Eddie Murphy poses with all 10 of his children for the very first time

Christmas is a time in which people's families are brought together, and if their social media presence is anything to go by, sometimes this means that the extended family could easily fill a room once they're all gathered together. If you want an example of this, then look no further than Shrek and Beverly Hills Cop actor Eddie Murphy, who was photographed in a family portrait this week with no less than 10 of his own children. Man, that's a whole lot of places to set at the dinner table huh?

The picture was taken by Murphy's daughter Bria, which she promptly shared to Instagram with the caption: "Merry Christmas." The snap shows Murphy's partner Paige Butcher, and their three-week-old son Max Charles, their daughter Izzy Oona, as well as 29-year-old Eric (whom he had with Paulette McNeely), 28-year-old Christian, (whom he shares with Tamara Hood) and 11-year-old daughter Angel Iris (whom he shares with Mel B).

Also featured in the mammoth-sized portrait were Murphy's other daughters Bella Zahra, Zola Ivy, Shayne Audra, and Bria and Miles Mitchell, and Paige's and Eddie's mothers.

Fans were quick to voice their respect for the family photo on social media. For example, one Instagram user commented: "Such an amazing beautiful picture wishing you all amazing holidays and sending a heap of love from Australia 🇦🇺 wishing you all the best for 2019." Another person added: "I have been following your career and I have to say this is your best picture."

It's clear that Eddie Murphy has been enjoying some much-needed downtime lately, and hasn't been the limelight all that much in recent years. However, he did open up about the possibility of a live comeback comedy tour in a recent interview, stating:

"I think about it. Eventually, I will. But it won’t just be stand-up. It’ll be music. It’ll be comedy. It’ll be stuff from my movies … I’ve just got to figure out a way to put a show together. Because me just coming out on stage and doing stand up, I can’t see myself doing just that. I can see having some of that, and then doing everything else. We’ll see."

It's also been a time of grieving for the world-famous comedian, who lost his brother Charlie Murphy a year ago. Charlie died at age of 57 in April of 2017 in a New York City, after a long struggle with leukaemia. Charlie Murphy had co-written a number of Eddie Murphy's movies, (including Norbit and Vampire in Brooklyn) and made appearances in the sketch comedy series Chappelle's Show and The Boondocks.

Despite this loss, it's good to see that the comedian has been taking some time out to spend Christmas with his many children. Still, I do wish that we could see him in another movie sometime soon. Maybe someone should do a Trading Places sequel in the near future? That would rock!