Lessons Learned From Christmas Photo Retakes

1. You can bring a dog to the mall as long as he has a photo sitting.

2. As between dogs and small children, the dogs are better behaved, quieter, and less likely to complain about their sweaters.

3. Also as between dogs and small children, the dogs in sweaters have better cause to complain.

4. A good photographer can make a family laugh after 45 minutes of waiting, even if they hate having pictures taken.

5. Mothers would rather focus on deciding which photograph of their two angelic sons to send to grandma than on separating the (same) two sugar-fueled demons mauling one another in the center of the waiting area floor.

6. The Justin Bieber haircut you force your son to wear for Christmas pictures today will be used as a defense at his murder trial ten years from now. (The good news is, the jury will call it justifiable homicide.)

7. If you have two sons, and force them both to get Justin Bieber haircuts, and then douse them with hairspray every five minutes while waiting for your photo session, don’t worry about whether the rest of the world is laughing at you.  (Just know that we are.)

8. Forcing your kids to wear matching clothes is fine, and letting them do their own thing is okay too, but when two of three match and the third looks like you pulled him out of the dumpster behind the mall, someone might just notice the difference.

Learned anything from your photo session? Comments are open and I’d love to hear.