What to Wear for Holiday Family Photos

Holiday family photos are a tradition that dates back generations. The photos will adorn the walls of your home and those you have loved for decades. If you hire the right photographer, all you’ll have to worry about is what you and your family are wearing. But there is a level of stress that comes with choosing the perfect outfits for a holiday family photo, even when using your favorite online clothing store. To alleviate the stress, here are five tried and actual outfit themes that will make figuring out what to wear for holiday family photos easy.

Shades of Red

When you think of the holidays, you probably immediately think of the color red or some shade of red such as maroon, cherry, garnet, merlot, or currant. Red is a great theme color for your holiday photos and is easily paired with black, khaki, or denim to round out everyone’s outfit options.

Yellow and Navy

Just as red is relative to Christmas holidays, yellow and navy lend themselves well to fall photos. With a yellow and navy theme, create outfits for each family member using both colors. Mustard yellow is the go-to shade for fall photos paired with navy. To spice the photo up, add a hint of dusty orange.

Black, Grey, and Light Pink Outfits

If bright colors aren’t your thing, you can go opposite the color wheel by opting for black and grey outfits. Black and grey go well together and look good against any background you choose. In addition, you can throw in a bit of color by adding light pink accents.

Little girls can wear light pink dresses, Mom could add a light pink headband, and the guys in the family can get in on the theme with light pink polos or adorable pink bow ties. If pink doesn’t do it for you, consider dark green or maroon for a classic, dapper feel.

Christmas Pajamas for Everyone

If you want to alleviate all the stress of taking family photos, you can buy matching pajamas for every family member. If Mom and Dad don’t want to commit to a complete pajama set fully, they can opt for a solid color t-shirt to go with pajama pants.

The ideas for Christmas pajama photos are endless. To make the photo more playful, you can get matching bandanas for your furry family members and add Santa hats or sleep masks.

Tacky Christmas Sweaters for Everyone

Another cute holiday photo idea is to have everyone dress in their favorite Christmas sweater; the tackier, the better. Don’t stress about what everyone chooses; let them choose the sweater that shows off their personality or makes them giggle.

These holiday photos will be conversation starters for everyone that receives your card and will make you smile for years thinking about the memories made during that photo shoot.

Festive Plaid

Once the Halloween and fall decorations fade from store shelves, the decor is replaced with plaid. Plaid is a festive holiday choice and provides several color options for families. You can all wear red flannel plaid, or you can mix it up.

Dad and the boys can wear flannel and khakis, little girls can wear tartan dresses, and Mom can keep it classic with a solid-colored dress that matches everyone’s outfits.

You can also opt for different styles of plaid in the same color. Oh, you thought all plaid was the same? It’s not. The size of the plaid in each person’s outfits doesn’t have to match and gives more dimension to the outfits too. Different types of plaid to consider include:

• Tartan (Scottish plaid)
• Gingham
• Checkered
• Madras
• Windowpane
• Houndstooth
• Prince of Wales
• Tattersall

Beach-Inspired Holiday Outfits

If you love sending Christmas cards and covering your home with family photos but don’t love the weather that comes with this time of year, you could opt for Beach-inspired holiday outfits. Of course, you want to choose khaki, white, and light blue outfit choices for this look.

Consider taking the photo in the summer when the sun is bright, and the wind is blowing through your hair. It will be a breath of fresh air amongst all the traditional holiday photos.

Primary Color or Pastel Color Palette Themes

Choosing an all-primary color palette or pastel color palette is another great idea. It requires more shopping and planning than the other ideas listed below. But the results will be worth it.

Primary color palette ideas for holiday photos include white, yellow, red, and blue. Pastel color palette ideas include powdered pink, washed shades of blues, and light yellow. Primary color palettes look great with natural backgrounds like solid-colored backdrops or with a field of Christmas trees behind you. However, pastel colors often look best with romantic, light, and neutral backgrounds.

The most important tip for the best holiday family photo outfit ideas is to remember to have fun. The point of having these photos done is to capture your beautiful family and the holiday spirit. So be natural, worry less about whether everyone is looking at the camera, and focus on letting each person’s personality shine through.