The Family Who Uses Bloopers For Christmas Cards Just Shared Their 2020 Masterpiece

As a father of three, Jonathan Stanley knows that getting the perfect family photo is near impossible. Even when their oldest son, 8-year-old Jackson, was a baby, the family struggled to capture that endearing Kodak moment. Rather than stress, Jonathan and his wife opted to send the bloopers out, and they've never looked back. Now that their family has grown to include Elijah, 6, and Evelyn, 2, the Stanleys have taken their Christmas cards to new heights — quite literally, in some cases.

"The idea for our Christmas cards actually came by accident," Jonathan told POPSUGAR in 2019. "After we had our first child, we tried to capture a typical 'picture-perfect' Christmas card, but it was a total disaster. If one of us looked good, the other blinked. If we had our eyes open, the baby cried. Or the wind-whipped hair in our face. The photo shoot went so poorly that we decided to instead send the outtakes as our Christmas card, and people loved it! From there the idea was born — rather than trying to portray a picture-perfect family, let's embrace the chaos and show what it really feels like to be a parent."

Though there's certainly a ton of planning that goes into each card, it takes Jonathan about an hour to get the perfect shot once the ball starts rolling. Given the ongoing pandemic, The Stanleys have had a lot more time on their hands to get the perfect shot.

"Usually the idea for a card is based on the kids' behavior over the year," Jonathan explained. "For example, last year they were very interested in flying the drone, so I built on that natural interest and imagined what they might do if we weren't watching. For 2020, my boys became interested in nailing boards together and using hammers, so naturally, the nail gun was very cool to them and provided inspiration for this year's card. We also can't go to the rock climbing wall, so they've started climbing the molding/trim around the door frames instead. The pic of my son climbing on the far right is 100 percent real. No photoshop needed!"

As you can imagine, the Stanleys' relatives look forward to receiving their latest creation every holiday season, but this year the greeting holds a special meaning. "We wanted to continue the tradition in 2020 because we know it's been a rough year for parents, who are desperately trying to wear many hats while quarantined at home," he said. "We hope parents everywhere will relate and know that they are not alone — none of us have it all together, and that's OK. Besides, we're sitting around all day so what else were we going to do but make a fun Christmas card!"

Read through to get a peek at the Stanley family's hilarious Christmas cards throughout the years.