The holiday season isn’t complete without a few essential things. Baking some gingerbread cookies for Santa. Eating a neverending cascade of delicious meals that leave you barely able to move (unless you’re willing to wobble and roll around). Some fiery drama with your relatives over nothing in particular. And, of course, an awkward family photo that you can proudly put on a Christmas card or hide in the deepest, darkest recesses of your album.
Weird hairstyles. Strange clothing. Peculiar expressions. Odds are that you’ve got a photo exactly like this, having posed with your relatives for a seasonal snapshot, whether at home or at a professional studio.
Awkwardness is one of those universal things that can make people facepalm and cringe no matter what part of the world they’re from. And we’re serving a healthy dose of that to you today, in the form of awkward family Christmas photos, as shared by the delightfully goofy Awkward Family Photos project, as well as the separate but also incredibly fun r/awkwardfamilyphotos subreddit. Upvote your fave pics, tell us which ones you loved the most, and share your own pics in the comments, dear Pandas.
Bored Panda got in touch with Mike Bender, the co-founder of Awkward Family Photos and a bestselling NYT author. We also reached out to professional photographer Dominic Sberna. You'll find both interviews below.
Hope you’re ready for some secondhand embarrassment! And remember—it’s fun to be silly. So embrace it.
More info: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com | Board Game
#1 My Friend Has A Fantastic Baby Photo
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
The awkward family photo genre is incredibly popular online. And we’ve covered it many a time here on Bored Panda. Once you’ve enjoyed this list, consider checking out some of our best posts about these types of pics here, here, here, and here.
Awkward Family Photos is a full-blown brand. It's so popular that they've even published a board game—Awkward Family Photos Greatest Hits.
Bored Panda asked Mike, the co-founder of the Awkward Family Photos project, a few follow-up questions about awkwardness, letting go of perfectionism, and surviving the holidays.
"I think Christmas photos are particularly awkward because it's more likely that family members are wearing matching sweaters or pajamas and as we know, matchy-matchy=awkward," he told us. And we couldn't agree more. There's something about wearing matching clothing that really ups the weirdness levels in any pic.
#2 It's Been Eleven Years And This Is Still The Best Christmas Photo My Family Has Ever Taken
Image credits: reddit.com
#3 This Is My Brother And I At Christmas, 1965. I Was Only 6 Months Old And My Brother Obviously Thought I Was Annoying, If Not Repulsive
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
According to AFP co-founder Mike, the first step to fighting back against perfectionism is "just letting go of any need to look a certain way on camera."
"Hair doesn't have to be combed, outfits don't need to be perfectly ironed. I think a nice candid shot just after everyone has awoken on Christmas morning is perfect. We want to see bedhead, crumpled pajamas, and grumpy faces," he told Bored Panda.
As for his advice on surviving the holidays in one piece, it's very simple. "Don't go home," he said. "But if you do, make sure there is plenty of egg nog."
#4 Our ‘Baby Jesus’ Was Not Happy About It And Growled As She Was Being Wrapped In Swaddling Clothes
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#5 We Took The Same Christmas Photo 18 Years Later
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#6 We Played A Game Where The Kids Had To Decorate One Of Their Parents Like A Christmas Tree
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
Meanwhile, US photographer Dominic Sberna shared his insights about timeless photos, helping people feel comfortable in front of the camera, and how to know if your pictures are finally 'good enough' and stop working on them.
"I think the awkwardness is what makes them [the photos] stand the test of time! It's amazing to look back at what was in fashion or what was socially acceptable, depending on what someone might be wearing or an expression they might be making," Dominic told Bored Panda.
"Photos are like time capsules in a way and they imprint a memory in us. Whether good or bad, they are the only way to pause a moment in life. So in a way, the cringier the better it is to stand the test of time and be remembered."
#7 It Is A Rare Occasion When We Can Gather All Grown Children, Significant Others, Grandkids And Dogs For A Family Picture. We Did It! Sort Of
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#8 Christmas, 1997. My Baby Sister Was Being Held Up By My Dad Through A Hole Cut In The Sheet And He Was Shouting At My Mom To Take The Picture
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#9 A Fitting 2020 Christmas Card From Our Family To Yours
Image credits: cookingcupcakes
The pro photographer noted that there isn't one thing that you could tell someone to help them relax in front of the camera.
"You, the photographer, just have to make them feel comfortable. Conversation and showing them it's okay to be themselves. When someone is comfortable with you, they're more likely to open up and have memorable photos taken," he said, adding that though he himself doesn't do a lot of portrait work, he's seen this happen on numerous occasions.
However, moving past perfectionism can be pretty difficult, according to Dominic. "It all comes down to knowing when to stop editing a photo. This comes with time and from making the mistake of 'perfecting it too far,' he said.
"Everyone has a different threshold for this, but it's just something that is learned with time in my opinion. You know your work, you know what you're wanting out of a shot, so you know when it is finished."
#10 I Was Five And My Brother Was 18 Months Old And He Thought Candles Were Probably Something Interesting To Eat
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#11 My Parents Just Got A Hot Tub And Were Very Excited About It. For Some Reason They Posed With Wine And Candles Even Though The Children Were Not Old Enough To Drink
“My parents just got a hot tub and were very excited about it. Therefore, my grandma hired a professional photographer to take a family photo in the hot tub. For some reason they posed with wine and candles even though the children were not old enough to drink… and sent it out to 150 plus friends as a Christmas card.”
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#12 It’s Been Just My Son And Me For Years. Every Christmas, We Take An Intentionally Awkward Family Christmas Photo. He’s 18 Now, And We Still Do It. This Was Xmas ‘20
Image credits: DepressiveNerd
If you don’t cringe even a tiny bit when you see these pics, then congratulations, dear Pandas, you’ve clearly mastered your heart, mind, and spirit.
It takes a strong individual not to feel the secondhand embarrassment emanating from these snapshots of silliness.
However, a bit of cringe, a dash of weirdness, and a dollop of awkwardness shouldn’t stop you from having a good time with your loved ones.
#13 The Kids Loved Meeting Santa A Few Years Ago. He’s Thrilled Too
Image credits: PnuttButtaGuts
#14 So, My Dog Met Santa Claus
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#15 Has To Be One Of The Most Cringeworthy Christmas Cards I’ve Ever Seen. That Is My Parents In Front Of Their Own Gravestones They Purchased This Year
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
Look, at the end of the day, life is short and your time with your nearest and dearest is precious.
So instead of worrying about what everyone else will think, goof off. Be derpy. Pose for some of the most objectively unaesthetic photos known to human history. There is a lot of beauty in imperfection and learning to let go.
Perfectionism and the idea that you and your family ‘should’ be and look ‘perfect’ can actually backfire. If parents constantly make decisions for their children without letting them decide anything for themselves, they end up being more passive and timid while growing up.
#16 My Mom Was Very Excited To Be Receiving A Toilet Seat For A Christmas Present In 1981
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#17 For My Slightly Belated Birthday, I Present The Christmas Gift My Granddad Undoubtedly Regretted Most
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#18 The Santa Meet And Greet Was On The Same Day As Comic-Con
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
Slight discomfort and mild embarrassment are inevitable parts of life. But shielding your kids from these things all the time makes them unprepared to face them when they move out. Resilience is necessary when you’re an adult, and you won’t develop it nearly as well if someone is always making the decisions for you. E.g. what to wear, what (not) to do.
That’s on top of the stress that comes from trying to create an illusion of ‘perfection’ in one’s life. What you see on social media is (most often) far from reality.
Content creators might seem like they have it all, but it’s all a carefully-crafted image. Nobody’s family life is ‘perfect.’ Nearly everyone deals with more or less the same issues and frustrations. Just on a different scale.
#19 This Is Me With Santa In 1975. I Can’t Tell Who Is More Unhappy, Me Or Him
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#20 This Particular Year, We Chose To Pull From The Story Of The Grinch
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#21 My Brother Put All He Had On The Dance Floor The Night Of My Parents’ 1987 Christmas Party
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
One thing that these awkward family Xmas photos remind us of is the importance of traditions. Getting together with your loved ones and doing something every year is a fantastic way to keep your family strong. You renew your bonds with everyone. You stay in touch. And you do goofy and playful things that make you all laugh and smile.
#22 My Father And I Christmas Morning Circa 1982. Mom Said He Was Probably Hung Over
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#23 My Parents Like To Make Our Christmas Cards ‘One To Remember,’ So They Came Up With This Idea
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#24 Is It A Problem When You're 10 Months Away And You Already Have Anxiety Over What To Do Next Christmas
Image credits: schankhaus
Traditions don’t have to be super serious. You can definitely focus on just taking an incredibly embarrassing holiday photo where everyone wears their ugliest Christmas sweaters. It’s spending quality time with your family that’s the real prize, not what everyone else thinks.
#25 Stephanie Is Photoshopped In, As She Was In Peru
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#26 That One Christmas When A Champagne Cork Hit Me In The Eye
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#27 Well, It Is Green
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
So, dear Pandas, which of these photos made you laugh the most? What do you have planned for the holidays? What Christmas traditions do you and your family have? What's the silliest Xmas photo you've ever taken? Pop down by the comments and tell us all about it.
#28 The Time My Brother Was Given A New Bicycle, And I Got A Tricycle
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#29 I Hated Taking Pictures When I Was Little, Especially Ones Where We Had To Dress Up. I Told My Mom I Was Done And She Didn’t Believe Me. I Didn’t Mean To Make This Face. It Just Sort Of Happened On Its Own. So This Is The Christmas Card She Got
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#30 My Friend And I Took Our Babies To See Santa And This Was The Result
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#31 I Think I Wanna Bring Back My Classic "Polo Tucked Into My Tightie Whities" Look
Image credits: BellyHat
#32 Last Year They Were Inspired By The Elf On The Shelf And Took This Little Gem
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#33 My Son Was Super Attached To Me For The First Few Years Of His Life. You Can See The Rage In Both His Face And Pointer Finger As I Stepped Away And Left Him With Jolly ‘Ol St. Nick
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#34 About 7 Months Ago, A Tiny Kitten Showed Up In The Parking Lot At My Office. He Turned Out To Be The Chillest Kitty Ever. Happy Holidays From Me And Little Marshall Meowthers!
Image credits: oatmealfoot
#35 The Photographer Asked Us To Kiss And For The Kids To Act Grossed Out
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#36 My Brother Drowning In Santa’s Pants
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#37 Interesting Prop For The Christmas Pageant, Johnny
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#38 My Christmas Card With My Cat Was Deemed ‘Sacrilegious’
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#39 In Yugoslavia We Had Very Scary Santas In The 1980s
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#40 My Little Sister Took A Christmas Photo With A Questionable Bear, London 1976
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#41 My Friend's Fantastic Christmas Card
Image credits: kcm1984
#42 "Oh Roger, Grab The Kids! I Know A Great Way We Can Use Up All Those Bargain Deal Decorations I Found At The Local Dollar Store!"
Image credits: Ecovarru90
#43 This Photo Was Taken By My Babysitter And Her Husband. I Did Not Enjoy It, As You Can Tell
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#44 Growing Up, I Did Ballet And I Performed In The Nutcracker More Times Than I Can Remember. The Photographer Insisted That I Caress The Nutcracker Doll, Resulting In This Creepy, Borderline Objectophilia Gem
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#45 Cyber Corn
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#46 When I Was A Little Kid, My Mom Had The Idea To Style My Cousin Into Santa Claus One Year. The Experiment Went Wrong
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#47 In The 1950s, My Dad’s Relatives Would Take Turns Each Christmas Dressing Up As Santa Claus To Surprise The Kids, Complete With This Not-So-Jolly Rubber Santa Mask
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#48 This Is A Photo Of My Younger Sister And I On Christmas In 1996. I’m The One With The Triumphant Look On My Face Holding The Cards And Mashing My Hand In My Sister’s Face
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#49 My Mom Thought It Would Be A Good Idea To Pose Us As Angels For The Annual Family Christmas Card
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#50 Santa Flaws
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#51 This Is Me In 1970 When I Was 5 And Meeting A Santa Who Had Face-Boobs
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#52 Their Holiday Cheer Is Electric
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#53 We Lived In Alaska At The Time, So I Guess My Parents Thought Our Relatives Would Like To See Us Like This
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#54 My Christmas Was Scary In Yugoslavia
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#55 Sometimes Life Gives You A Puppy And Sometimes It Gives You Socks. Christmas 2016
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#56 Merry Christmas, Hope You Spend This Holiday Season With Someone Deer To You
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#57 We’ll Have What They’re Having
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#58 This Is What Happens When Your Parents Pick Your Costume
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#59 Resentment At It’s Finest…not Sure If It’s From The Elf Costume Or For Us Bringing Home This Baby!
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#60 My Grandfather’s Christmas Tree About 30 Years Ago
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#61 Every Year I Send Out A Poorly Photoshopped Christmas Card That Reminds People Im Single
Image credits: mirandalaska
#62 Our 2020 Christmas Card
Image credits: mowmow007
#63 Mrs. Santa Cringe
Image credits: uaonthetrack
#64 The Day I Stopped Believing In Santa Claus
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#65 New Puppy And 1 Year Old. All Is Calm, All Is Bright
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#66 I Told My 2-Year-Old That Santa Was Tired Of Milk And Cookies
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#67 Every Year We Would Cut Down A Tree Together. My Dad Would Let Each Of Us Take Turns Using The Saw
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#68 My Mom Had The Idea To Photoshop Us All On A ‘Mushroom Log’ One Year, Which Required A Lot Of Green Screen Editing. We Sent This Out For Our Christmas Card That Year
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#69 My 80lb Beast Of A Dog Layla And I Really Went To Town For Christmas 2017
Image credits: dtrapezoid
#70 I Can't Stop Laughing At This!!?
Image credits: uaonthetrack
#71 This Is A Family Pic From When Were Kids. We Were The Cool Family On The Block
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#72 Merry X-Mas!
Image credits: mylifesuxx4real
#73 Growing Up, We Celebrated Christmas Eve At My Grandmother’s House And Santa Always Showed Up. I Remember Thinking How Odd He Seemed
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#74 He Can’t Quite Read Yet. They Told Him It Says 'Merry Christmas'
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#75 Just A Couple Of Newlyweds Enjoying Their First Christmas Together
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#76 Nailed It
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#77 Our Family Christmas Card 2022
Image credits: Gizzont
#78 My Brother Had His Arms Around Us, Making It Look Like He Has No Arms
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#79 For The Family Christmas Photo, Everyone Had To Make A Sign With Their Relationship Status
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#80 Perhaps The Chimney Isn’t The Best Way To Enter
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#81 My Daughter’s Father Gave His Whole Family Space Outfits For Christmas In Hopes To Get The Family Together For A Photo Session
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#82 A Christmas Card My Grandma Received
Image credits: Cale661
#83 This Is A Photo Of Me And My Family Celebrating The Holidays In 1987
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#84 I Was Less Than Enthusiastic About Christmas 1998
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#85 Apparently My Mom’s Grandmother, Who Took The Photo, Always Took Pictures Where The People Were Not Centered Or Heads Were Cut Off
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#86 I Put On A Smile, But I Have Always Hated This Photo As We Looked Like Giants In This Teeny Little Sleigh
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#87 Surprisingly, Not Much Has Changed In The Family Dynamic Since Then. Mom Still Favors The Family Cat Over Dad, I Still Take Horrible Photos
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#88 My Grandma Got So Smashed At Dinner That She Fell Into The Christmas Tree
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#89 When I Was A Kid, My Mom, Who Is A Seamstress, Would Make Funky Gifts Every Year For Christmas. Some Time In The Late 80s, She Got Her Hands On Some Giant Men’s Underwear And Made Sports Bra’s Out Of Them
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#90 Meme This
Image credits: Amaxoxo221
#91 My Parents With My Mom's Younger Sister, Christmas 1985
Image credits: HIGHly_intALEXual
#92 This Is A 1987 Christmas Morning Aftermath With Me, My 6-Month-Old Son Nathan, My 12-Year-Old Son Justin And My 17-Year-Old Stepson Damond. Damond Looks Thrilled With His Present Of A New Heater/Fan
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos