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.
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#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
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165points
#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.”
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163points
#43 This Is Me With Santa In 1975. I Can’t Tell Who Is More Unhappy, Me Or Him
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162points
#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
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162points
#48 This Particular Year, We Chose To Pull From The Story Of The Grinch
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141points
#49 The Time My Brother Was Given A New Bicycle, And I Got A Tricycle
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139points
#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
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136points