The night before Christmas we queued up home videos of our last few Christmases. The kids were so amused. My son, who is kind of sort of getting the concept of Santa now, especially loved watching them. And it made the next morning even more magical for the both of them.

The time from early December through New Year’s is my favorite time of year. I love taking in all of of my the twinkling lights, seeing their reactions to their new gifts, looking back at all we’ve achieved in the last year and setting goals for the new year ahead. This year, even more than just with photos I wanted to document these lasting memories in video.

From meeting Santa to decorating his cookies, to opening presents–this holiday was all I’d hoped it would be. I made another video for us to look back at and to cherish in years to come. This all shot on my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.

I had so much fun making videos of special milestones with my kids this year and it’s something I hope to do more of next year. The kids grow so fast and this seems to be a perfect little time capsule of the here and now.

Here are a few video recording and editing tips to keep in mind if you’re looking to make some more videos in 2017:

1. Keep a camera handy: The more often you bring your camera with you, the more likely you are to get used to it and take it out to use it. If your camera does both it’s just a switch of a button to change to video mode. Between snaps take a few seconds of video so you can remember more about that special milestone.

2. Keep the clips short: No need to record a feature film. Ten seconds or so here and there will do the trick and actually make editing a little easier later on if you aren’t hunting through an hour of footage for the clips you want.

3. Get a variety of angles and distances: Take the video in wide angles and close ups so when you edit it together later it helps the story flow in a sequence.

4. Use a camera with autofocus: This make a huge difference. The new Canon DSLRs like the EOS Rebel T6i, the EOS 80D and EOS 5D Mark IV have video autofocus and touch screens so you can tell the camera what part of the picture you want it to focus on, and adding some nice depth and artistic focuses with just the touch of a screen.

5. Edit ASAP: From personal experience, I find the sooner I get to editing my videos the more likely they’re to get done. Otherwise I have a bunch of clips just sitting there to scroll through. That’s fun too, but it’s even better when I sit down to string a story together so I can not only free up space, but have a treasure to look back on. Each one is like a video version of a designed photo book.

As much of a whirlwind as it was, I’m sad to see 2016 go, but I’m glad we ended it like this. And I’m excited to ring in the new year with this crew of mine.

From birthdays to family vacations, to holidays and more, I’ve teamed up with Canon every month to share how we capture our special milestones. I’m also dishing out tips to help you better capture your special moments with your family. Shout out to my favorite camera brand for sponsoring this series.

Tags: Canon, christmas, family video