Thanksgiving and Christmas family video: ideas and how to do it
Holiday gatherings happen fast. The person with the phone is usually the person missing from every picture. When everyone films a little, you get the whole story, and nobody has to be the camera crew.
Before the day
- Tell the family you are collecting clips and give them one link or QR code.
- Print the QR code on a card for the table, or put it on the fridge.
- Pick two or three moments to make sure someone films: the table before the meal, the toast or grace, and the kids opening gifts.
During the day
- The table. A short pan around who is there.
- The cook. Whoever made the food, in the kitchen.
- The kids. Candid moments are better than staged ones.
- The elders. Ask them for a short story or memory on camera.
- The goodbye. A short message from each person for next year.
Prompts for the whole table
- What are you thankful for this year?
- What is your favorite family tradition?
- Tell us your favorite holiday memory from when you were a kid.
- What is one thing you want to remember about this year?
- What are you looking forward to next year?
Put it together
The edit is where most plans fail. ReelKept by Lumi turns the clips family members film into one finished film, so you do not spend the weekend after the holiday scrubbing through footage.
Small touches that make it feel like yours
Film the table setting before anyone sits down, the empty chair for someone who could not come, and the dishes that only appear once a year. Those are the details people forget and then wish they had kept. Add the date and who was there in the first clip, because in ten years you will not remember which year it was.
Start an annual tradition
One holiday film is nice. Ten in a row become a record of how the family changed. Choose a simple repeatable shape, such as "one minute from every household," keep the same prompts each year, and watch last year's film before you film this year's. Children enjoy spotting how much they grew.
When the family is in different houses
- Send the same link to every household, so clips from separate dinners can end up in the same film.
- Ask each home for the same short opening: who is at the table and what they are eating.
- Let people who could not travel send a greeting before the meal, so they feel present in the story.
Questions for the kids
- What is your favorite food on the table?
- What are you thankful for?
- What do you want for the holidays, and what do you want to give?
- What is the funniest thing that happened this year?
Kids give better answers when an adult is nearby and nobody makes it a performance. Keep these clips short, and remember guests who join a ReelKept event must be 18 or older, so an adult films while the child speaks.
Keep the table calm
The point is to remember the day, not to run a production. Agree on one or two moments to film, pick one person to remind the table, and let everyone else eat. Phones that stay out all meal ruin the meal, and clips that nobody remembers to film are not worth losing a conversation for.
One code on the table is all it takes. ReelKept by Lumi gathers what everyone filmed into a single holiday film.
Questions people ask
Do relatives need to download anything?
No. They scan a QR code or open a link in their phone browser. Guests must be 18 or older.
Can I use it for any holiday?
Yes. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Diwali, Eid, birthdays, reunions and more.
What about family members who are far away?
Share the same link before the gathering so they can send a message.
Can I keep a copy of every clip?
Yes. You can download the film, the photos and every original clip. We aim to keep files for about seven years but we do not promise it, so keep your own copy.
Keep reading
Sources
- CapCut: Thanksgiving memory video montage tutorial
- VidDay: how to create a family reunion video montage
Last updated October 16, 2026.