Are you snapping photos all the time, but are unsure of how to preserve these special moments? The process can be overwhelming. Most of us grew up in homes full of photo albums and special prints, but more and more, people are turning away from printing. Social media has become the main method of photo sharing, leaving photo prints a thing of the past. Cloud-based storage is more popular than ever, but how will future generations access your cloud-based photos and family memories? Keeping your photos in the cloud also presents security issues. Resolve these issues by printing your photos. Check out a few different methods for making meaningful photo gifts.

4 Methods for Making Photo Gifts

Restorations

Impress relatives by having family heirloom photos restored. You can take old, damaged photos and fix them to make books and prints as gifts. Use companies, such as Forever Studios, that have a quick turnaround and can even scan the photo for you. With restorations, you can make a damaged photo appear like new again.

Collaborations

Work together on a final photo project. Some photo gift ideas encourage collaboration. You can make meaningful gifts that the whole family can enjoy. At Weeva, your family can work together on a project. Everyone has access to the project while it is being created. You can add pictures and stories. This is a great way to record a special part of your family’s history.

Photo Books

Creating a photo book can be overwhelming. Easy access to technology means that we take photos often and print less of them. To simplify the process, Tracy Pichette, founder of Pumeli, suggests creating a storyline before you begin. Create different topics and subtopics. Look for specific moments, such as selfies with the kids, cooking together, being in nature. Search only for those specific topics as you look through your photos and upload them to print your photo book. Another useful website is Sticky9, which makes it easy to to make a photo book of your Instagram photos. Uploading in the order that the photos should appear makes it easier to autofill, so you don’t have to spend more time sorting through photos.

Photobook Styled shots (30 of 82)

Prints

Customizing a book can preserve your photos from the whole year, but prints also make nice gifts. Most people like certain types of frames in their home decor. Choosing a frame can be a very personal decision. One look that can fit in any style home is an aluminum print. Aluminyze is a company that offers high quality aluminum prints. Choose from a wide variety of styles of sizes, including Christmas ornaments. I tried an 11X17 poster sized print out, and I was very happy with the final result.

ChildWithDog

Another option is to do it yourself. Try the PIXMA MG7720 printer from Canon. You can easily and inexpensively make personalized ornaments. Take one of your Instagram photos and print it on the printer. Cut the photo out using a patterned edge pair of scissors. Carefully roll the photo up, and place it inside a clear ornament. Put some glitter in the ornament to make it look extra special. Then, reattach the top of the ornament, and use a beautiful ribbon to hang it. The result is adorable! Check out some step by step directions from blogger Tonya Staab.

What photo gifts are you making this year? Share in the comments section below!

Disclosure

I received a free item to help inform my writing.

About The Author

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Theresa has been writing since 2010 in magazines and online. Her lifestyle and parenting expertise has been featured in publications, including ShopSmart and Scholastic. She earned an M.Ed in Elementary Education from Vanderbilt as well as a BA in History from Flagler College, and she is a certified teacher.

15 Responses

  3. Zoe Forde

    Great ideas here! I’m printing off some photos for the family for Christmas, but making a photo book is an excellent spin on the idea x

    Reply
  4. Rania

    lol I should utilise your methods as I’ve been working at my son’s baby book for nearly a decade and it’ still not completed…I have 2 more children lol

    Reply
    • theresa

      That’s funny. I tried scrapbooking for my older daughter, but it was so time consuming! I love that in this day and age, you can make photo gifts quickly and easily.

      Reply
  7. Phyllis

    How timely is this!!! I just got finished ordering photo gifts for my family and friends. Always a nice way to capture memories. Another thing I did was make calendars…its the gift that keeps on giving each month. I just got married and it was a nice way for me to share wedding pics with the family. Great blog!

    Reply
  10. Mama Brucks

    I did restorations this year for christmas and have received some over the years! It’s a great gift idea!! A collaboration sounds like a great way to get the family together over the holidays!

    Reply
  11. Cindy C the Hometown Queen Bee

    I love any type of photo gift! Probably because I love pictures so much lol. Some great ideas here!

    Reply

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