Since 2010 I have made a video of our Christmas mornings as a family.  If you read the blog regularly you know that I take on the role of “historian” for our family, doing most of the photography and video.  Since most people don’t go back to watch the long footage of their videos I make sure to compile the best moments into one shorter video for our family and friends.

This year I tried something new- I set up the camera on a tripod and used my remote to take photos, hoping I would actually “be in the picture.”  Instead, my camera kept resetting itself so I only got a few photos from that morning.  And my idea to leave the video camera on another table and using the remote to take footage so that I could also be “in the video” was unsuccessful so I ended up holding it to capture video.

For everyone who may be wondering, I used Final Cut Pro X to put together this video, however in years past I’ve used regular ol’ iMovie with great success. And if you have Windows, they have a free editing program called Windows Movie Maker. You don’t have to be a professional to make a movie. I have an iMovie tutorial and some tips on how to make a kick-butt home movie if you’d like to try making one with your family videos. Even though this tutorial is geared towards making a yearly slideshow it can also help with creating a Christmas video. And making a movie from a day of footage is easier than tackling one year’s worth.

I hope you enjoy this glimpse into our home and of our family. I’ve been fortunate enough to share moments like these for many years on this blog and hope that by doing so, inspire a few people to try their hand at learning the basics of video editing in order to have a few special videos to cherish down the line.

I had really hoped to have my Christmas Morning video edited and published before 2013 but that just wasn’t meant to be. I finished editing it last night and got it uploaded but by then it was too close to midnight to publish here. I was already in “party” mode and by that I mean I was in my pajamas laying in bed eating a bowl of chex mix while watching a movie with my husband. You wish your night was that exciting.

One of my traditions is to make a video of our Christmas together. I love looking back at these and as always these videos are my way of preserving the memories for my children who will hopefully cherish these mementos. Our 2011 video is also viewable on YouTube.

I hope by sharing my person videos that it can inspire others to take a stab at making their own. Last year I posted a tutorial on how to make a “Kick Butt” home movie for anyone wishing to start their own family tradition of video making.