That camping trip your family still talks about? Science says it’s worth more than any toy under the tree.
Allison Burriss is all too familiar with the chaos that ensues when taking Christmas photos with the family.
Not only does she witness that chaos with her clients as a professional family photographer, but she struggles with it firsthand as a mom of three — all of whom are under the age of seven.
On Oct. 21, Burriss took to Instagram to share one of the few secrets she learned as a professional.
And it involves something most parents already have in their freezer.
“Real life BTS of my kids getting their photos taken during my Christmas pajama minis,” she wrote in the caption alongside a video of her husband feeding their kids spoonfuls of ice cream before taking a photo.
“Bring all the bribes to sessions I won’t judge you and you don’t need to apologize,” she added.
Parents took to the comment section to overwhelmingly approve of her tried-and-true method.
“WORTH IT ❤️❤️❤️ listen all rules go out the door for family photos,” one mother wrote in a comment.
“Guess I'll be showing up to Christmas minis with a cooler,” another parent added.
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One photographer commented that they tell their clients “it’s not bribery… it’s positive reinforcement,” while other parents shared their own tricks to the trade.
“We had piggy in a blanket breaks last year,” one father commented.
“I keep a pocketful of smarties during any of our family sessions lolol,” another parent wrote.
“Before you apologize for bribing your kids during a session watch us feed our kids ice cream during a session,” Burriss added in a text overlay.
Parents are already utilizing Burriss’ hack for Christmas photos
Burriss has already seen her viral hack tested this holiday season — and it seems to be universal.
On Nov. 12, she shared a video her photographer friend sent her as proof that her hack actually works.
In the video, her friend — Lauren Sewell — was with her four kids and husband as they prepared for a family holiday photos session while shopping for a Christmas tree.
Sewell was holding her newborn, while her husband was holding a cooler.
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While the kids don’t seem overly excited for the holiday family photos, they eventually smile bright when dad gives them each a spoonful of ice cream.
“Proof that ice cream really is the secret to happy kids during family photos,” Burriss wrote in her caption.
“This mom saw my viral reel and came prepared — and you can guess who had the biggest smiles after dad handed over the scoop!” she added.
In an interview with Today.com, published Nov. 20, Burriss said that her friend’s son “never smiles” when asked, but the ice cream hack changed everything.
As for Burriss’ kids, it seemed to be the perfect solution for kids of all ages.
"My youngest was 13 months at that time, and she just never had ice cream before, so it was like a novelty to her," Burriss said to Today.com.
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"And then the other two were just laughing, getting scoops continuously from my husband so I could get a cool picture for my clients to see what I was offering them,” she added.
