That tree looks great!

Position yourself so you can see your child’s face even if they are not looking directly at you.

newspaper santaCandid shots often show your child at their best.

Don’t forget to take multiple pictures.

blink santa
So this isn’t the only photo you go home with.

9. Try Again

If your child is hesitant to see Santa the first time, don’t be afraid to go back (again) later in the day or on another day all together.

DSC_0827
The first try.

DSC_0837
Again after lunch.

10. If All Else Fails…

You can always take a family photo near Santa instead. Most malls have a Christmas display that would make a great backdrop.

704653_10152311427910173_1395289379_oThis is the best ‘Santa’ photo this family has taken.

Or you could just take a picture of Santa!

just santaEven if Santa looks a little confused.

11. Laugh it Off

Sometimes, even if you end up with a picture that wasn’t what you wanted, it can still end up being a treasured part of your family history.

67889_10152287758050397_782823760_nThat year’s Christmas card

As funny as some of these photos are, I hope this post helps your family get great photos with Santa this year. And if your pictures don’t go as planned you can always send them to me for next year’s post.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Dana Wheatley

What are your tips for taking better photos with Santa?

If you have a not-so-good photo with Santa you’d like to share, you can e-mail it to talkinginallcaps@gmail.com.

Are you from Calgary? Check out my website about the best indoor and outdoor places to take your kids –> http://www.calgaryplaygroundreview.com

Photos used with permission

Filed Under: photography Tagged With: Christmas, Santa

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About Me

I'm an experiential playground expert and mom to three young kids. I live with my husband in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. When I'm not looking after people, I'm reading all the YA fiction I can get my hands on and am attempting to learn photography. My laundry-folding suffers due to more interesting pursuits.

You can also find me over at:
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