It’s that season again! You know the one – the HOLIDAY season!

I do feel like I should start off with a little caveat though, just to make things clear. Maybe I’ll do a full post about this, but for now I will start smaller. Given some of the recent changes to our overarching situation as a community, I feel it needs to be said: These sessions are open to EVERYONE. It doesn’t matter what you celebrate, whether you celebrate at all – the holiday season is about love. Love for everyone. No matter your skin color, your orientation, the makeup of your family – everyone is welcome at Jessica Strobel Photography, and everyone always will be.

Whether I refer to the sessions as “Holiday Sessions” or “Christmas Sessions” or “Holiday Exclusives” (all of which you’ll see as interchangeable descriptions in this post) – your family, the people you love, are ALWAYS welcome here.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, back to the point! Because it’s time for Holiday photo sessions here in Minneapolis!! As of the time of writing, I still have a few available (I ended up opening more dates, since the first round filled out completely)! But what that means, is you still have time to book your family holiday minis, and document your amazing people. And I thought for those of you who haven’t booked yet, I would break down why you absolutely 100% should, and why they’ll be completely worth it!

My Christmas Mini Sessions Are SUPER Easy

I know I talk about this every year as a huge win for booking Christmas Minis with Jessica Strobel Photography, but it gets more and more true every time I say it! Mini sessions with me are designed to be as low stress as humanly possible. And when I say that, I mean it. Not only will your session itself be quick and fun, but your kiddos won’t have to wait around. And if you DO have a bit of time spent at the studio? I provide a little craft to keep their tiny hands busy while you’re waiting! As a mom myself, I know how stressful waiting in line can be, whether you’re in a line or you’re in a big mob of humans waiting for your name to be called. ESPECIALLY if you have neurodivergent kiddos in your clan. I do in mine, so I’ve BEEN there, mama. I know how it is. And I design my sessions specifically to minimize the potential of pre-session meltdowns – because you deserve to come away from your mini session with gorgeous photos of your littles (and you!) and stress beforehand doesn’t lend itself well to happy smiling photos. So my first promise to you when you book a holiday mini session? It will be EASY. So easy, you’ll wish ALL your photo sessions were just like it.

You Definitely Need Updated Photos

This is another topic that I talk about a lot, but I talk about it because it’s important! We carry cameras around in our pockets all day long now (surprisingly powerful ones, at this point) and it can feel like you’ve got enough pics of your kiddos on your camera roll that you don’t need to hire someone to take more. You could just send those photos to one of those app programs that will print them in an album for you, and call it a day. But… there’s something you’re not thinking about when it comes to the pics on your phone.

You’re not in them.

You were TAKING them. Because you’re Mom, and that’s how it works, right? We’re the camera holders, and so were our moms back when it was disposable film cameras at family get-togethers that made up the bulk of photos taken of your humans. That’s why the family photo albums are suspiciously empty of pics of Mom… but everyone else is in there repeatedly. Or maybe that’s just me, but I’m pretty sure it’s a more universal experience than that.

So why does that relate to Holiday Mini Sessions? Simple – you deserve photos with YOU in them too! Pictures of you smiling with your little ones, enjoying being human together.

Your kids are only kids once!

To add to the above, holiday sessions are important (Santa sessions especially!!) because your kids are only kids once. That stretch of time where they look at everything around them with childlike wonder? It’s not going to be around forever. They’re only going to believe in Santa for so long, and that magical sparkle in their eyes around this season will dull like it did with us. Not that it will make the season less magical, but it’ll be less CHILDLIKE in its magic. I personally think as adults the holiday season can be even MORE magical, because we’re choosing to spend it with the people we love, knowing that the magic we feel is magic we MADE.

But that doesn’t mean documenting the childlike version of the magic is any less important. It makes it MORE valuable. So, while your kids are still kids, document the joy on their faces when they come meet Santa. Help yourself to remember the magic. Give yourself those moments to look back on when they’re a grumpy teen who greets you in the morning before school by grunting vaguely that they’re tired of cereal for breakfast.

They’re Perfect to use for Holiday Cards (Yes, even Digital Ones!)

Okay so I know that holiday cards aren’t nearly as much of a thing as they used to be, and we’re not writing personalized letters long-hand and sending them out to our people every winter. The days of updating aunt Sally about everything your kids have done through the year are over, and also let’s be honest, our lives have too many things in them to make that a reasonable ask anyway. But… I am still a STAUNCH believer in the holiday card!! Even if it’s just a printed photo of your people with a little jolly message on the back. I know this is another thing I talk about a lot, but we don’t have nearly as many physical reminders of the people who love and care for us now, in our digital world, and I think that’s a travesty. I think we should be surrounded by that love ALL the time, no matter what, on our walls, in our phones, on our desktop, pinned to the fridge, and hanging from the rear-view mirror in your car. Like, everywhere you can be reminded of the people you love, you should be.

But even if you’re not going to jump on the physical holiday card bandwagon, Christmas mini sessions make great DIGITAL holiday cards as well! And that’s something ANYone can send, whether you have pretty handwriting or not. Whether you do yours in the form of a post on social media, or an email that goes out to the people who matter most to you, including a photo means that THEY can get that image printed if they want to, to get that same reminder of the people they love that I was talking about before! So really… it’s a win-win. You stay connected with your favorite humans, they get to see their favorite humans… It’s all good stuff!

Your Kids will have So Much Fun (And So Will You!)

Christmas and Holiday mini sessions aren’t just fun for your kiddos, they’re also fun for YOU! Not only do you get to SEE that childlike joy I was talking about, you get to experience some for yourself. Whether you book a Santa session, a white session, or another of the minis on the calendar, every smile we capture in the studio is real. Whether it’s the smile on parents’ faces, or kids’ faces.

If you’re not convinced… take a look at the options!

Oh, and did I mention, they’re SUPER affordable?? I know every family has a budget, and what qualifies as “expensive” for one family is not the same for everyone – but I work to make sure that my mini sessions are as economically accessible as I can, because frankly… I think every family DESERVES these photos. But if all this hasn’t convinced you, go take a look at what I have available on this years’ schedule, and see for yourself!

While I know I mentioned that at the time of writing this there are sessions left in the calendar, there might not be by the time you read this. But that’s okay too! Even if there aren’t minis on the calendar, and you’re feeling the pull to get updated pics of your family… reach out. We can schedule a holiday themed session JUST for you, if that’s the vibe you want out of your time in the studio!

So whether you want to schedule a Minneapolis christmas mini photo session, or you just feel like it’s time to take the leap to update your family pictures… reach out. We can have a chat about designing a session that meets your needs, whatever those needs are!