Taking a nice photo for the Christmas card family photo sounds so easy. However as any parent who has attempted this holiday custom can tell you, it’s not as simple as it sounds. What you want is an exceptional, nice photo Christmas card. And what you usually get is squirmy, stubborn kids that blink just as you’re taking the picture. But don’t give up easily and throw in the Santa hat just yet. Here are 6 simple, neat solutions to those top challenges.
Challenge 1: You want a cheerful Christmas background for your family photo Christmas cards, but you don’t want to decorate your house with strands of lights and tinsel as early as November.
Solution: Go to the Mall. Department stores and shopping malls are decorating for the holiday earlier, usually right after Halloween. These Christmas backdrops are perfect for family photo Christmas cards. Take the kids to mall and gather them in front of the blinking lights with a few camera clicks and you’ll have the perfect shot.
Challenge 2: Your young ones won’t sit still long enough to take the photo.
Solution: Take out the props with you. Get the oversized teddy bear or other toys that mesmerizes them. Pose them with a dog or cat. Make them do something simple, like ringing a Christmas bell or kissing their sister’s cheek. Use trial and error until you figure out the item or activity that interests them long enough for you to take a few shots.
Challenge 3: Your teenage kids don’t want to pose for a family photo.
Solution: Get some candid shots. Make action the focal point of your photo Christmas cards, focusing on things that your teenagers like to do. Take pictures of them showing off their talents or skills. Whether they are in the swimming pool, a canoe, playing basketball, horseback riding, baking cookies, playing with the cat, or enjoying any activity, your holiday cards will provide a quick look into your family’s interests and personality.
Challenge 4: You’d like to send photo Christmas cards that are humorous and entertaining, just like your family.
Solution: Fashion your very own holiday story picture, by setting up a view. Here are some ideas. The kids discovered Mommy kissing Santa Claus (Daddy in disguise). Put the young kids in a bubble bath with Santa hats on them or bubble beards. Take a snapshot of each family member grabbing a slice of pizza with the message “pizza on earth”. Picture an empty plate of cookies and empty glasses of milk in front of guilty-looking children with the caption “sorry Santa!”
Those after-the-Halloween-costume-sales can come in handy when trying to set up a fanciful photo. How about posing your little dolls with angel wings you picked up at a discount? Other options could be your kids dressed as cats (caption: Meowy Christmas), super heroes (caption: have a super Christmas), a baby in a pea-pod costume (caption: “peas on earth”).
Challenge 5: You’d like a beautiful photo Christmas card that doesn’t look like the usual, exhausted, group family photo you send out every year.
Solution: Change the scene of your photo shoot. If you’re within driving distance, go to a beach, there are a lot of exceptional photo opportunities. For instance, pose the kids on a sleigh on a sand dune. Engrave Merry Christmas on the sand, and have everyone sit behind the inscription.
Autumn makes a lot of great possibilities for photo Christmas cards. Try taking shots of the kids playing in a pile of leaves, or in a pumpkin patch. Make a lovely panorama of your backdrop and it can create an impression that takes your photo Christmas card to a new higher level.
Challenge 6: Whenever you thrash about to take a family group photo, somebody always blinks their eyes, turns their head away or doesn’t smile. It seems just about impossible to get one great shot where everyone looks good.
Solution: Pick a card company that offers photo Christmas card designs that has multiple photos of your family. The latest fashion in holiday photo cards is to include a number of your photos on one card in an exclusive, holiday layout. This has become famous because it is much easier to take perfect, individual photos of your family members than one suitable group picture.
Whatever particular test you face when making your photo Christmas cards, there is always an easy solution. Try these innovative approaches and soon you’ll be hearing from your friends, relatives, coworkers and neighbors how much they liked this year’s family holiday photo card.

Selecting your theme can be a challenge for many people when attending a fancy dress as many people will not always consider there is now so much choice when it comes to selecting fancy dress costumes for Men, Women and children.

One very popular theme is the emergency services or 999 range of fancy dress which covers Policeman, Fireman, Nurses, Doctors and paramedics which can be supplied close to the genuine thing.

One online retailer offering 999 emergency services fancy dress costumes and accessories is Novelties 4 Parties – http://www.novelties4parties.co.uk/department/999-emergency/

Going to fancy dress party dressed as a naughty nurse or even a fireman can be slightly raunchy and this have led to many suppliers of fancy dress catering for this market but also the hen and stag party market offering a combination of fun and excitement and essentially get them noticed.

Fancy dress parties and costumes have been growing in choice and popularity over the last few years and this has led to improved range and lower prices and the selection of accompanying accessories is huge offering partygoers the full costume and not just the outfit.

999 emergency fancy dress certainly adds another dimension to consider but the main benefit is that it is easy to ensilage the end result so no guess work is required. So this makes selection of costumes and accessories much easier and everyone knows what a fireman or nurse will look like.

On the internet there has been an influx of websites supplying fancy dress costumes and accessories but many of these websites are not offering quality as much as an important factor as they should and this sometimes results in the fancy dress costume only lasting a few hours and this then result in children being disappointed.

Here is some useful tips for consideration when buying fancy dress costumes:

1. Look at buying from websites that offer money back guarantees of 14 days or more.

2. Buy fancy dress costumes from websites that offer good levels of payment security or google checkout.

3. Websites that offer massive choice of costumes are likely to be more serious players.

4. Companies that seem to be offering goods that are really cheap could indicate that quality has been compromised for price.

5. Check out if the company supplies fancy dress accessories as this can also indicate if the supplier is a specialist or just supplying product as a secondary line.

6. Does THE supplier have a customer services telephone number as this is important if you get a problem then at least you can call the supplier to get a resolution.

7. Are the images good quality and consistent? Having a good quality image of the fancy dress outfit at least you see what you are buying and it is unlikely a supplier would photograph a good quality costume and then supply a lesser quality.

8. The description of the products should be clear and precise and indicate sizes and styles in detail.

9. Ensure a larger size is not going to be charged a higher price in the checkout.

10. Feeling comfortable with customer information like about us, returns policy and contact details as this will indicate the supplier cares about his products and customers alike.

Even though this is not an exhaustive list of do’s and don’ts on buying fancy dress costumes and accessories at least you have some pointers on ensuring you buy correctly!