Shield your Family from the Amsterdam Weather this Christmas
If you’ve spent any time in Amsterdam around Christmas, you know that the last thing you want to do is dress your kids in nice clothes and force them into the sleet and rain for an hour for photos. They are not going to be happy without the big, puffy coat they wear every single day. They’re going to continually pull off their mittens. The baby might toss his hat off of the bike on the way to the photoshoot. (True story. RIP our cute bear hat from Hema.)
When this family of four got to my studio, they were already soaked from the ride over and needed to take a blow dryer to some of their clothes before we started the session. (This is one of the benefits of having a home studio!)
As an American expat family living in Amsterdam, it can be easy to get mixed up on what Christmas traditions to do when. Whether or not to dial back on “normal” Christmas to make room for Sinterklaas. But this first year as a family in Amsterdam, we’ve taken a page out of Gabrielle’s book and taken any chance to celebrate. A little holiday cheer goes a long way to warm you up in this Amsterdam weather.
This year our kids are getting both Sinterklaas presents in a shoe on December 6th and Santa Claus presents on Christmas Day. I bought an advent calendar for the first Christmas in my life just to cover all my bases.
When you’re in a new country, photos are even more precious because that’s all you family gets to see. I hardly ever posted photos of my own boys on my social media just for their privacy, but after we moved to Amsterdam, I share photos of them more often so family members can still watch them grow. (Click here to see my boys’ Christmas photos from this year. I still don’t share their faces, but those little hands just melt me.)
Benefits of a Home Studio
Picture this: You leave the house in your sweatpants and the kids are still in their pajamas. You take the tram, which stops right outside my doorstep in Bos en Lommer, so you hardly feel the bitter cold and stinging rain. Your family’s nice clothes have been packed the night before and they’re still dry when you walk through the door. You sit on the couch for a minute and we have a chat while you get your children dressed into their Christmas outfits and nice shoes (barefoot is good too!). Then the magic happens!
The benefits of a home studio Christmas session are plenty:
- The heat has been running for months by now, so you can begin defrosting as soon as you step through the door.
- I have a fully functioning kitchen, so feel free to grab some water or coffee mid session.
- We work at a slower pace because I don’t have to lock up by a certain time after our session, and we can go over the scheduled time if we need to.
- We can absolutely turn on Netflix or play music for your kids during the session.
- My apartment is steps away from a trolly stop, so you don’t have to be outside for long!
- You can change outfits as many times as you want!
Sim is a motherhood and family photographer living in Amsterdam with her two boys and husband. She hasn’t fallen off her bike yet. More about Sim!
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