Seasons greetings, my Vimeo family!

The holiday season is upon us! And no matter what holiday you celebrate, I'm willing to bet your seasonal festivities will include one important element: family!

Sure, dad may wear the dorkiest of Christmas ties and your crazy Uncle Carlos may drink one too many whiskey sours and tell stories inappropriate for even the most progressive of dinner tables, but in the end, they're family! You know you love 'em.

So to get you into the festive, familial spirit, this Vimeo weekend project is all about the people nearest and dearest to your heart.

Your challenge is to make a video about a family story, memory or moment in time — and we'd like to you use archival media to tell this story. We want to see your creative treatment of a moment from the past!

Here are the rules:
1. You must tell a story about a family. You can tell a story about your own family, or help a friend or complete stranger off the street tell a story about their families. As long as there is at least one familial relation mentioned, you're good!

3. Your video must be 3 minutes or less.

Here's a great example by Sean David Christensen, in which he mixes archive footage and photos with footage shot more recently to tell the story of when his father shaved his mustache:

Another great example is Casey Neistat's sweet little vignette about his 92 year-old tap dancing grandmother:

Here are some things to keep in mind:

-We're using "family" as a loose term, as we realize families come in all shapes and sizes. If the people you consider "family" and want to share a story about aren't blood related, that's fine. DNA testing will not be part of the judging process!

-It's always fun to dust off those old family photo albums, or watch old film reels and VHS tapes, but if you don't have time to take a jaunt down memory lane, don't sweat it! Even just one photograph will do!

-Feel free to use any medium you'd like to tell the story. If animation is your thing, try animating to an old audio recording, or to the audio from a home movie. Or use a photo in your animation! This lovely example from Moth mixes animation and old home movie footage:

-If you don't have much documentation of the moment you want to tell a story about, try filming some reenactments!

-Your story doesn't need to follow a typical narrative structure. Your video could be evocative of a past memory.

-I'm sure your family members will love anything you make, but try to tell your story in a way that will appeal to a wider audience than just the huddle of people around the TV at grandma's house on Christmas day. Make sure things are explained for those who aren't familiar with your family, and that you include only the essential facts and most important details.

A few more things:

Make sure to submit your video to the Weekend Project Group.

Please remember that only videos made specifically for this project will be considered. All submitted videos must be approved by the Vimeo Staff before appearing in the Group, so don't worry if your video does not show up at first, we'll get to it, promise!

All submissions are due on Tuesday, December 20th at 11:59 PM (EST).

The winner of this contest will get a free Plus account, or if you're already a Plus member, we're going to let you gift the Plus to whomever you choose (along with an extra 2.5 GB of upload space)! The runner-up will receive an extra 2.5 GB of upload capacity whether Plus or not.

We hope that this project will bring you closer to your loved ones! I recently made a little video exploring an old 8mm film that my mom and her brothers made when they were kids that has since become a legend of sorts in my family. It was great to dust off the 8mm footage and also interview my family members.

So take a break from the holiday shopping and get creative! In my opinion, the best gifts are always handmade and from the heart. Your family members just might enjoy a little video present this holiday season!

***UPDATE*** We had 15 awesome submissions for this project, and we're very pleased to announce that the winner is Chris Zabriskie with his video Disneyland 1990, and our runner up is Seth Mostly Media with his entry, Mom's Camera. Thanks for sharing your home movies, childhood memories and personal stories with us. We loved what you came up with, and your families will love them too!!! Happy holidays!