Parents create hilarious Christmas cards to show the chaotic reality of raising three kids

Having three children might seem like a fun idea, but the perpetual sense of chaos that comes with a such a large family is constant - and it's only heightened at Christmas.

One set of parents has attempted to capture that madness in a series of hilarious Christmas cards, featuring their two young boys and their even younger sister.

The Stanley's from Charlotte, North Carolina, have made five Christmas cards, which feature different images of chaos ranging from the boys hijacking the family car to cutting down the garden tree with a chainsaw.

Their father Jonathan Stanley shared the images on the r/funny subreddit and they soon became a big hit, and potentially something that every parent can relate to.

Picture: Jonathan Stanley

Speaking to Bored Panda, Jonathan explained where he got the inspiration for the images.

The very first time we tried to take a 'traditional' Christmas card photo we had hilariously bad results

We were new parents with a one-year-old and everything went wrong – baby cried the whole time, it was windy, the lighting kept changing, you name it. If 2 of us looked okay, the third one blinked.

We laughed so hard at how bad the photos were that we decided just to send them out as is and our family loved it.

From there the tradition was born – instead of trying to send perfect cards, we would send something that represented the chaos of parenting.

Picture: Jonathan Stanley

Speaking to Indy100, Jonathan added that the beloved American comic strip Calvin and Hobbes was also a big influence.

One of my biggest influences was Calvin and Hobbes.

I loved reading that comic strip when I was young and I now view childhood through a similar lens.

Picture: Jonathan Stanley

Despite being very funny, the photo shoots do come with their problems, such as trying to make them look as realistic as possible and convincing their boys that they aren't actually allowed to do any of these things.

I had no idea if a staged scene would make sense or be funny, but we went for it and it just kind of worked.

The kids love it, though when they see the final product I have to constantly remind them that it’s fake and to not try it in real life. I worry sometimes I am putting ideas into their heads!

I also take care to make sure its a realistic as possible – most of the scene is shot practically and I try to minimize the photoshop required to yield the best results.

Today most people have a strong eye for recognising when something is fake, so the goal is to make it just real enough that they question how we pulled it off.

Picture: Jonathan Stanley

Now that he has set a precedent, Jonathan knows that he will have to keep doing this for the rest of the kid's childhoods, otherwise their family and friends would be disappointed.

 Our friends and family would be so disappointed if we went back to a normal card at this point.

It’s also a great creative outlet and once the kids are a little older it will open up some crazy possibilities that aren’t feasible with a four-year-old and a baby.

Picture: Jonathan Stanley

This isn't the only fun outlet that the family have found time for. They have their own YouTube channel which features a variety of hilarious videos such as a recut Godzilla trailer using only footage of their toddler.

HT Bored Panda

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