The Holidays Are Busy. The Memories Are Happening Anyway.

Somewhere along the way, our family started looking at the holidays a little differently.

Not because we stopped loving Christmas morning, the excitement, or watching the kids tear through wrapping paper.

But because, we really didn't need one more LEGO set.

Or another video game.

Or another thing that would eventually find its way into a closet, a drawer, or the bottom of a toy bucket.

What we wanted was more time together.

More places to explore. More little adventures. More stories that started with, "Remember when we...?"

So we started making travel part of our holiday traditions.

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For my birthday weekend, we escaped to a cabin in North Conway, New Hampshire. No big itinerary, no rushing from one activity to the next. Just hot cocoa, knitting by the fire, and time together as a family. We even had a photographer come capture a little piece of our weekend. Because sometimes the memories worth documenting aren't the big adventures, but the quiet moments in between.

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And no, that doesn't mean every trip has to be elaborate or expensive.

Sometimes it's a road trip, a few nights somewhere new, or finding a little holiday magic in a town we've never visited before.

It's the car rides, the snacks, the coffee shops(my saving grace,haha) , the wrong turns, the places we stumble upon, and the little things that never make it onto an itinerary.

Sometimes it's something as simple as spending a winter day exploring a little New Hampshire town, popping into shops, finding somewhere cozy to warm up, and just enjoying being together.

Those are the moments I want more of.

Those are the things that tend to stick.

The Gifts We Keep Coming Back To

I think there's something really special about giving your family an experience.

A new place to wander. A tradition to look forward to. A few days away from the usual routines.

And as the kids get older, I've found myself appreciating those moments even more.

Because the years when everyone is home, everyone is available, and everyone wants to pile into the car together? They don't last forever.

So if I can trade a few extra presents for another adventure together, I'm going to choose the adventure.

Not because the presents don't matter. But because the time does.

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A little piece of our time in Savannah, Georgia. We spent an afternoon having family photos taken in and around Forsyth Park. It wasn't a big excursion or an elaborate activity, just time together in a beautiful place, with someone else behind the camera for a change. And now we have these memories to bring home with us.

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The Photos Become Part of the Story

And maybe this is the photographer in me, but I want photographs of those experiences, too.

Not just the perfectly planned family portraits, although I love those.

I want the bundled-up kids walking through a new town. The laughter during a snowy afternoon. The quick family photo before heading off to the next thing.

I want the moments that remind us not only where we went, but what it felt like to be there.

Because years later, when the details start to blur, those photographs have a way of bringing everything back.

The cold air. The excitement. The people we were with. And all the little things we didn't realize we'd miss.

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A Little Holiday Magic in Lake Placid

This December, I'll be heading to Lake Placid, New York, during a youth hockey tournament.

And I love that families are making a weekend out of something that's already on their calendars.

I've already scheduled a family photography session while I'm there, and I've also donated a session to the tournament raffle.

Because while hockey might be what brings everyone to Lake Placid, there's so much more to remember about a weekend away together.

The mountains, the winter scenery, the kids bundled up in their coats sipping hot cocoa, grandma with all of her children and grandchildren and those few moments when everyone is together somewhere beautiful.

I'll be offering a limited number of family sessions during the first weekend in December, and I'd love to photograph a few more families while I'm there.

Nothing overly complicated. Just a little time together, a beautiful place, and photographs that will help you remember it.

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Maybe We Don't Need to Add More to the Holidays

Maybe we don't need another perfectly planned activity, another elaborate setup (yeah, I'm talking to you, Elf on the Shelf 👀), or another thing to check off the holiday list.

And speaking of that little elf, if you're looking for a way to keep some of the holiday magic without all the nightly pressure, I wrote about a few simpler alternatives to Elf on the Shelf.

Maybe we just need to notice what's already happening.

The trips we're taking. The traditions we're building. The people we're spending time with.

And maybe, every once in a while, we make sure someone gets a photograph of all of us together.

Because someday, the presents will be forgotten, the toys will be outgrown, and the games will be replaced.

But I hope we'll still be telling the stories. "Remember when we...?" Those are the gifts I want to keep giving.