It’s that time of year again…time for family pictures! Yesterday we put on our best outfits and displayed our best “cheese” smiles for our Sears family portraits. You could also win a free portrait session from Sears – keep reading to find out how!
While I was in Toronto last month, I was able to visit The Baby’s Room at Sears for a tour of their new setup & selection. In case you missed it, here’s a review of The Baby’s Room at Sears (this review was done in my own city in Saskatchewan). They have an amazing new arrangement & product selection that really helps with your shopping experience.
During my Toronto visit, I was able to select a handsome outfit for my son to wear for our family pictures. We went with a cute sweater vest, dress pants and white shirt along with the cutest little tie that has tiny skulls on it. I’m sure I won’t like him wearing skulls as a teen but since he’s only 17 months old, it looks pretty darn cute!
Until November 8th, you can save 25% off dresswear at Sears. This sale includes dresswear for infants all the way up to teen-wear so you can buy beautiful holiday wear for all of your kids. As an added bonus, if you spend $50 or more you also receive a coupon for a free Sears photo session along with 10 free photo greeting cards.
Looking for adorable dresswear for your kids? Check out what Sears has to offer:
Sears Family Portraits – Our Session:
We used our portrait coupon yesterday for our Sears family portraits session. This was our first time having professional photos done as a family. I wasn’t sure what to expect as it can be difficult to get our son to sit still for photos. Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised when he kept getting up and running away.
Our photographer was great with him and assured us that he’s not the first runaway baby she’s tried to photograph. We used a few small props to try to keep him focused. He really liked the small silver jingle bell and it actually looks cute in the pictures. I think it’s a perfect fit for holiday photos. We were able to get quite a few great family shots as well as some of just my son.
We used a plain white background but you have many options to choose from for your Sears family portraits.
Here are a few tips for family portraits with a little one:
- Bring something to keep him entertained. Perhaps your child has a favorite stuffed animal and you wouldn’t mind including it in your family portrait. Be sure to bring it along! Sears also has a few props you can choose from to include in your session.
- Bring along a snack and a drink for your little one. After the photos are taken, you will wait a few minutes for them to bring the pictures up on the computer. You’ll then look through the pictures and decide which ones you’d like to have printed. This can be a long process (if you’re like me and have trouble making decisions when it’s something as cute as photos of your child) so having snacks and a drink is a great idea.
- Make a checklist before you leave for your Sears family portraits session. Do you have all of your clothing with you (including shoes), snack, drink and a small prop if needed?
- Most children will wiggle around during the photo sessions and the photographer expects that so don’t worry when your little one seems to have ants in his pants.
- Remember that it will take at least a couple of weeks for your pictures to come in so be sure to schedule your Sears family portraits session with this in mind if you plan on sending out photos with your holiday cards.
Before I get into the fun giveaway, I have to share a funny story with you. After our photo session was done, a little girl (about 3 years old) came in dressed in a beautiful holiday dress. My son played with her while I looked through our photos. Then I overheard her say “You need a bath!”. Ha! I promise you we did bathe him before his photo session and I think he was looking pretty darn handsome but she kept repeating “Hey! You need to have a bath!”. I was having a good laugh at it but I think her parents were a bit embarrassed.
Now here’s your chance to win a certificate for your own Sears family portraits session along with 10 free photo greeting cards! Not only do you get a certificate to enjoy but you will also receive a second one to hand out to friends or family!
I gave my second one to my best buddy who is likely in the hospital having the baby as I type this! This is her second child and I’m sure she’ll get some beautiful pictures of her daughter and her newest bundle of joy.
Prize Eligibility:
The lucky winner must reside in Canada and be 18 years of age or older. You can enter across multiple blogs (follow the hashtag #SearsBabysRoom on Twitter to find the other participating blogs) but you can only win on one blog. The winner will be randomly chosen on November 22nd. The winner will be notified by email and must respond to the email within 48 hours to claim the prize. If I do not receive an email from the lucky winner within 48 hours, a prize forfeit is assumed and a new winner will be chosen. By entering this giveaway, you verify that you understand and meet the prize eligibility requirements. You can enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Good Luck!
This giveaway is now closed. The lucky winner was Denise G.
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Disclosure: I am part of the Sears – The Baby’s Room Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
My best tip?? Get someone great with kids, and don’t be too rigid with your poses.
bring some snacks for your kids.. we got pictures of my son drinking his juicebox and eating and they were so cute and not forced.
Have fun, laugh, don’t make it a chore!
awesome
Have fun! It does not matter if the pictures are perfect, as long as you are having fun.
Pick out the outfits ahead of time! Don’t leave that for the last minute.
Don’t go early morning, they look sleepy if you have kids. Just make sure your kids are in a happy upbeat mood =D
make sure you work around nap times….sleepy kids are usually grumpy
Make sure everyone is willing
Make sure you pick a time where your little ones are typically the most alert and happy.
Make sure kids are rested and not hungry
Our little guy is shy around strangers, so we get much better pics if we bring a friend that he knows to stand behind the photographer & make silly faces 🙂
I think you got a wonderful family picture! Lovely post!
match in some way 🙂
Be yourself and smile
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
Pick out clothing ahead of time and bring a snack!
have fun, don’t be so serious
My tip is to wait untill after nap time and snack time.
thanks
Make sure the kids have had naps before time
Make sure everyone stays hydrated and gets enough sleep the night before. Make sure your outfits match but are not matchy matchy.
I apologize please disregard my entry as I am in the US and not CAN.
Go when your kids aren’t tired. I also tell them to smile for Grandma or Grandpa (or whoever the picture will be for) and remind them about how they like looking at pictures in our photobooks at home (ours are a bit older – 4 and 2).
Think about doing a session with your baby or child’s friend; great photo sessions don’t just have to be about siblings!
Distractions to keep kids happy.
Dress alike but not like twins…just a common color is nice
Go early. Before nap but not near nap time.
Make sure all babies have napped and everyone has gone pee lol 🙂
Have fun with it!
Be natural and have fun.
don’t wear clothes that clash with other family member’s clothes.
I find that bringing a favorite stuffed bear is good. Well known in your child’s life, but still cute enough to be in your photos!
Makr sure the kids are not tired!!
Be flexible and stay relaxed!
smile
ontariohappychick at gmail dot com
Make sure not to go at a time when your child will be sleepy, have a full tummy and have fun and don’t stress and the kids will have fun with it too
Go in the morning or after nap time – babies will be much easier if they are not tired. 🙂
Be flexible
Here is a tip a photographer just told me yesterday! When standing for a photo never face your body head on and put your weight on your back foot. Makes you look skinnier!
Hopefully get the photographer to take some candid (non-posed) shots too – those are often the best of the lot!
My best tip: come prepared with everything. I bring snack for for my toddler, wipes, and an extra set of clothes and his favorite stuffed animal.
bring your own props!
No need for fancy clothes. The most natural family photo is one that you wear what you normally wear on a daily basis. Simple family comfort and love will appear in your family’s smiles! 🙂
My little trickes…. schedule around feeding times, nap times and normal cranky times. I let them chose their clothes. I chose 3 outfits and let them chose… they feel like they decided what to wear. IT makes all the difference
Don’t be late and bring a comb
Let the kids take a silly photo. I get them to sit and smile nice. When we get a good one I tell them to look as silly as possible, they love it. Its not as stressful and I get my nice pic too 🙂
Find someone to take your pictures that knows what they’re doing, thats my tip!
sweetmelbelle31 at yahoo dot com
I can’t give any tips because we’ve never had family portraits done! I’d love to start this as a tradition for our family!
Make sure everyone is willing and make the session a fun time. A photographer with a good personality makes a difference.
Bring favorite toys for the kids will relax
Our photo sessions go best when the kids are well-fed and rested!
Make sure that everyone is fed and rested. Especially the parents 🙂 LOVE the tie, adorable!
Besos, Sarah
Zookeeper at Journeys of The Zoo
Make sure everyone has eaten and gone to the bathroom first!
Thanks for the giveaway
Just relax and have fun!
thanks for this giveaway 🙂
Thanks for the chance!