Your favourite holiday photos

"This photo shows both the love that our daughters have for one another, as well as the curiosity that a toddler is born with! We loved it so much, it became our Christmas card photo for 2010!" ~ Greg Avdeeff  from Utterson, Ontario

Congratulations to the Avdeeff family for winning this XBOX giveaway!

This is my son, C.J. with Santa. ~ S Giles Wantuck

This is a picture of my four-year-old daughter, Ava. It was taken at Toronto Pearson Airport when  Ava was invited to "The Flight in Search of Santa" by the Children's Wish Foundation. The day was wonderful and magical.  Ava danced with elves, visited with Santa on the airplane and after we landed, Ava enjoyed one last snuggle with Santa.  ~ Susan Blackburn

This photo is so special because it was our first Christmas as parents! Nova loved all the Christmas lights and music, and we love her! ~ Nova Boden from Vancouver, B.C.

This is a picture of my beautiful six-month-old baby girl, Jaynah with Santa! Usually, Jaynah is full of smiles. I think she was a little unsure of what was going on with all the people around her making noises and clapping.  I tried to get her to smile and well, this is what she gave us.  Though, she brings a lot of joy to our lives. ~ Tanya Klobes from Toronto, Ontario

This is our little elf, Elliott's first Christmas. He was so happy and excited. We are looking forward to watching him discover Christmas again this year, and over the years to come. We are also very excited to do it all over again
with baby number two, due early next year! ~  Tara Palmer from Toronto, Ontario

This is a picture of my youngest son as a sheep for our family's annual Christmas pageant. He was able to wander around and do what little toddlers do, but still be a part of the pageant with the other kids. ~ Gillian Hughes

This is my daughter, Rienne's picture with Santa when she was a year old.My daughter is now 9 years old, and it always brings a smile to her face whenever she sees it. ~ Mia Mendoza

This is our 8 month old son, Mason. Every year I hang an ornament that was made for me as a child by my late Grandfather with my name and birth year on it. For my son's first Christmas, I had a replica made for him with his name and birth year. This is him hanging his ornament.~ Courtnie Hewlett from Russell, Ontario

This is my son Mason. ~ Kathryn Ellis from Peterborough, Ontario

This is one of my favourite Christmas pictures. Our son had just turned three and wanted a picture with his two best pals. I don't know what's better, the fact that he wanted Christmas hats on everyone or the "look" on the dog's face! Happy holidays to all! ~Julie Cregg from Annapolis Royal, NS

This is my one-year-old son, Andrew. This is my favourite photo because this is his first Christmas picture with me. ~ Linda Li from Toronto, Ontario

This is our favourite photo because it shows us all how to truly find the joy in the holidays. We were waiting to see Santa but she was so excited to be with the family and see all the decorations.  
~ Laskowski family from Scarborough, Ontario

The picture I’m submitting is of my son, Owen, the day before Christmas in 2009. It remains my favourite Christmas photo because he finally reached Santa’s height! We’ve had Santa since Owen was born and we take him out each year. Until 2010, Owen looked up to Santa; now, he pats Santa on the head! ~ Carolyn Dobbyn

This photo is one of my favourites of my grandson, Ty. He and his twin were born several weeks premature on December 14th, 1997, so Christmas has always been special to us because we were blessed with two babies — and they are healthy, happy and thriving. We spend Christmas Eve at their house every year and this picture represents Ty’s joy at getting his bag of gifts from Nana and PaPa. ~ Karen McNish from Lyn, Ontario

Sisterly love in front of the Christmas tree. ~ Amy Luciani

This is the first Christmas where my daughter understood that the gifts under the tree were for her. She was so happy to hear that! ~ Deanne Rumsey from Ottawa, Ontario

Our baby was born while Daddy was on deployment in Afghanistan. He had been home for a week when this picture was taken. He was bouncing his little girl and she had this wonderful expression. ~ Sheryl Astley from Kingston, Ontario

This is my favourite because my son, who is autistic, let his step-father pick him up to put the angel on our tree. Whenever I look at it I'm reminded of how wonderful my Brady Bunch family is and how blessed I truly am during the holidays. ~ Arlene Whelan

This picture of my daughter, Eva, was taken on Boxing Day in 2008. It is special as this was her first snow cave. She had some help constructing it, but her joy in this temporary structure is evident! ~ Emma Bauer from Calgary, Alberta

This is Violet, one-month-old. ~ Tanya Downey from Kingston, Ontario

Here is a photo of my two stepdaughters and my son taking a quick break from setting up the Christmas tree. It's the first Christmas since I met my husband three years ago that we are setting up the tree. Normally, the girls spend Christmas morning with their mother (so we don't bother with a tree), but because it's their brother's first Christmas they want to spend it here with us. I love seeing how much they love him and want to be around him. ~ Christine Forbes from Angus, Ontario

This picture was taken on the night of my birthday and it was so magical with all the Christmas lights! My family is the most precious thing in my life and I especially like this picture because we all look so happy :) ~ Stephanie Robert from Trenton, Ontario

Still my favorite holiday photo ever...a big sister was really excited to share Christmas with her new baby brother... Perhaps a tad to zealous .... She hugged her brother and yelled 'thank you Santa... Best present ever!' Not sure if the little guy felt the same way! Happy holidays! ~ Shannon Ballard

This was my second daughter Cora’s first Christmas. I love this picture because it shows her personality to this day, two years later. She’s pretty fearless and I think she “sized” Santa up good and decided to be friends. ~ Trisha Yarascavitch from Kitchener, Ontario

This is our son Aaron! ~ Erica Bouyouris from Toronto

"This family photo was taken during an outing at Fort Whyte in Winnipeg. Every year Father Christmas arrives in the forest to take pictures with families and hear Christmas wishes from the kids. It's a wonderful tradition and something our family looks forward to every year." ~ Lisa Bako from Winnipeg, Manitoba

Here is a photo of my two favourite Christmas elves, Abigail, 4, and Anderson, 2. They truly do love and adore each other, most of the time. Getting into the Christmas spirit isn't too hard for my little cuties. ~ Abigail and Anderson Korb from Oshawa, Ontario

Every year I like to create a unique family photo for our Christmas Card. This was taken in our backyard, I am hanging off of the kids swing set. It was alot of fun making these photos. ~ Twila Tufts from Meteghan, Nova Scotia

"This is Carter's first Christmas (4 months old) and he giggles whenever he sees a picture of Santa Claus! I think he is going to love this holiday." ~ Tina Anderson from Fall River, Nova Scotia

My two boys would LOVE to win this Xbox 360! (ok, me too!) ~ Sonya David from Toronto

"This is a photo of our son, Finn, when he was 10 months old. I posted this photo on my desktop at work last Christmas and loved the laughs it created in the office as people walked by. Although it screams "Bah Humbug," I can assure you Finn loves everything about Christmas!" ~ Erin and Jason Pettapiece from Guelph, Ontario

"My niece on her first Christmas all decked out in a Santa hat!" ~ Tasha Brobyn from Guelph, Ontario

"This is our family photo from Christmas 2011. This photo is so special to me because it was our first Christmas together as a complete family unit. My husband Patrick and I always have to have our first son, our dog Mateo in our family photos along with Gabriel - now 4 and Zachary - now almost 2." ~ Carly Belina

"Here's a pic of our little guy, Grayson! We are all looking forward to our first Christmas as a 'family'...and what better way to celebrate than dressing up as Santa!" ~ Dionne Dillabauch 

"This is a picture of my son on his first Christmas. He was 6 months old at the time. This was his reaction when he finally got his gift from Santa opened. I will never forget this memory!" ~ Sharon Wright

Ares and Oceana decided to take a nap while Mommy and Daddy were trying to take a picture of their first Christmas together! ~ Palaroan family from North York, Ontario

This is one of my favourites! It shows off my kids' personalities perfectly at the time. It is a couple of years old but I still look back on it and smile. My son loved to laugh, from the day he could laugh he never stopped. And my daughter was such a serious baby — it would take us everything for her to crack a smile or even giggle. Thankfully, that is not the case with her anymore. I am happy and proud to say I've got three very happy kids! ~ Genevieve Depelteau from Ottawa, Ontario

This holiday photo is special to me because it is the only one we have of our family all together and it was taken right before my youngest son (14 months at the time in this picture) was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. ~ Shayna Craig from Tweed, Ontario

My twin boys, Tyler and Drake, were born two months premature and, after a three-month stay in hospital, we finally got to bring them home. These are my boys at 10 months old on their first Christmas. I love their smiles and how healthy they look. Christmas is our favourite time of year! ~ Megan Buchholz

Christmas 2010: Noah was just getting to be old enough to realize Santa's a "good guy". Adam, on the other hand, wasn't yet buying into it. Happy Holidays! ~ Katerina Munz

This was Harpers' first Christmas and big sister Morgan was excited to show her how exciting Christmas was. ~ Anita Hudson from Chatham, Ontario
 

This is my son Rory. We were playing a family game we made up. The person who's turn it is had to wear the reindeer antlers and put on Rudolph's nose before answering a question about Christmas. Rory had so much fun playing this game, and his dad and I had a great time watching and playing too. ~ Lexia Joy Nash from Vancouver, B.C.

Christmas 2010: Christmas Eve is a very special night in our house as that’s when all the magic happens! My youngest son, Darien, loves to put out the milk and cookies for Santa — and a carrot and some water for his reindeer too, of course. Because my husband has a giant sweet tooth and constantly steals his boy’s treats to "check if they’re poison", my son must always choose and test one of Santa’s cookies before he goes to bed. It has become an important tradition as “We can't poison Santa Mommy!” ~ Daphne Sproule from Edmonton, Alberta

This is my favourite photo of my kids with Santa. My son Darien is seven and very excited by Santa's visit and the chat they had prior to the photo. My daughter Ruby, on the other hand, is petrified! It is my favourite photo because it reminds me that not everyone has the same ideas about the holidays but that we all come together regardless! ~ Daneen Segec from Kelowna B.C.

When our prayers to experience the joy of parenthood were finally answered, my husband and I were ecstatic! I love this picture representing our first Christmas as a family because it reminds me of the occasional oasis of peace in our otherwise chaotic existence as parents of infant twins! ~ Seema Sarda from Thornhill, Ontario
 
 

Christmas morning must have wiped Hannah (then age 7) out. I walked into the living room and found her like this, having a mid-morning nap with her two new Webkinz. ~ Pam Watson from Cannington, Ontario

This is my favorite family Christmas photo from last year. Trying to take a photo of two busy boys is almost next to impossible, which comes out with this photo. I love that the boys are looking anywhere but at the camera, far too distracted by all the scenery around them. I love my busy boys and I think this photo captures a lot of who they were at this stage perfectly. ~ Amanda Hill from Kamloops, B.C.

Christmas 2010 was probably my favorite Christmas. This picture was taken at a friends Christmas party when Santa arrived. Abbigail, who was then four, was old enough to get excited about Christmas and everything that came with it. The previous years she was terrified of Santa. ~ Tarnya Kliemann from Woodstock, Ontario
      

I love this photo as it basically isn't the "perfect" family photo. The girls were SO excited all day and by the time the photo with Santa came around, both girls had had it! There wasn't much cooperation left at that point, but we remember how much fun we had all day prior to that. ~ Michelle Mills from Mississauga, Ontario

This is my favourite family holiday photo because it depicts my 72-year-old mother and my precious three-year-old granddaughter. I love the way my granddaughter placed her hand on her cheek without my asking her to. First and third generation cuties — who can ask for anything more? ~ Norma Trivino from Richmond Hill, Ontario

This was our first winter when we moved from Vancouver Island to the Okanagan. My girl had never seen so much snow! That's genuine surprise there, folks! ~ Mike Gough from Okanagan, B.C.

This was taken last year and it was our little monkey's first Christmas. She's about two months old and we were in India visiting family. Her tongue is always out. It cracks us up! ~ Yashy Murphy from Toronto, Ontario

Lilliana is four months old and this is one of her very first Christmas photos. Kinda gives me a sneak peek of what I have to look forward to years to come: Who's been naughty or nice? ~ Sarha Monaghan from Toronto, Ontario
    

This is our nine-month-old son, Emilio. ~ Amy Muraca

This favourite holiday photo of mine shows my children, who had just helped with decorating our porch and are about to leave to go visit Santa at the mall. It's sweet to see their closeness and sibling love for each other. Their happiness is quite clear, as well as their excitement in going to talk to Santa about everything on their wish list! ~ Lori Pappas from Richmond Hill, Ontario

Here is a picture of my three boys with my two nephews. Yup, all boys in our family circle! This was taken on a Christmas morning and all of them were anxious for their turn to open their gifts from Santa! There were two people taking pictures, so they were all looking at whoever was shouting “cheers” in front of them. This is a family tradition we do every year at their Grandma’s and Grandpa’s — and it was my baby’s first Christmas, as well — so it was nice and exciting. ~ Veronica Dichoso from Hamilton, Ontario
 

This photo is special to me because it was our first Christmas in the new home that I worked for three years as a single mom to save up for. Also, it was their new baby sister's first Christmas. She's 1.5 months old in this photo. ~ Lori Lewis from Winnipeg, Manitoba

These are my twins, Jaxson and Emma when they were one and a half. This is my favorite Christmas photo by far! It just is what it is. ~ Tina Paquette from Sherwood Park, Alberta

This is my third son, Logan, at 14 months old. This picture is special because he was so excited to get his picture taken with Santa that we waited in line for a hour. ~ Dwayne Nicholson

I had bought a Santa suit for my son to wear for our Christmas open house, but my sister was convinced it would be too small. When the day came, she was right — and it looked like it was painted on! Everyone found our little stuffed sausage in a Santa suit to be super-amusing though and we still laugh about it! ~ Kim Turpin from Victoria, B.C.

It was Christmas 2010 and we captured pure joy and crazy Christmas morning hair as my daughter Hayden jumped (for hours) on her toy from Santa. Everytime I see this picture it still brings a huge smile to my face. ~ Jennifer Vear from Aurora, Ontario

My son Gavin was 18 months old in the picture and, believe it or not, was having a lot of fun. We had dressed him in his Christmas jams and a hat and attempted to take a bunch of family pictures in front of the tree. We did get a bunch of those "we're having a great time, Merry Christmas, from our family to yours" type pictures and I love them, but this one makes me laugh every time. I took it as he was running across the room on a whim. Any time Christmas stress gets to me and I start to get that same expression on my face, I just pull out this picture and laugh for a few minutes. ~ Jodi Crerar from Calgary, Alberta

This is Tyler, age 2.5 with his Christmas tree. Fav picture of ours. ~ Jody Pochailo

My daughter and I made a snowman. When I went to get him a hat she gave him legs and put a head underneath it. She said it had sat on someone. So she threatened the snowman that he’d better get off of him... OR ELSE! ~ Jillian Archer

This is my favourite photo of my son, then two years old. We always dress up in historic clothing (my husband works in museums) for our yearly photo. Matthew was thrilled to sit on the horse and it shows in his smile. We’ve had six other years of photos but, in this one, he’s the most natural and really enjoying it. ~ Sandra Winninger

Christmas 1977: Whenever I need to go to my "happy place", I picture myself as a child lying in bed on December 24. I almost always spent it at my grandmother's home, tucked in an old army sleeping bag on the floor of the guest bedroom, with my sisters beside me. But sleep would be impossible knowing that, in the morning, there would be so much joy in various forms: presents, sure, but also delicious meals, treats all day long, and the guarantee that everyone I loved would be happy for at least one day.

Christmas 2011: Christmas morning in our house is just what you might imagine with two rambunctious boys, ages 3 and 8. It’s chaotic, exciting and totally warm and fuzzy! First, there’s always a race downstairs to see if the big man’s reindeer left any carrots or paw prints in the snow. Next we’re drawn to the Christmas tree where a handful of presents are labeled with their names. The boys are usually pretty gracious and take turns opening the gifts — while Mommy annoyingly snaps pictures, and Daddy takes video. After the room is a mess with wrapping paper and Christmas chocolate renderings, it’s off to Grandma and Papa’s house for our annual breakfast with the family. I just love Christmas morning — a cozy time to reminisce about when my sister and I shared that very same excitement.

Christmas Eve 1987: This is always my favourite time of the year. To this day I still get a little knot of excitement in my stomach on Christmas Eve, in anticipation of Christmas morning. My sister and I have fond memories of spending those mornings with our parents, sipping tea, opening presents and eating gingerbread cookies (the one morning of the year where we were allowed to start the day with a cookie for breakfast). When I look back now I realize it probably wasn't just fun and meaningful to my sister and I, but my parents as well (who, I'm certain, fed off of our excitement). When I think of Christmas I think of spending the day with the people l love.