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Posted on by Debbie

Favourite photos revisited for #SundayStills

What makes this a favourite photo?

Awkward portrait at Christmas
Awkward portrait

This photo was taken in 2015 (obviously not by me) as part of my birthday celebrations – I’m the one in the middle of the front row.  We were in Melbourne visiting my sister and her husband on the pretext of looking at the wedding photos they’d taken of my daughter and son-in-law’s recent wedding.

Best Birthday present!

While out in the city we saw this pop-up photo booth and then queued for over an hour to dress up and have our Awkward family portrait taken!  

Yes, my husband, my sister and brother-in-law, my daughter and son-in-law all agreed to participate in this just because I wanted it for my birthday!! It’s hard to get away from Christmas things when your birthday is in mid-December so sometimes it’s easier to just go with the flow!

For the record, I still insist on birthday wrapping and no cheap Christmas postage is allowed.  Also I try to avoid having combined Christmas and birthday presents. They are separate days people!!

In Australia we don’t get snow at Christmas (usually), we don’t wear funny/ugly jumpers and we don’t usually look like this at Christmas.  But it was a fun way to document a family gathering and we laughed for ages every time we looked at the photos.  Thanks to Awkward Portraits by Karin Locke for the great idea and letting us share our awkwardness with you all.

To be honest I still laugh when I look at it! I just love it!  How crazy do we all look?

Which is precisely why it’s made my list of favourite photos.

Christmas 2019

I’m so excited to be in England for Christmas this year and will (hopefully) receive a special Christmas jumper, sometimes called a fugly sweater, I can actually wear in the cold wintery weather over here! It would be so appropriate. I’ve put it on my Christmas list 🙂

A Christmas jumper, Christmas sweater, or colloquially ugly Christmas sweater, is often a top pulled over the head to cover the torso, themed with a Christmas or winter-style design. These clothing items are often knitted. A more traditional approach is often a roll neck top-pulled jumper. A survey conducted in 2012 showed that 41% of the British population owned a Christmas-themed jumper, which increased to 50% within London and Wales. Source

Since becoming a grandmother in 2018 I have started a new tradition of having a Santa shot taken with my granddaughter Emilia. Last year she was quite happy to do so but this year she was a bit concerned at Santa and wasn’t happy to have her photo taken without her mummy holding her. I’ll try to get a Christmas themed shot with Dottie this year and next year we will have a new little granddaughter to start a new Granny tradition with. How much fun is this grandmothering gig??? Well I look pretty happy in these shots anyway 🙂

  • Granny Debs with Emilia Christmas2018
    Granny Debs with Emilia Christmas2018
  • Granny Debs Santa photo 2019
    Granny Debs Santa photo 2019

Christmas photos over the years

I used to make my three daughters matching Christmas dresses when they were little and have a lovely collection of photos from over the years. A few Christmases ago, my middle daughter made her sisters matching dresses for a Christmas surprise to bring back some happy memories! They then went and had a secret photo session to reproduce some of their childhood happiness, but alas couldn’t find a Santa’s knee to sit on!

  • Christmas photo with girls in matching dresses
    Christmas photo
  • Grown up Christmas dresses
    Grown up Christmas dresses

It’s funny to think that all three girls are now mothers or mother-to-be and will soon have their own little girls. They will start their own family Christmas traditions. It doesn’t seem that long ago that they were my ‘little’ girls.

Joining in with Terri for Sunday Stills with the prompt of Oldie but a Goodie or favourite photo – thanks for allowing me to share the memories Terri, it’s been so much fun!

Have you a favourite Christmas photo or tradition you’d like to share?

Remember to have fun – it’s so important these days and so underrated. You’ve got to be able to laugh at yourself in my opinion 🙂

Deb xx

All my Sunday Stills posts can be found here

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43 Replies to “Favourite photos revisited for #SundayStills”

  2. What fun that was to read…and yes, good on you, it’s MY birthday NOT Christmas….
    I started getting in Santa photos with the littlest grandkids too. They moved on and were fine without me and then, as I recovered from cancer I got a Santa and me shot in 2017 and in 2018…and am pretty sure I will this year too.

    Our first granddaughter was born on 23 December and she tells me I helped make her a Christmas tragic so I am all-good with that. Yes, she has seperate celebrations and is 23 this year!!!

    Love that you will have a Winter Christmas and with the family…dear Dottie too.

    Thank you for linking up for Life This Week. Next week’s optional prompt is 48/51 Self-Care Stories #7. 2/12/19. I hope to see you there too. Denyse.

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    1. That’s great Denyse, I always love getting your comments and learning more about you and your family 🙂 . Wishing you a fantabulous happy birthday – enjoy it to the utmost! They’ve called a general election on my birthday over here – how dare they????

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  3. I am in England and have embraced the tradition of the Christmas jumper. Not least because it is often cold when going out for a meal.

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  4. Aww these are amazing photos! I’m glad you get to spend Christmas over here – I’ll send up a request to the weather man to see if we can have some reasonable weather, dry at least with good travel conditions! I’ve never had a fugly Christmas jumper. In fact, no Christmas themed clothing. I think I’m missing out. I hope you get the craziest one possible – I’ll look forward to those photos! 😉

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    1. Hi Caz, thanks for your weather request on our behalf! I’m loving the autumn colours and I bought some wellingtons yesterday to help save my shoes from all the mud and muck! I think you’re missing out and need to get at least one crazy Christmas jumper! Thanks for your visit and comment.

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  6. What beautiful photos and what fabulous memories for you all to have. We love the Christmas jumper tradition here, it’s a huge deal and many companies allow you to wear them to work in December. My middle son who is a primary school teacher has 20 different jumpers that he wears alternatively to school on the run up to Christmas. the kids absolutely love it.

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    1. Thanks Jonno! I really need to get myself a jumper, it’d definitely cold enough! I love the way your family has embraced the tradition. The fact of being allowed to wear them to work is great, I didn’t know that. And I bet the kids love seeing their teacher getting in the spirit 😊

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  7. That Christmas jumper picture is the actual best! I insisted me and hubby have Christmas jumpers although it’s rarely cold enough to wear them so we have Christmas tees instead! We always have a DIY photo in our daggy tees and this year we’re taking the puppy Teddy Roosevelt for a pet Santa pic! Hope you’re having a the best time in the UK – the motherland certainly does Christmas well!

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  9. I loved the fun family “weird” photo Deb and also that you’re doing Santa pics with the grandgirl(s). I have a friend who has a Santa pic of her kids from birth and into their 30’s – they actually go and find a Santa to have a pic taken for their mum each year (my kids gag when I mention it for some unknown reason!) Loved your girls matching Christmas dresses too – it would have given you a laugh I’m sure. Enjoy your white Christmas with Dottie and family xx

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    1. Thanks Leanne, that sounds like such a fun thing your friend does! The kids have to be on board though or it just won’t work 🙂 . We’re feeling the Christmas spirit over here as it’s the perfect weather for lights and decorations…and food!

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  10. Oh my goodness this photo is hilarious! I’d love to do one of these!
    I spotted my first Christmas sweater for the season on the Sydney – Sunshine Coast flight the other morning. Ridiculous given the weather. We’re on a Christmas mission to all have Christmas jumpers which we have to wear to the pub on Christmas Eve.

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  16. Wonderful pics! It is always so nostalgic to go back to old photographs.
    Weather wise, Christmas in England will be so different from in Australia, with snow and all. Enjoy 🙂
    — bpradeepnair.blogspot.com

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  19. Yes, yes, yes! Somebody else who insists on birthday wrapping paper when their birthday is at Christmas time. And I don’t do “this is your Birthday and Christmas present combined.” I know that may seem selfish, but it’s just not fair that us Christmas babies have to miss out on birthday presents. And if anybody says to me ‘It’s so hard to know what to buy you because your birthday is at Christmas time, Hugh”, I just put my fingers in my ears and say ‘LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA,” very loudly.

    Fab photos, Debbie. You guys must have had so much fun getting that Christmas photo in the booth done. That’s what it’s supposed to be all about. I can’t believe how long that queue was.

    My Christmas jumper for this year arrived this morning. I’ve already modelled it (to the raising of many eyebrows).

    Have a great time while in the UK, Debbie. Christmas jumpers may come in handy if the forecast of a snowy December is accurate.

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    1. I’m so happy to hear you totally get it Hugh! We are special babies and deserve separate gifts 🙂 I hope your Christmas jumper goes down well, I really must start looking around. We are enjoyin g our time here and I did have to go and buy some wellington boots!

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