Here are the 31 prompts:
1. I n s i d e o u t | Be inspired by showing things the other way around. Looking out from the car window at a scenery, peering into a festive shop display, but also less literally, bringing the inside out like decorating your garden or front door for the holidays, going out for a picnic if you're in the southern hemisphere, etc.
2. W h i t e | I'm dreaming of a white Christmas... Let the white guide you: including a lot of white space in your photo composition, photographing a snowy day or a day at a sandy beach, taking a photo of one of those typical white-grey December skies full of mist and snow, maybe you have a white wall at home you use to display your ornaments or cards.
3. L i g h t | It's the season of light. A bokeh photo of the twinking lights on your tree, a visual record of your Santa Lucia celebrations, a view of your home at night with all the cosy lights on. You can also think less literally and photograph how you're bringing lightness into your December month: maybe you're eating a lighter diet than usual before the Christmas festivities, maybe you're cooking a special Christmas supper for a loved one with a medical condition, maybe you've got some pretty angel ornaments that you hang around your home that are delicate and light.
4. S w e e t | Capture this month's sweetness: cookie exchange, Christmas dessert, the kids opening their chocolate-filled Advent calendar, a plate full of seasonal fruit but also your grandchild having a sweet exchange with Santa at the mall, someone helping you with Christmas preparations, etc.
5. S k y | December is the gateway to winter (or summer). It's a month of very cold (or warm) weather. Set yourself the challenge of capturing the beauty of the season through the sky. Maybe it's a pretty sunrise. Maybe storm clouds are rolling in. Maybe the sky is just the perfect background for a special event. Maybe you can take a beautiful contrasting silhouette-against-the-sky photo. Be creative!
6. C o c o o n | /kəˈkuːn/ noun: a silky case spun by the larvae of many insects for protection as pupae, verb: envelop in a protective or comforting way. Can you spot a cocoon in your life? Maybe your pets roll up and find a warm little bed to sleep in with winter coming, maybe you have special blankets out to nest under while watching TV? Do you have birdhouses outside in the garden? Did you buy fleece blanket hoodies for your family for Christmas?
7. P e a c e | Take a photo that reflects peace in your life right now: an ornament that literally spells it out, the quietness of early mornings when you're alone in the kitchen with your first cup of coffee of the day, the children asleep in the back of the car, the way you unwind and find some inner peace after a long day (yoga mat, scrap room, bath full of bubbles, etc.), your church, the Advent candle you light daily/every Sunday.
8. S p a r k | Yuletide, season of all things sparkly. Is there anything in your life that shines right now? Do you have a fireplace you're using? Or maybe you have the spark of glowing logs playing in the background from your TV screen while you get on with your everyday life? Perhaps it's a less literal spark: are you buying a Christmas gift for a loved one to spark a new interest in their life? Are you currently reading a book about a subject you're trying to learn more about?
9. T o g e t h e r n e s s | Be it family, friends, neighbours, your book club or just that cosy feeling you get upon seeing all the visitors at the local Christmas market, include a picture about one of the most important messages of the holiday season: being together. How does togetherness manifest itself this December for you? Is it the table set for a big family gathering or maybe something more mundane like watching a show together on these dark, wintery evenings?
10. M e s s a g e | 'Tis the season of messages! Greeting cards, banners and displays with cheery holiday sayings, gift cards with elegant fonts, special announcements, text message convos and group chats to organise Christmas parties, stacks of envelopes that need to be mailed. Think of all the ways your communication increases and becomes extra festive during this season and document one (or more).
11. W a r m | Baby, it's cold outside. How can you capture the warmth of the season? Do you have special winter boots by the entrance door? Are you currently knitting something? Did you buy special Christmas coffee or tea to survive the cold season? For those down under, this is the opportunity to enjoy a very season-appropriate prompt: how is your early summer affecting you? What's your favourite thing about it being warm weather again? How are you coping with the heat?
12. S h a r e | The holidays are the season of sharing as we've all learned growing up and reading the Dickens carol. How is this visible in your life at the moment? Did someone offer to bring over some dishes for Christmas dinner? Are the grandchildren helping with a toy drive? Are you helping at a local shelter or charity? Are you perhaps taking turns driving the children to the Christmas play rehearsals? Any kind of sharing is worth caring to record.
13. D o o r | Open or closed, doors are the gates of our lives. They lead us to new or familiar spaces, they are a barrier against the outside elements, they represent safety, mystery and intimacy. Which door do you wish to photograph this month? Is it your front door featuring a pretty wreath? The opened door from a loved one with them welcoming you in? The entrance to a local theatre you're visiting for a play this December? Perhaps the church doors behind which lays your reason for the season? Or maybe just a random door that you found so quaintly decorated?
14. P a p e r | Oh, it wouldn't be a scrappy photo challenge without a paper prompt! What is the paper like in your December month this year? Think of photographing yourself working on your Christmas layouts or December album or the state your scrap room/nook is in right now. Maybe this is the right prompt to take a picture of all the beautiful cards you've sent or received. Or is it the gifts all wrapped up with this year's Christmas gift wrap? Let's get meta, scrapbookers, and photograph our holiday paper!
15. C h e e r | As Christmassy a prompt as it gets! Take a picture of something that screams cheer to you right now. Be it carollers, the kids getting to meet Santa, the fun of having everyone under one roof or maybe the family cheering on those performing in a nativity play or special holiday show at school this month.
16. T e c h n o l o g y | The holidays often bring a wave of nostalgia and old traditions. However, the year is 2019 and most of us have embraced quite a bit of tech in our daily routine. How is technology present in your current life? Are you perhaps using your Echo/Google Home smart technology to assist you with cooking and baking? Are you ordering gifts or last-minute purchases online? Do you like to keep a record of the holiday tape Amazon puts on their parcels this time of the year? Are you facetiming relatives living abroad? Maybe there's a DVD player in your car to keep the kids entertained on your holiday roadtrip?
17. S o u n d | This is perhaps the most unlikely prompt to find in a photography challenge. Bear with me, there are ways to visually capture the sound of your 2019 holiday season! Do you have a go-to playlist on your phone that you can snap a photo of? Maybe you're going to a concert this December? Capture people dancing at the office party or the kids singing carols. Think outside the box to put an image on how your Christmas season sounds this year.
18. U n u s u a l | Embrace what's different and not part of the usual holiday grind. Is it perhaps a more obscure Christmas tradition your family has? Is it something quirky you saw while out and about (funky Christmas decorations, a funny holiday pun on a sign or ad, etc.)? Be on the lookout to capture what isn't often seen. Keep the holidays weird!
19. T e x t u r e | This prompt is all about accepting a more vague challenge, something that gets you thinking and looking at the world in terms of layers and touch. How can you capture some December texture? A pile of clean wooly sweaters and fuzzy pyjamas that need putting away and scream winter? Sunlight glistening over fresh snow? Maybe the paw prints of your pooch on that snowy surface (or sandy beach)? The cookie dough crumbs and white flour all over your kitchen countertop after baking with the kids? How do the subtle details of texture tell bigger December stories?
20. S t a r | Star of wonder, star of light. Our holidays are filled with star references. Beyond the biblical signification for the birth of Christ, stars have been important guides for humans for as far in time as we can tell. Try to photograph something starry this month. The big star on top of your tree, star-shaped baked goodies, the star of David at a Hanukkah celebration, the night sky if you have the equipment for it, the stars of a show you're attending, etc.
21. B e l i e v e | A letter to Santa, a ritual related to your faith during the holidays, your personal flavour of Festivus if you're a non-believer, Yuletide stories and myths, the elf on the shelf and more. There is most certainly something related to believing in your life this month. Photograph your type of (non)belief to capture that other kind of holiday magic.
22. S t o r m | The weather outside is frightening... Or not! What kind of storm are you facing as Christmas grows closer? Is it the madness of Christmas morning with the little ones tearing up gift wrap? The behind-the-scenes at a dance recital with all the parents rushing to have the children ready to go on stage? Navigating the busy grocery store on the 24th? A more literal storm, perhaps (be it tropical or of the snowy kind)? Let's get this year's holiday chaos immortalised.
23. G r i n c h | Where is the grinch in your life? A portrait of your grumpy relative who is *not* a fan of the Christmas madness, your pet unhappy with having their territory invaded by their human's relatives, everybody gathered on the sofa to watch your family's favourite Grinch movie, maybe you have a Grinch ornament on the tree or saw someone wearing a bright green ugly Christmas sweater? Find that grinch and capture him/her/it!
24. M o r e | This is often the time of the year when we go the extra mile, make a bigger effort, spend more money. More doesn't have to mean it's a competiton for who'll have the most gifts, the most food, the fanciest gathering. Try to identify how the concept of more shows up in your life right now. If the prompt feels a little uncomfortable, try to identify why and how you can have more in your life in a way that makes you feel good. Is it more people in your home rather than more empty boxes waiting to be taken out for recyclement? More time spent helping others in need? More time spent outside enjoying the Christmas decorations your town or city has put up? Identify the good kind of excess you are enjoying right now and make sure you capture it.
25. L o v e | Record the love you give, the love you get, the love you feel, the love you don't want to forget. Maybe it's a care parcel you sent out or received? Maybe it's someone snuggling up with the cat? Maybe it's a different, less perfect, non-staged kind of family photo (playing charades or making a puzzle together, cleaning up after Christmas dinner with your children or significant other)? Just focus on the expressions of love and how you can see them through the lens.
26. A f t e r m a t h | And just like that, Christmas has come and is already gone. What does life look like now? Is it creative cooking with left-overs? A recyclement bin of torn wrapping paper and various boxes? Has the atmosphere calmed down? Are you back to your regular routine already? Do you have family staying over for a few more days? Can you finally get around to doing some things for yourself again after the stress of preparing for the big day? Be the observer of the post-Christmas state of your world.
27. P l a y | New toys (and not just for the little ones), video or board games during the winter (summer) break, playing fetch while walking the dog, playing Christmas movies on Netflix and Hallmark, perhaps sitting down with your scrap goodies and a bunch of freshly printed holiday photos, there are loads of opportunities to have some recreational time during December. Look around and see how people are diverting themselves right now.
28. C l o s e | In this period of festivity and cold for many of us, closeness is at its peak over the holidays. Children sitting on their aunts and uncles' laps, too many people on the sofa after Christmas dinner, visitors pressing their noses against your window to make their presence known, the car filled with house guests you just picked up, standing in line at a Christmas market for hot cocoa or mulled wine, nieces whispering secrets to each other in the corner of the living room. Closeness embodies coming together and connecting, don't forget to capture the beauty of what truly matters at this time of the year.
29. S t o r y | December is a month of stories being told and stories unfolding. Reading a favourite Christmas book with the children at bedtime, a photo book a family member gifts you so you can catch up on everything they did this year, meeting up with old friends or neighbours and reminiscing about the past over coffee and Christmas cookies, etc. Capture the magic of a story being told or shared this month.
30. S h c h e d r y k | Did you know that Carol of the Bells is originally a Ukrainian New Year's song called 'Shchedryk' ('bountiful')? The song tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to sing about all the richnesses to come when spring returns. The tail end of the year is always filled with the feeling that good things are to come and that the new year will bring us happiness and everything we need. Where's the shchedryk in your world at this moment of the year? What can you capture that makes you feel bountiful and hopeful? Perhaps it's the actual winter birds in your garden, or the house looking fresh after the big post-Christmas clean-up, or wearing the new clothes you were gifted over the holidays, or...
31. G o o d b y e | Who and how are you saying goodbye (to)? Is it taking a photograph of family leaving/you leaving loved ones after reuniting? Can you capture something that symbolises the year ending like hanging up the new calendar in the kitchen, the final newspaper of the year lying on the table or that one last brisk walk you're taking to soak up the final bits of the year? Did you finish your 2019 Project Life album and add it to the bookcase? Where in your life can you catch a glimpse of saying goodbye?
Want these prompts printed out? Download
the PDF file cheat sheet. No need to sign up for Dropbox to download the file. Wait until it's loaded, hit the three dots (...) in the sidebar and select 'Direct download' to grab it.
