Woman creates a FAKE FAMILY to star in her annual Christmas cards

A single woman has used her graphic design skills to create a fake family complete with a make-believe husband and children to be featured in her annual Christmas cards. 

Brynn Shuller, 32, from Cincinnati, Ohio, already had a passion for creating fun Photoshopped images when the idea to make her own quirky family photos came to her in October 2015.

‘I just saw this costume chest hair, and it just gave me an idea,’ the graphic designer recalled. ‘It was really random, but it seemed fun to play characters of an awkward family and Photoshop it together.’

Brynn Shuller, 32, from Cincinnati, Ohio, has created a fake family complete with a husband and two children to star in her annual Christmas cards 

The graphic designer already had a passion for creating fun Photoshopped images when the idea came to her in October 2015

Shuller surprised her family with a ’90s-style family photo that Christmas, and it was such a hit that she turned it into an annual tradition

Shuller surprised her family with the ’90s-style photo shoot that Christmas, and it was such a hit that she turned it into an annual tradition. 

‘I wasn’t expecting my family to love it quite so much, and now lots of people love my cards,’ she said. 

She has been making cards featuring her fake dysfunctional family – whom she has dubbed the ‘Brynns’ – for eight years now. 

‘Byron, the dad, is awkward and always excited and happy,’ she explained. ‘Brynnda, the mom, is always trying to make everyone happy, but she is probably aggravated on the inside

Shuller has been making cards featuring her fake dysfunctional family – whom she’s dubbed the ‘Brynns’ – for eight years now

‘I wasn’t expecting my family to love it quite so much, and now lots of people love my cards,’ she said of the annual tradition 

This year she is taking the Brynns’ card one step further by creating a 2023 calendar featuring a new fake family photo for each month

Shuller has put a great deal of thought into her characters, including the ‘awkward’ dad, Byron, who is ‘always excited and happy’

‘Brynnda, the mom, is always trying to make everyone happy, but she is probably aggravated on the inside,’ she said 

‘Brynnie, the daughter, is so young and happy-go-lucky. Frank, the teenage son, is an outcast and is always grumpy and never enjoys the family photos,’ she added of her fictional children. 

The Christmas cards take Shuller weeks to put together, but the effort is worth it. 

‘It can be hard to find men’s clothes that fit me, so it takes a few weeks of planning and ordering to get everything together,’ she explained.  

Shuller travels to different locations for the photo shoots, which take about two hours. She then spends another four to six hours editing the images together. 

‘My favorites have been Disneyland,’ she said. ‘I did a photo on a log flume, and I had to keep queuing with the different costumes on to get the next snap.

The fictional Brynns’ daughter, Brynnie, is ‘happy-go-lucky,’ but their teenage son, Frank,  Frank, the teenage son, is ‘an outcast and is always grumpy’

The Christmas cards take Shuller weeks to put together, but the effort is worth it

Shuller travels to different locations for the photo shoots, which take about two hours

Shuller then spends another four to six hours editing the images together until she gets the perfect Christmas card photo 

‘It’s so much fun creating the cards and playing the characters,’ she said. ‘I love it’

‘It was so much fun.’

Shuller has also trekked two hours to get to the perfect spot to create her family fishing trip card.

‘I even fell in the water,’ she recalled.

This year she is taking the Brynns’ card one step further by creating a 2023 calendar featuring a new fake family photo for each month.  

‘So far I have done up to October and am planning my November one,’ she said. ‘I plan for December to be a snowy one.

‘It’s so much fun creating the cards and playing the characters,’ she added. ‘I love it.’