Great Christmas Gift idea-Musing

This is a photo of my five children. I had this great idea for Christmas presents to the Grandparents on both sides that needed a photo. I took ten and this was the best one. And yet two are sticking out their tongues!

The great gift idea is a picture frame ornament.

In previous years we would gift our Grandparents (my children's great-grandparents) with a family photo. But the truth is, they have loads of grandchildren--they can't hang pictures of all of them. Or if they did, it would take a whole wall. And perhaps they don't want a whole wall of those photos.

So I thought instead of sending them a photo that perhaps they don't know what to do with--what if we started a tradition of sending them a picture frame ornament with the year engraved on the bottom. They'd see us growing up over the years, they'd take it out every year and hang us on their tree, and we wouldn't be assuming that a family picture of us fits their decor.

I still think it is a great idea, but since our family photos we had taken professionally are horribly late (they will be worth it, once we get them!) I realized I'd have to take the photos myself.

With all the preparations of eight siblings and their families coming into town, this photo session just didn't happen until the last minute. And you see the results. None of the photos are perfect!

The down side of a picture frame ornament is that the photograph space is small. That means the children's heads must be close together. I tried to have them lay on the floor like spokes of a wheel, and this is the best shot from that. Alas, I am very much an amateur picture taker. And my new computer with all the latest software that could help it out is at the computer hospital. So, this is as good as it gets.

But family is very forgiving and they'll love it anyway. And they'll only see it once a year. So it is still a great idea, I just need to get the hang of shooting it right. Any advice?