Happy New Year!

Welcome, friends, to the first week of 2021! We can’t remember a new year that was met with as much excitement as this one.

Let us join in the voices sharing peace, love, hope, and excitement for this new year. While we are at it, let’s all take a moment to think about what we want most out of the new year. Likely, all of us experienced a shift in 2020. Shifting priorities. Shifting schedules. A new pace of life for ourselves and for our families.

For us, the many shifts that last year brought helped to reinforce what we value most. And it doubled our commitment to celebrating the simple moments of childhood and family life.

Traditionally, at Portraits that Move, we choose a word to focus on at the start of the new year. Two years ago, we chose celebrate. At the time, we had no idea how perfect a word it was. “Celebrate” continues to guide our work, and our perspective. Focusing on the importance - and beauty - of celebration has been a tremendous help in getting us through the challenges that this past year brought our way..

The weight of feelings, the uncertainty, even the hopefulness with which we greet 2021 all feel bigger than one word can encompass. So, as we embark on 2021 together, instead of choosing a word to share with you, we are sharing a promise. Our promise is to remain steadfast in documenting and honoring the moments that make up our family lives, and our individual lives. We commit to doing all we can to helping you document, preserve, honor, celebrate, and stay connected to those moments.

After all, these are the moments we remember when our loved ones are gone, when our circumstances change when we awaken to gratitude, and when we seek peace, hope, and joy.

How can we help you document and honor your memories? Is it through one of our videos or montages? Or is there something else you need that we can help you with? Share your ideas. Tell us your dreams.

Mini Montage for Zoom Mitzvahs!

As promised, we have been hard at work on innovative and supportive ways to offer our Mitzvah families the opportunity to celebrate and connect with loved ones even as Mitzvah Celebrations have had to move online, or change in shape and style.

We are now thrilled to announce a brand new product for Mitzvah Families around the country!

Meet the Mini Mitzvah Montage, designed as a unique entrance video to a Zoom Mitzvah. The new Mini Mitzvah Montage helps you set the tone for your Zoom Mitzvah, to truly make it feel like a special, exciting, social event  Not just another login to a meeting or learning session! 

We understand that you are struggling with so many unforeseen challenges, disappointments, and restrictions, all while wanting more than ever to feel close to and celebrated by the ones you love.

Contact us to talk about kicking off your Zoom Mitzvah in the most special way.

Mini Montage for Zoom Mitzvahs:

Duration: 90 seconds - 2 minutes

Number of Photos: up to 50
Price: $350
Production Time: 2 weeks

The Mini Montage for Zoom Mitzvahs can be completed entirely remotely.

Many Voices, One Celebration

Lately, we have been thinking a lot about how traditions sustain us, especially when times are difficult. This is one of the reasons we love being a part of Mitzvah celebrations for families around the country.

We have asked some of our clients - and their children - what is most important to them. And we have learned that more often than not, it is the little things that connect us as a family and a community that have the most lasting impact on our memories and on our hearts.

Special Messages from Loved Ones

Especially now, when it is difficult to see each other in person, the ability to share messages of love and support across generations is essential and sustaining. For young people who are going through the process of preparing for a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, it is especially encouraging to hear stories and experiences from their older relatives.

Becoming a Part of Family History

At a time when they are exploring and learning in this unique and special way, connecting to family history takes on new meaning and even greater value for them.

This is a beautiful opportunity to deepen connections across generations and to find new ways of connecting with and appreciating family members and our shared histories.

Honoring Connections

We are hard at work on some new ideas that we are excited to announce soon. We are inspired by connecting across generations and across distance, and motivated by our commitment to helping families celebrate their shared lives one moment at a time.

Stay tuned for our announcement soon… we can’t wait to make your Mitzvah experience even more special!

3 Ways to Make Father's Day Special

This weekend is Father’s Day and we are looking forward to celebrating the men in our families who bring joy, laughter, and so much more to our lives. Today, we are rounding up ideas for how to make Father’s Day special.

All of these ideas can be adapted for social distancing, and we hope you enjoy making them a part of your Father’s Day Weekend.

Interview Dad

Give Dad (and Grandpa, and the other special men in your children's lives) a chance to tell some of his favorite stories.

Encourage your kids to conduct mini-interviews with the special guys in your family's life. This is a great thing to do even if you are celebrating Father's Day virtually. Set up a Zoom chat with Grandpa, call him on the phone, or send an email.

If Dad and the kids are in the same space, invite them to go outside in the backyard or on the front steps. Give them some time to chat. Help your child come up with interview questions to guide the conversation, and to create space to share stories, ideas, and special moments. Check out our Interview Storytelling Game for question suggestions, and invite your child to come up with some of their own!

Once the interview is complete, work with your child to come up with creative ways to put together what they learned about their special guy. Think about all of the different ways your child can use creativity to share stories. From PowerPoint presentations, to storybook style projects, to posters, there are so many ways to create keepsakes that commemorate dad's story.

Celebrate Your Memories

Rediscovering memories is a wonderful way to celebrate the dads in our lives. Carve out some time to sit down together and go over family photos.

Try to find photos from when your child was young, or before they were born. This is a great way to bring family stories to life, to rediscover some of your most special moment, and to find out what is most meaningful to dad. You may be surprised by what you learn.

Take the next step and memorialize these moments with a Father's Day Montage. We love creating unique montages like this for events and moments that are special to families. There are so many ways to bring these moments to life, to rekindle our memories, and to celebrate our stories.

What better way to honor your family's story - and your dad - than to create a time capsule like this, just for him.

Cook a Favorite Meal with Dad

So many of the dads we know love to spend time in the kitchen or out with the grill. Brainstorm a fun family meal with dad, then get to work creating it together.

Think about different themes and build a meal around them. Make decorations, try new recipes, and start celebrating right away. Cooking together gives your kids an opportunity to spend quality time with dad, and to feel proud and excited about creating something together that the whole family can enjoy.

Continuing Traditions

Here at Portraits that Move, we are grateful to be able to work in the face of Stay at Home Orders and the uncertainty that faces all of us. This time has been a reminder of the importance of resilience and the beauty of simple moments and family traditions.

We are so very grateful to the clients who continue to trust us to help honor their most important moments and to be a part of their celebrations and their traditions, even when those celebrations and traditions have had to change their shape. Even when Bar Mitzvah celebrations have been postponed, or moved to the virtual space.

Throughout all of this, it is becoming even more clear how special simple things like a truly beautiful, professionally edited Montage can be. Our montages provide so much more than a way to celebrate a child’s bar or bat mitzvah, or a way of celebrating milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, and retirements.

From sorting through pictures, to talking with clients, to working with our editors, to delivering the final film, we are able to give families what we all need now. And what we all realize is so important. We are able to highlight connections, remember quiet moments, cheer each other on, and embrace and celebrate who we are, and how very much we all mean to each other.

So, friends, we thank you. We thank you for your trust. We thank you for sharing your moments with us. And we thank you for helping us create, honor, and celebrate your stories.

To create a Mtizvah Montage, or a Milestone Montage for your family, contact us now. We can’t wait to help you share your story!

3 Questions to Ask Your Kids Right Now

We are always eager to share new ways to connect with kids, and to get them talking. Helping to create space for children to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, feelings, perspectives and creativity, is one of the most important things that we do as filmmakers. And as people.

Our clients share that it is also a big part of what makes our Portraits that Move films so special They appreciate our ability to bring out who their kids truly are in this moment. And, as time goes by, they appreciate more and more, the ability they have to return to these moments through film.

Today, we take some of the lessons that we have learned, and some of the tips we have for conversation starters with kids, and apply them to our current shelter in place home lives. Even though, in many households, we are all together all the time, we might not be connecting with each other. We might not be communicating with each other at all.

Right now, that communication is important. It is encouraging, it is uplifting, and it is healing. And it is one small way that we can help our children through a time that is confusing and isolating.

What is one thing that you have liked about this time?

This is a complicated time for all of us, and a time of grief for many. However, that does not mean that it is without moments of joy, celebration, or peace. Ask your children what they are discovering about themselves, about you, and about your family.

Learn from them what it feels like to have less to do. Does it make them feel more relaxed to be more still? Are your kids returning to activities that they had given up because of busy schedules or social pressures? Are they taking risks and trying new things because they have the time and space to do so?

Hearing what your kids are appreciating, what valuable things they are learning, and what really matters to them now is helpful not just in making sure that everyone in your house is as safe and well as can be. It gives you valuable insight into who they are and how they are in their own skin and in their own space.. And it could help you make better plans when things do open up again.

Where are you most looking forward to going when this is over?

This is a fun question to ask, especially while your sitting around the dinner table. It gives you and your children the chance to talk about favorite places and activities. Whether it's finally going to a baseball game again, enjoying a meal at a favorite restaurant, or taking a ride down a slide at the playground, talking about what we miss in this context is safe and joyful.

It also lets us peek at what our kids are really craving during this time of social distancing. That can help us create moments for them at home that give them support. The key to asking a question like this is to leave it open and allow it to start a natural flow of conversation. If we can avoid getting bogged down in what we are missing and, instead, share the memories, laughter, and excitement connected to the places we love, that is all the better.

On the other hand, if this does bring up thoughts about the unfairness of our current circumstances, or the losses that come with missing out on end of school year and other traditions, that is ok. These feelings need to be voiced, and they need to be shared.

Our children should know that it is safe and appropriate to feel sad about these losses, and that, if they are experiencing a kind of grief over it, they do not need to endure those feelings alone.

If you had known this time of lockdown was coming, what would you have made sure to do before it started?

This question might be a bit more difficult for kids to answer. If they struggle with it, or seem hesitant to share, now is the time to share your answer to this question.

Talking about what they would have done (or what you would have done) to prepare helps you to know about anything that might be troubling them, so you can help them solve it. Maybe there is a book that they feel bad about not having brought home from school. Sometimes, healing is a simple as a quick Amazon order!

Maybe they worry that they did not have a chance to tell friends or teachers how much they meant to them. For the many children who will not be returning to school this year, they may fear (and rightly so) that they will not easily be able to connect with these people who were part of their everyday life ever again. And certainly not in the same way. Learning that your child is dealing with these feelings gives you the opportunity to come up with ideas together for how to connect with friends or teachers virtually (or even by mail). It helps you plan projects you could do to recognize and celebrate your child's class or classmates.

It also gives you the chance to talk openly and honestly about loss, about feelings of unfairness, and about the struggle to understand and accept that some things are beyond our control. The most important lesson in all of this is to find ways to help your child talk with you, to voice their concerns, and to tell their stories.

Their stories, their special moments, their joy... none of that needs to stop because so much of our daily lives came to a halt. Celebrate and honor your children by being present for them, by listening to them, and by helping them share with you.

How Can We Possibly Celebrate?

Mother’s Day is this Sunday. Like all things of this moment, we are all a bit uncertain about how to celebrate it. We may even be wondering if it is ok to celebrate it. Is it ok to celebrate anything right now, in the midst of so much confusion, grief, and loss?

These are good questions to ask. Please, do not feel like you are doing all of this social distancing, home schooling, mothering through crisis, wrong. You are not. We are not. That is why all of us absolutely should be celebrating.

We need to celebrate the moments we have had with our families, the memories that carry us through difficult times, and those we are making right now. No matter how messy they are, no matter how much our plans fall apart. No matter how often we struggle, how much we worry, and how much we simply do not know. We must take a pause to practice gratitude, to find a bit of peace, and to honor our lives and the people in it.

Mother’s Day can be hard. That is not unique to mothering during a pandemic. It is true all the time. We suffer losses, disappointments, and separations throughout our lives. All of that feels even more present now, as we are all experiencing layers of this together.

A New Gift for a New Time

Here at Portraits that Move, we are offering a simple gift to you. For the first time, we are making Mother’s Day Montages available. This is a specially designed offering that allows us to work together digitally and quickly, to give you a gift to enjoy during this Mother’s Day that is unlike any other.

You can start the montage making process with us right now. Or, you can use this Mother’s Day Weekend to gather your photos together as a family, and we can deliver your video later in the month.

As our gift to you, we are offering a 20% discount for Mother’s Day Montages. Get started on your special gift now. Even though it is contact-less and digital, we promise to maintain our same level of connection and support throughout the process. We’ll be talking with you over email and by phone.

And we will be holding you in our hearts. Always.

Balancing Joy and Challenges

As difficult as all of this has been - and it seems the difficulty comes in waves - we find the greatest comfort comes in the moments we spend calmly and joyfully with the ones we love. And so, that is driving home even more, the importance of remembering and honoring the moments, big and small, with our families. The milestone moments that we can recall when things feel most difficult, and the every day moments that make up our family life and our shared history, are what we seem to crave the most.

We acknowledge that this time of social isolation is especially difficult for families who have spent a tremendous amount of time, energy, and love preparing for upcoming events like bar and bat mitzvahs. Suddenly, it feels like the months and years of dreaming, and planning, and working, are ripped away. The creativity, enthusiasm and strength that we are witnessing in the face of this disappointment (felt by children and parents in equal measure), is inspiring us to work harder and to do more.

Some families have used Zoom and other technology to host virtual bar mitzvah celebrations. Others are putting the party plans on hold and coming up with even more fun, creative ways to celebrate when we can finally all be together again to revel in our traditions, and our families. Sharing new stories, and re-telling all of our old favorites.

Along with our clients, we have been finding ourselves taking a little more time to pour over our own family memories. We have been bringing out photos, from physical photos to the longer and longer camera rolls on our phones and other devices. What we are finding - and we are hearing the same from clients and friends - is that looking back over these memories (even those from the recent past that is starting to feel a bit far away) is helping us to feel gratitude and joy. And this gratitude and joy helps to balance out, if not push away entirely, the frustration that current circumstances are often creating.

In fact, these small, isolated moments go a long way into helping us tell - and connect to - our family stories. If you have found yourself looking through photos and longing to connect to and celebrate your family , now is the perfect time to work with us on creating a Montage Video. Without the ability to shoot our Signature Portrait Videos or Mitzah Movies due to social distancing, our Portraits that Move Team has been hard at work on more montages. For families with a bar mitzvah coming up, now is an ideal time to get started on making a Mitzvah Montage with Portraits that Move. Everything from the initial consultation, to the Montage creation process, is easy to do virtually. And with a little extra time with your family, it is a good time to gather around and review photos, swap stories, and select your favorites to share.

In addition to our Mitzvah Montages, we have been creating new montage videos for birthday and retirement celebrations, and other events that families plan to hold virtually and in person. It fills us with joy to be able to be a part of sharing and celebrating your family’s story in this way, especially now. We invite you to reach out to us to plan a montage, or simply to share a story.

Wishing you good health and an abundance of joy.

How Not to Feel Powerless in Times of Fear

For all of the extra time with family and the opportunities to connect with each other and carve out fun moments together, we do have to acknowledge that this is a time when fear is real and present. While some of us may be affected by quarantine directives, by illness, or by anxiety more than others, this is not an easy time for any of us.

And it certainly is not an easy time for our children, who have seen their steady routines, friendships, activities, and sense of security disrupted.

With all of that in mind, we continue to think about how to make the most of these moments to create connections with each other. And to find ways to help. Connecting with each other, within our families and outside of our families, helps us to feel less fundamentally isolated, even when we are physically separated from so many of the people we see, know, and work with every day.

This sense of connection gives us strength. It steadies our fears and lets us know that, indeed, we are “all in this together” and that walking through a challenge like this together can strengthen our relationships with others and our resilience. That is a beautiful and encouraging lesson for all of us, and for our children.

Taking this idea of connection another step, we are thinking about ways to move into action. What are simple, safe, practical things that we and our children can do to help others?

The act of helping allows us - and our kids - to regain a small sense of control. It gives us a place to put our energy so that we do not veer off into worry or anxiety, and so that we do not give in to our collective (and legitimate) fear.

What, then, are some ways that we can connect with our kids to help our family and our community during this time?

Send Packages to Friends and Relatives

Knowing that someone is thinking of you can do a world of good for when you are feeling lonely or scared. Think about the friends and family in your life who would most enjoy receiving a package from you and your kids.

Send letters, drawings, or even samples of your kids’ best school work or special projects. Be sure to think of elderly family members and friends, many of whom are on their own, and all of whom are isolated from family and friends. This time is particularly challenging for them. Sending them packages like these adds some joy and vitality to their days. It’s also a great way to give your kids something positive, productive, and joyful to focus on.

Bring Back Pen Pals

Remember writing back and forth with your camp friends? It’s time to bring back the tradition of Pen Pals. Encourage your kids to start writing letters to a friend from school, a cousin, a relative, or others whom they miss and wish they were able to see.

Though we are physically distanced, this activity reminds us that there are still many ways to connect. We don’t need to feel lonely, and we can help someone else feel less lonely, too. Writing letters is the perfect way to make sure that your kids still have a way to share their voices (and to do so with someone in addition the members of their household). It also helps them keep their writing and communication skills fresh.

Decorate Your Windows

All over the world, people are adding teddy bears to their windows to help make neighbors who are out on walks feel less isolated during social distancing.

Rainbows Over Neighborhood projects are taking off around New York City and beyond, and giving neighbors a sense of community, connection, and joy.

These are all wonderful activities to participate in that not only give your kids something to do, but help them to think of how they can help others while honoring the rules that are in place to keep us all safe. Think about other ways you can decorate your windows. From holiday decorations to themes, there are countless ways to dress your windows and add some fun to your day.

Spend Time Together - With the Help of Technology

As working parents, our days are filled with one digital meeting or video conference after another. And many of us are now booking our kids’ Zoom calls in our calendars, too. But let’s take a moment to think about how this kind of technology can help connect our kids to family and friends when it’s not all about work.

Schedule virtual tea parties and play dates. Think of games like Freeze Dance and Pictionary that translate well to videoconferencing platforms. Coming up with specific activities helps keep kids engaged and excited while they spend time with each other over video conferencing platforms. Activities like these help the children who are more shy, or those who may feel a bit awkward trying to make, or break into, group conversations.

Anything that encourages kids to play and helps them feel positive and joyful helps to alleviate the anxiety, boredom, and confusion that they and their peers are struggling with during this time of physical separation from friends, extended family, and routines.

Elizabeth Eames, April 2, 2020

Simple Games to Beat Boredom and Anxiety

Last week we talked about adjusting to our “new normal,” which seems to be changing moment to moment. As we spend more time at home with our families than ever before, we find ourselves navigating moments of anxiety, boredom, frustration, and confusion - from the children and adults in our household.

So, this week, we rounded up some of our favorite, simple games and activities to enjoy together. Each of these activities is a simple way to connect with each other and add a bit of creativity and fun to your day. They don’t require going online. And we are hoping they will give you just enough of a spark to kick the boredom, relieve the anxiety, and calm the nerves, if only for a moment.

Table Time Games

This Conversation Starter game is a favorite of ours during holiday time, when your family sometimes needs a boost starting a conversation that allows everyone to participate comfortably and creatively.

Now that we have the time to have more dinners around the table, and linger awhile as we do, try these Conversation Starters. This is also a great way to avoid too much talk of the news.

Yes, we (and our children) need to understand and process what is going on around us. But we also need to take a break. Pausing for a moment to be with each other, to talk, and to laugh, is not denying the seriousness of our circumstances. It is a beautiful, simple way to honor each other and to find joy in this unexpected time together.

Interviewer

We talked about this game that we invented back in the summer, as a fun thing to do on vacation (especially inter-generational vacations). Now that we are moving much of our family communication online, it’s a fun way to connect with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

The game works like this

Choose a family member (or family members) and have your child ask them some interview questions about what life was like for them when they were your child’s age. This is a perfect activity for Zoom, FaceTime, or Skype calls with the grandparents, when it can be difficult for kids to know what to say or how to maintain a natural, comfortable flow of conversation.

Try questions like these - and add some of your own

When you were my age, what was your favorite song?

What was your favorite thing to do when you were my age?

When you were my age, what did you do on summer vacation?

If you could choose to be a kid now or when you were growing up, what would you choose? Why?

Document the Stories

Encourage your kids to record the answers. Write them down or record the audio on the call like a “real” interviewer.

Now that we’re all homeschoolers, consider turning the interview into a project. Invite your kids to write up an article, prepare a presentation, or come up with other creative ways to document the stories family members share with them.

Clouds + Sprouts

We introduced this game in a post about simple springtime outdoor activities. Now is the perfect time to give it a try. Go on a walk, if you are able, or look out your window. Have your children find shapes in the clouds and make up stories about them. Play together, and add your own characters from the clouds. Make up different voices and wild personalities.

Then, write or act out your stories and share them with other members of your family. Since we have so many days at home ahead of us, play this game “soap opera style.” Pick up your story each day from where you left off the day before. Remember to document your stories - you and your children will love looking back on your cloud stories years from now!

Sprouts gives the nature lovers and “budding” scientists something to get excited about. Despite all of our troubles, nature is moving right along, doing everything she is supposed to do. That means this is the perfect time to go on a walk, if you are able, or to look out your window and observe and track the daily changes to the trees and flowers you can see.

Have your kids count the sprouts as they pop up, record the changes each day, or come up with other creative observations. Or, you can take it more slowly. Simply look around, talk about, and enjoy what you see. The beauty and the resilience of nature has never felt quite so meaningful. Take that in. Enjoy it. And share it.

Elizabeth Eames, March 26, 2020

Working, Schooling and Connecting at Home

Our “new normal” is feeling very new and anything but normal. With parents working from home and kids learning at home, it can be hard to balance our time, space and energy.

We have put together a few ideas that we hope will make this time a little easier - and more restful - for you. And we would love to hear what you are doing. How are you using your space in creative ways, what are you doing to keep anxiety at bay for the children and adults in your household? Have you discovered any special, unexpected moments of connection in all of this togetherness? Jump over to our Facebook Page and share your stories, thoughts and ideas.

With these questions in mind, this is some of what we are learning (and we certainly are learning… a little more every day).

Make a (Flexible) Schedule

Children in particular thrive on routines, so this disruption of their normal schedules can leave them feeling anxious, unfocused, and confused. Be patient with their reactions and give them time to adjust.

At the same time, set up a new schedule that works for your children and your family. If you are sharing devices for distance learning, make sure that you understand who needs to do what, when, and for how long. Build the daily must-dos that your children have for their schoolwork into a structured day that is similar to (but does not strive to be exactly the same as) their typical school day.

Emma Matthews/Unsplash

While the schedule will help to save your sanity and go a long way to keeping your kids feeling calm and cared for, do remember that this new normal of ours offers us the chance to slow down our pace a bit. After all, we are not rushing anywhere or building in time for commutes. Use that extra time to add outdoor activities, more creative time, and longer periods of time to accomplish daily tasks. This contributes to an easier flow of the day and helps to reduce some of the stress that starts to sneak up on us when we are trying to apply our typical ways of doing things to a situation that is anything but typical.

Practice a New Skill

Speaking of using the extra time that we have been given, think about those projects that we are constantly putting off because we have so many other things to do… so many other places to be. Pick up an old instrument and refresh your skills. Tackle a home decorating project. Invite your kids to do the same.

Work on language learning, either as a supplement to a language your child is learning in school, or as a brand new family adventure. Apps like Memrise, Rosetta Stone, and many others offer great options.

Tanaphong Toochinda/Unsplash

Gather in the kitchen and learn how to cook a new type of cuisine. Invite your children to research some of the foods you are making, to decorate the table according to a theme, and to help you create a festive meal.

Learning new skills together helps us to stay connected to each other in a low stress way. You can support each other well when you learn from and with each other, as a team.

Honor Each Others’ Needs

Experiences like this one bring out people’s personalities, needs, preferences, and fears in a pointed way. Be attuned to that for every member of your family, and for yourself. This time of social distancing can be especially challenging for extroverts.

If your child thrives on social interaction, come up with safe, fun ways for them to connect with their friends, classmates, and extended family members. Consider a virtual play date on Skype or Facetime. Allow your kids a little extra time to make a phone call to a friend. Encourage them to write old fashioned letters to friends and family members, to draw pictures, or invent games that they can share with each other via snail mail or email.

Ben Mullins/Unsplash

Consider also that, if you are like many of us, in addition to balancing the needs of the children in your home, you also must account for the needs of the adults in your home. With parents working from home, it is difficult not to bring the stress and energy of a busy or difficult work day to the other members of the family. Be mindful of deadlines, work styles, and learning styles of everyone in your house. If mom needs to be on a conference call at 2:00 p.m., that might be a good time for the kiddos to take a break with a favorite TV show or movie, or to do their daily reading for school.

Communication is key to making sure everyone’s needs are understood and accounted for. Consider holding a brief morning or evening meeting to discuss the must dos, should dos, and concerns about the day to come. Work together to plan your day around that, and remember to let each other know that you value them and that you - and we - are stronger together.

Elizabeth Eames, March 18, 2020

A Message of Encouragement

Friends, we hope that you and your loved ones are safe and well. With the school closures and work-from-home mandates around the world, and here in New York, it has us thinking about all of our layers of connections to family and friends, and how precious life's small moments are.

This week, we had planned to share more tips on bar/bat mitzvah planning and to dive into some of the behind the scenes secrets to creating mitzvah videos that boost your tween's confidence when they need it most. We are excited to share these ideas and tips with you. But we're moving that conversation to next week.

Today, we are here to invite you to take advantage of some of the extra moments that you have with your family in whatever way honors your family story and the things that matter most to the people you love the most.

For some of us, that means grabbing a favorite book off the shelf and reading with our kids (no matter how old they are!). For others, it means snuggling up on the coach and watching some of our favorite family moments on video. For others, it may mean cooking together, playing a family game you never have time for, or taking a few extra minutes to share - and listen to - each others stories.

However you use your extra moments, we do hope you can enjoy them because, despite the fears and despite the things we cannot control, there are always moments, no matter how small, that we can savor and celebrate.

Here's to you and your moments, friends. May they abound and may they give you strength and joy. Always.

3 Mitzvah Planning Tips to Help Stay in the Moment

We believe that every moment matters, especially the smallest moments we share with the ones we love. But sometimes, when you are celebrating a major milestone, it can feel like you are so busy making sure everything is perfect - and perfectly documented - that you end up missing out on those small, special moments that you can’t get back.

Working with bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah moms and dads inspired us to put together this list of three tips to help you stay in the moment during your mitzvah planning stages.

Check in with Your Mitzvah Kid

It can be easier to roll through the checklist, intent on getting everything accomplished as quickly as possible. Isn’t that what parenthood usually feels like??

When it comes to the Mitzvah Planning Phase, make sure you build in quick check-ins with your child (even if you have to put that down on a list). Ask what matters most to them at that day. Ask what they really want the guest list to look like. Ask if there are must-dos and rather-not-dos for how they want to celebrate.

Take another step and ask your child how the preparation is going. Ask what the mitzvah service project experience is like - why have they chosen to help their community in the way that they have. Do they see themselves continuing this kind of work into their teenage years, or even into adulthood?

Conversations like these help to re-center you and your child. And they give you the energy and excitement to continue to get all those other things off your list as you prep for the big day.

Talk About the Mitzvah Montage or Movie

Take some time to go through your photos with your child. There may be some in your collection that are extra meaningful to them, that you otherwise would have disregarded. Remember, it’s not about capturing the most beautiful moments, it’s about sharing the moments that have brought you and your child the most joy, or growth, or love.

Looking through photos and talking about memories is a wonderful way to connect with your kids, especially at a time of transition in their lives. We are always amazed at the insights and ideas that kids share when we create our documentary-style films for our Mitzvah Movies and Signature Portrait Videos. Often, it comes down to asking the most simple questions, then giving them the space to respond and share.

Share Your Own Experiences

Planning your child’s bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah naturally brings up memories of your own. Share these stories with your child.

Sit down at dinner, or take a quick trip to a coffee shop and spend a little time telling your son or daughter what they experience was like for you. Did you enjoy it? Did you feel like your mother was making all the decisions and leaving you out of the planning process? Were you worried about who from your class wouldn’t come, or whether it would feel weird to have all of your friends in the same room as all of your relatives?

Times may have changed - we may not have had mitzvah logos or photo booths - but the feeling of being a middle school-aged kid and being the center of attention in a major way, transcends time. Reach back to your own real memories - good and not-so-good - and share them with your child. It will help you to connect with them. It will alleviate some of the stresses they may be feeling (knowing you’re not alone goes a long way, especially at this age).

And it will help you have the strength and peace of mind to continue mitzvah planning in the way that is right for your kid and your family.

4 Things to Do This Month to Savor the Moment

Wait, what?? January is more than half-way over?! If you're anything like us, it feels like this brand new year is flying by.

Let’s do what we can to slow things down, savor the moment, and really enjoy the time we have with our families. The busier we get, the more benefit we get from taking a few, small, intentional steps to create and enjoy moments with our children, and with all those we love.

Schedule a Device-Free Day

Choose a weekend day (because, let’s be honest, with our work lives being what they are, this is too often an unrealistic expectation on a weekday) to go device free. That means no phone, no tablet, no TV. Nothing electronic that pulls you out of the moment that is happening - and that you are creating - right here and right now.

This may mean that you get lost. You may have to stop and ask someone for directions. And if all goes well, you and your kids may find yourselves in a rare, blissful moment when you feel bored.

Go with it.

Some of the best family memories come from unexpected moments, from connecting with others, from pulling out an old favorite game or book to share. Or from simply talking with each other. There is no one keeping score. There is no pressure to capture and share a picture-perfect moment. There is nothing but you and your family. Even if it’s just for a day, powering down the devices can re-set your entire perspective for the better.

Try a New Recipe Together

Cooking with kids is the perfect way to slow down time and concentrate on a single moment. Yes, it can take a bit longer than preparing a recipe on your own. And there may be some mistakes along the way. But that is not the point.

The point is that, in trying a new recipe together, you and your kids have the chance to create something from start to finish. You get to talk to each other, start conversations, and experience a creative and fun moment together.

Play a Family Game

We love any chance we can get to play games with family. Whether you’re on a road trip or sitting around a holiday table, together time equals game time!

We particularly like the way that games can help families create stronger bonds with each other, find ways to voice everyone’s creativity and uniqueness, and start engaging, memorable conversations across generations.

Take some of our game ideas, pull out favorite board games from your childhood, or invent a brand new game of your own. Just don’t forget the power of play, no matter your age!

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

There is really nothing like discovering a place together to help create family moments and lasting memories. But we don’t need to wait until we can travel to explore places as a family. Most New Yorkers have never even visited the Statue of Liberty!

Think about all the attractions, big and small, near where you live. Go to a museum or historical site. Check out a local park, try a new restaurant, or go ice skating.

If you can’t quite agree on an activity, just head out. Hop on the subway, get in your car, or just start walking. Take time to look around you and to explore your world. You’ll be amazed at what you discover, and you’ll appreciate how much those simple discoveries can connect you to each other.

Holiday Card Tips for Busy Parents

We get it. Holiday cards are another thing on your ever growing list of things to do before the end of the year. After all the concerts, pageants, parties, and classroom gift exchanges, the last thing you want to do is sit down and create a holiday card. Do people even do this any more? Does it matter?

The answer is yes. The holiday card tradition isn’t going anywhere. And yes, it matters. Because every opportunity you have to celebrate your family and share your story with those you love matters.

That said, in order to make holiday cards more manageable, and to make creating and sharing your holiday cards a fun holiday tradition, rather than a tired holiday chore, try these tips.

Be Real

Stop aiming for overly staged moments that don’t feel authentic to your family. This makes it so much easier for your kids (and your partner) to participate comfortably. And it makes the experience enjoyable for all of you.

Drop your notions of “supposed to be” and share who you are. That’s what your loved ones want to spend time with - and what you deserve to celebrate.

Be Simple

No props, no costumes. This is a holiday card, not a magazine spread. Enjoy the moment and share who you are in a way that feels natural. Step away from the pressure you impose on yourself, or the pressure you perceive others are putting on you.

Take this opportunity to sit down with your family and have a conversation about what the year felt like for each of you. What moments mattered the most to each of you? What did you learn? What do you want to celebrate.

We find that family conversations like this are especially helpful for getting ready for your holiday card video shoot. While we never recommend “rehearsing” for holiday video card shoots (or any of our Portraits that Move film shoots!), it is always a good idea to take a moment for conversation with your family.

Whenever you can center yourselves and share what your individual and collective experience feels like - what your life really is like - you are not only participating in the power of storytelling, you are getting a real sense of the powerful, beautiful, simple ways all of your moments add up together to create your life.

Make it Move

One of the things that our clients appreciate most about our take on holiday cards is that they are moving video messages that they can share far and wide. Gone are the costs of mailing, the long lines at the post office, or the many trips to the mailbox.

With our videos, families send and share their real voices - their moving images - with the ones they love.

Get Help

You don’t have to do it all yourself. If you’re designing a card, use templates. Encourage your kids to design and create the card themselves - to make it more authentic, to give them a chance to share their creativity, and to take some of the load off you. And call us!

For a Portraits that Move holiday video card, all you need to do is open your door to us. We do all the rest. And we are grateful to be a part of your holiday traditions.

A Gift From Us

From now until December 23, book a Signature Portrait Video (to be filmed any time in 2020) and get a FREE Portraits that Move Holiday Card Video.

Giving Tuesday Ideas for 2019

When Giving Tuesday comes around, it can be difficult to decide where - and how - you want to give. We have compiled a list of some of our favorite organizations. On this busy day during this ever-busy season, we invite you to get to know these organizations that are close to our hearts.

Please consider giving to them, or to a cause that it is most meaningful to you. May your day be filled with generosity and gratitude!

KIDS IN NEED FOUNDATION

The mission of the the Kids in Need Foundation is to ensure that every child is prepared to learn and succeed in the classroom by providing free school supplies nationally to students most in need.

We are extremely proud to be part of helping the Kids in Need Foundation share their stories.

MANNA

MANNA, a Pennsylvania-based organization, uses nutrition to improve health for people with serious illnesses who need nourishment to heal. By providing medically tailored meals and nutrition education, we empower people to improve their health and quality of life.

LUSTGARTEN FOUNDATION

As the Lustgarten Foundation explains, its mission is to cure pancreatic cancer by funding scientific and clinical research related to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of pancreatic cancer; by providing research information and clinical support services to patients, caregivers and individuals at high risk; and by increasing public awareness and hope for those dealing with this disease.

WOODS

Woods is a multi-service population health management and advocacy organization that along with its five affiliate organizations provides innovative, comprehensive and integrated health, education, housing, workforce, behavioral health and case management services to more than 18,000 children and adults in the intellectual and developmental disability, child welfare, behavioral and brain trauma public health sectors who have complex and intensive medical and behavioral healthcare needs.

* All mission language about the organizations has been obtained directly from each organization's website.

A Grateful Celebration!

If you follow Portraits that Move, you know that we practice gratitude every day, for every moment. We are truly grateful for the work we get to do, the families we meet, and the stories we help them share.

That’s why we have been overflowing with gratitude since we returned from our trip to Mitzvah Market’s Celebrate Showcase in Long Island. We got to know some wonderful families, we had the chance to share Mitzvah Montages and Movies, to talk about what we do for Mitzvah families that is different from what they have seen and more powerful than they expected. We also had the opportunity to chat with other creative, hardworking people who commit to giving Bar and Bat Mitzvah families and their guests’ truly amazing experiences.

Thank you to everyone who talked with us and shared ideas and dreams for their events. And a heartfelt thank you to all of the energetic, helpful folks from Mitzvah Market who made the event possible.

If you didn’t make it out to the Showcase, take a look at some of our highlights.

If you are ready to schedule your Mitzvah Movie or Montage, get in touch now. Things are getting busy and we want to get started right away!

How to Create a Tween Approved Mitzvah Movie

When we create Mitzvah Montages and Movies we are are doing more than creating a montage or movie that guests will enjoy and remember. We are documenting a transforming, exciting, and not entirely easy time in the life of an almost-teenager.

This is one reason why we consider it such an honor to create Mitzvah Movies and Montages. It is also why we pay special attention to communicate directly with the mitzvah child and to make sure that their voice is heard and that they are comfortable with every step of the process. And proud of the final result.

Understand Their Expectations

This is a busy time for our kids. They are at an age when they have very specific expectations, and meeting those expectations feels especially important. They are attending their friends’ bar and bat mitzvahs, they’re spotting trends and coming up with their own ideas.

All of this means that our bar and bat mitzvah kids are in that delicate space where the desire to fit in and the desire to stand out feel equally strong. When we create montages and movies, we jump right into this space. So we take extra time to hear what our young clients want. We work together with them to understand their expectations and to create a film that makes them feel comfortable, confident, and excited to share.

Let Them Make Decisions

Before you connect with our Portraits that Move filmmakers, we recommend that you sit down and talk with your daughter or son about their own ideas for their mitzvah film. Ask them what moments stand out to them, what they most want to celebrate.

And most importantly, ask them what they do - and do not - want to share.

Yes, this can lead to some feelings of tension, when your creative vision or your expectations as a parent feel like they clash with those of your child. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so helpful to have us on board. We are pros at navigating these waters, and at helping kids to shine through as their own authentic selves with clarity and confidence.

Focus on the Experience

Make the Mitzvah Movie and Montage creation process a memorable part of the overall experience. Take some extra time (as busy as you are during the planning phase!) to walk down memory lane. As you look through photos together, share stories about the moments those photos capture.

Use this preparation time to connect with your child on a deeper and more mature level. Share some real stories about those moments - about how you felt at the time, about what these memories mean to you now that time has passed and you are at such a significant moment in your child’s life - and your family’s.

Be honest. If you come across photos that make you feel not-so-great about how you looked, or if you see those photos now and remember feeling bad about yourself in the moment, but more grateful now to have that moment in time preserved, tell your child. Going through photos may make your tween feel self conscious about how they look now or how they looked when they were younger. Knowing that you have shared those struggles, but that you are able to focus on the what really matters (your family, yourself, your connections to each other) will go a long way in improving your child’s self esteem now and into the teenage years.

Encourage Self Expression

Your child wants to tell - and should tell - their story. Listen to what they want to say and how they want to say it. Give them the space to express themselves and celebrate themselves in their Mitzvah Movie or Mitzvah Montage. In so doing, you will have not only the perfect thing to show at your celebration, you will have a treasured time capsule of this complicated, beautiful, authentic moment in your child’s story.

What is the One Photo Every Mitzvah Montage Needs?

Before we create everything from our Signature Portrait Videos to our Mitzvah Movies and Montages, we first sit down with families to talk about their stories, their ideas, and what is most important to them. This part of the Portraits that Move filmmaking process not only makes for a smooth production from start to finish. It helps us to understand the story that you want to tell - the moments that you want to preserve and share.

What Moments Matter?

Thinking about what moments matter and why is especially important when we create a Mitzvah Montage. One of the best things about Mitzvah Montages is that they give us the opportunity to share a mini-history of your child - what matters to them, what makes them happy, what makes them uniquely themselves at this milestone moment.

This comes with challenges, too, as every parent who has ever tried to put together an annual photo collage knows! Once you start looking back at all the moments, big and small, you become overwhelmed. You want to share every tooth-gap smile, every first day of school, every triumph, and all those quiet moments in between - your child reading, looking up at fireworks, running to their favorite swing.

How do you know what to include in a Mitzvah Montage?

As with all things parenting, there is no one answer. But we do have a good guide, and a recommendation for the one photo you can’t forget to include.

The One Photo You Must Include in Your Mitzvah Montage

Find a photo that shows all of your family doing something together. That includes you, Mom! So often, we get caught up in sharing the most perfect moments. And, thanks to the stress of motherhood or our own hangups about how we’re looking right now or how we think we should look instead, we leave ourselves out of the equation.

But what are we telling our children when we do this?

All of our work at Portraits that Move is dedicated to documenting and celebrating the real moments that make our family lives what they are. The story that unfolds in little ways every day. And you are a part of that story, Mom.

Just ask your child.

So find the photo that tells your story.

Choose the photo that makes your whole family smile, laugh, or tear up with joy. Close your eyes and think of the moment when you felt connected to each other in a special way because of your child. That is the moment to share. That moment, with your child and your shared love, joy, and pride, is the photo you must include in your Mitzvah Montage.

Whether or not your guests notice it, it is the gift you give to your family, and to your child on their special day.

3 Organization Projects to Tackle While Kids are at Camp

When the kids are away at camp it’s an ideal time for you to tackle some home organization projects that help tone down the clutter and allow you a few moments to spend walking down memory lane.

We have put together three simple organization projects that, with a small amount of time and effort, can help you get more organized and create systems that make documenting your family life (and not the mess that comes with it!) easier.

Organize Old Clothes

Kids grow so quickly, and that means the piles of outgrown clothes can easily take over the space in drawers and closets. To tame the clothing clutter, we suggest sorting old or outgrown clothes into two boxes.

Fill the first box with clothes that you can donate to local organizations like Goodwill, centers for women and children in need, or non-profit groups that help refugees. When you are donating clothing, make sure that it is still wearable and comfortable. Remember, no matter a person’s level of need, they still deserve to have items that remind them that they are special and cared for. For clothing that is not wearable, along with old sheets and towels, think about donating to a local animal shelter.

Fill the second box with those pieces of clothing that mean the most to you and your family. These don’t have to be the most stylish, or best quality pieces. They can include the t-shirt your son wore when he took his first steps, or your daughter’s favorite dress that she wore every day until she grew out of it. Gather all these treasured items and send them to a company like Project Repat, and have a blanket made.

Organize Photos

If you’re anything like us, you have thousands of digital photos across multiple devices. To make sure that you don’t lose photos of the moments and memories you most want to document, create a file organization system that works for you. We suggest organizing by folders. You can sort by year, and create sub-folders based on time (monthly, quarterly, etc.) or you can organize by favorite places, milestones, or themes.

Do you vacation at Cape Cod every summer? Consider making a Cape Folder. Within that folder, create sub-folders for each year. That way, you can see how you and your family have changed, how special places have changed, and how the most important thing have remained the same. Think of the act of organizing your photos as a way of documenting and honoring the moments those photos capture.

To organize printed photos, consider using albums or decorative boxes for the photos you haven’t framed. Keep these boxes and albums around the house in family areas so that they are always available for you and your kids to take out and look at together.

When organizing photos, keep in mind how you plan to use them in the future. Make it easy to find your favorites and the photos that best tell the stories of your kids’ lives and your family life so they are on hand when it’s time to create a Mitzvah Montage or to add to a Portrait Video.

Organize Toys

Organizing toys goes a long way to cutting down the clutter, but it can be a difficult experience for kids. Take some time while they are away at camp to sort through toys, starting with those that they haven’t played with much, or toys and games that they never even opened.

Don’t get rid of too much without their consent. It’s important to make sure that your kids feel involved in, but not overwhelmed by the process. Sort the toys as best you can without them, then look through individual boxes or bags - with no pressure - after they come home.

Come up with some strategies that make letting go of old toys easier. This can include putting together a pile of toys to pass along to younger relatives and friends. Find organizations together that your kids would like to donate their gently used toys to (check what organizations accept what kinds of toys - many will not take stuffed animals). Set aside some toys for your kids to sell to help reach their savings goals. They could join up with friends and do a group yard sale or stoop sale - the other moms will be thrilled that you are helping them clear their clutter, too!

When you are organizing, try to be intentional. Consider it part of acknowledging your family’s history and experiences. Feel confident putting things back into the world, after their time of service to you is over. But don’t feel bad about wanting to hold onto a few things, to turn them into memory pieces, or to keep them close to help you remember the moments that have meant the most to you.