Awkward Mehaffey Family Photos, 2010 Edition

Every Thanksgiving, the family takes advantage of the fact that we're all together to take the family photo to be included in the annual Mehaffey Christmas card/letter.

It's a pretty difficult task to take a good picture of the entire family without it looking too awkward. Exhibit A:

The guys are way too tall when they're standing and the girls are sitting. (Besides, what girl wants to be squished, hunched over and sitting down in a picture?)

 

Okay, then let's switch. Nope, now the girls are really far away midgets. And the guys look like dorks. (No offense, guys.)

Well, that obviously didn't work. Everybody on their feet! Let's try the stairway and banister for some variety. (Besides, I love having a garland-ed banister! What a great opportunity to show it off...)

Yeah, okay. That one's better, but it's still worthy of the Awkward Family Photos website.

Speaking of Awkward Family Photos, we couldn't help but immediately compare our Christmas poses to some that are even worse!

After multiple failed attempts, we did eventually achieve a family shot that we all agreed was sufficient enough for this year's edition of the Christmas Chronicle. At least it's less awkward than some.

The process may be somewhat awkward every Thanksgiving, but it generally provides lots of laughs (which is good because it means genuine smiles for the picture) and more good memories. Besides, it's a real treasure to have a snapshot of our family exactly as it is at the time. Every year we enjoy reading past Christmas letters and laughing at the family photos that accompany each of them. It's always interesting to see who and where we have been. I'm actually really grateful for the tradition.

Do you send out Christmas cards or take annual family pictures? Do they end up being equal amounts awkward and awesome?