Oh yeah and I forgot this little trick...
5) PHOTOS OF LIVES THAT NEVER HAPPENED. I'll start a family with parents that are already married and take wedding photos to hang on the wall as soon as their placed, usually setting up an empty room in the house with wedding props. Sometimes I'll change their hair so that it looks like a younger/different version of their current selves. I'll start my kids off as toddlers and take photos of them, then immediately age them up to child. That way, the sims in the family seem like they have a past as soon as they're brought into the game.