The holiday season isn’t complete without a few essential things. Baking some gingerbread cookies for Santa. Eating a neverending cascade of delicious meals that leave you barely able to move (unless you’re willing to wobble and roll around). Some fiery drama with your relatives over nothing in particular. And, of course, an awkward family photo that you can proudly put on a Christmas card or hide in the deepest, darkest recesses of your album.
Weird hairstyles. Strange clothing. Peculiar expressions. Odds are that you’ve got a photo exactly like this, having posed with your relatives for a seasonal snapshot, whether at home or at a professional studio.
Awkwardness is one of those universal things that can make people facepalm and cringe no matter what part of the world they’re from. And we’re serving a healthy dose of that to you today, in the form of awkward family Christmas photos, as shared by the delightfully goofy Awkward Family Photos project, as well as the separate but also incredibly fun r/awkwardfamilyphotos subreddit. Upvote your fave pics, tell us which ones you loved the most, and share your own pics in the comments, dear Pandas.
Bored Panda got in touch with Mike Bender, the co-founder of Awkward Family Photos and a bestselling NYT author. We also reached out to professional photographer Dominic Sberna. You’ll find both interviews below.
Hope you’re ready for some secondhand embarrassment! And remember—it’s fun to be silly. So embrace it.
More info: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com | Board Game
#1 About 7 Months Ago, A Tiny Kitten Showed Up In The Parking Lot At My Office. He Turned Out To Be The Chillest Kitty Ever. Happy Holidays From Me And Little Marshall Meowthers!
Image source: oatmealfoot
#2 So, My Dog Met Santa Claus
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#3 We Took The Same Christmas Photo 18 Years Later
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#4 Sometimes Life Gives You A Puppy And Sometimes It Gives You Socks. Christmas 2016
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#5 It Is A Rare Occasion When We Can Gather All Grown Children, Significant Others, Grandkids And Dogs For A Family Picture. We Did It! Sort Of
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#6 My Friend Has A Fantastic Baby Photo
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#7 It’s Been Just My Son And Me For Years. Every Christmas, We Take An Intentionally Awkward Family Christmas Photo. He’s 18 Now, And We Still Do It. This Was Xmas ‘20
Image source: DepressiveNerd
#8 It’s Been Eleven Years And This Is Still The Best Christmas Photo My Family Has Ever Taken
Image source: reddit.com
#9 The Santa Meet And Greet Was On The Same Day As Comic-Con
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#10 We’ll Have What They’re Having
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#11 My Friend’s Fantastic Christmas Card
Image source: kcm1984
#12 My Grandma Got So Smashed At Dinner That She Fell Into The Christmas Tree
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#13 In Yugoslavia We Had Very Scary Santas In The 1980s
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#14 Christmas, 1997. My Baby Sister Was Being Held Up By My Dad Through A Hole Cut In The Sheet And He Was Shouting At My Mom To Take The Picture
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#15 Interesting Prop For The Christmas Pageant, Johnny
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#16 Last Year They Were Inspired By The Elf On The Shelf And Took This Little Gem
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#17 My Father And I Christmas Morning Circa 1982. Mom Said He Was Probably Hung Over
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#18 Every Year I Send Out A Poorly Photoshopped Christmas Card That Reminds People Im Single
Image source: mirandalaska
#19 We Played A Game Where The Kids Had To Decorate One Of Their Parents Like A Christmas Tree
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#20 I Was Five And My Brother Was 18 Months Old And He Thought Candles Were Probably Something Interesting To Eat
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#21 For The Family Christmas Photo, Everyone Had To Make A Sign With Their Relationship Status
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#22 Is It A Problem When You’re 10 Months Away And You Already Have Anxiety Over What To Do Next Christmas
Image source: schankhaus
#23 Our ‘Baby Jesus’ Was Not Happy About It And Growled As She Was Being Wrapped In Swaddling Clothes
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#24 My Friend And I Took Our Babies To See Santa And This Was The Result
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#25 My Brother Put All He Had On The Dance Floor The Night Of My Parents’ 1987 Christmas Party
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#26 This Is My Brother And I At Christmas, 1965. I Was Only 6 Months Old And My Brother Obviously Thought I Was Annoying, If Not Repulsive
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#27 That One Christmas When A Champagne Cork Hit Me In The Eye
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#28 I Can’t Stop Laughing At This!!🤣
Image source: uaonthetrack
#29 My Christmas Card With My Cat Was Deemed ‘Sacrilegious’
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#30 I Told My 2-Year-Old That Santa Was Tired Of Milk And Cookies
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#31 I Hated Taking Pictures When I Was Little, Especially Ones Where We Had To Dress Up. I Told My Mom I Was Done And She Didn’t Believe Me. I Didn’t Mean To Make This Face. It Just Sort Of Happened On Its Own. So This Is The Christmas Card She Got
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#32 This Is Me In 1970 When I Was 5 And Meeting A Santa Who Had Face-Boobs
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#33 For My Slightly Belated Birthday, I Present The Christmas Gift My Granddad Undoubtedly Regretted Most
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#34 My Christmas Was Scary In Yugoslavia
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#35 A Fitting 2020 Christmas Card From Our Family To Yours
Image source: cookingcupcakes
#36 Has To Be One Of The Most Cringeworthy Christmas Cards I’ve Ever Seen. That Is My Parents In Front Of Their Own Gravestones They Purchased This Year
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#37 Resentment At It’s Finest…not Sure If It’s From The Elf Costume Or For Us Bringing Home This Baby!
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#38 The Kids Loved Meeting Santa A Few Years Ago. He’s Thrilled Too
Image source: PnuttButtaGuts
#39 Stephanie Is Photoshopped In, As She Was In Peru
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#40 I Think I Wanna Bring Back My Classic “Polo Tucked Into My Tightie Whities” Look
Image source: BellyHat
#41 Surprisingly, Not Much Has Changed In The Family Dynamic Since Then. Mom Still Favors The Family Cat Over Dad, I Still Take Horrible Photos
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#42 My Parents Just Got A Hot Tub And Were Very Excited About It. For Some Reason They Posed With Wine And Candles Even Though The Children Were Not Old Enough To Drink
“My parents just got a hot tub and were very excited about it. Therefore, my grandma hired a professional photographer to take a family photo in the hot tub. For some reason they posed with wine and candles even though the children were not old enough to drink… and sent it out to 150 plus friends as a Christmas card.”
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#43 This Is Me With Santa In 1975. I Can’t Tell Who Is More Unhappy, Me Or Him
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#44 My Son Was Super Attached To Me For The First Few Years Of His Life. You Can See The Rage In Both His Face And Pointer Finger As I Stepped Away And Left Him With Jolly ‘Ol St. Nick
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#45 Mrs. Santa Cringe
Image source: uaonthetrack
#46 New Puppy And 1 Year Old. All Is Calm, All Is Bright
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#47 Well, It Is Green
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#48 This Particular Year, We Chose To Pull From The Story Of The Grinch
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#49 The Time My Brother Was Given A New Bicycle, And I Got A Tricycle
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
#50 In The 1950s, My Dad’s Relatives Would Take Turns Each Christmas Dressing Up As Santa Claus To Surprise The Kids, Complete With This Not-So-Jolly Rubber Santa Mask
Image source: awkwardfamilyphotos
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