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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
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Sean Szeps

As a child, our family Christmas photo was an annual trauma. As a parent, I understand it now

Supplied image by Sean Szeps. Sean (left), Samantha (centre under Santa), Steven (right)
‘I do, genuinely, love those old Christmas pictures. I display them proudly.’ Sean Szeps (left) with his siblings. Photograph: Sean Szeps

In my family, Christmas isn’t just a holiday … It’s an obsession. And my mother? She’s the matriarch of mistletoe.

Every December, our home transformed into a living snow globe. We didn’t just buy ornaments, we made them. We didn’t watch Christmas movies, we lived them. We’d cut down our own trees, hand-string popcorn garlands and spend full afternoons debating the correct angle of the angel on top of the tree.

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