A Typical Christmas Eve Family Gathering in 2005

Christmas Eve, 2005. This was one of those standard holiday get-togethers, the kind that feels familiar and comfortable. We started with the requisite posed photos. Here are three of us lined up, smiling for the camera inside. My brother is, of course, in his Michigan Rugby shirt.

Then our grandmother joined in for a few more formal shots. She sat in her chair, wearing a festive Christmas vest, while we stood around her. Someone handed my brother a beer, and we all did our best to look natural for the group picture. These are the photos you always take.

After the official documentation was over, things got a bit more relaxed. My brother and I ended up on the couch. I can't remember what we were laughing about, but it devolved into us just goofing off. There's a little Christmas snow globe on the coffee table next to us. These are the candid moments that happen in between the posed ones, and they feel a lot more true to what the holiday was actually like.