I love this time of year, and I love buying gifts for people... and they OFTEN have photos of my kids or their kids on them. As a Seattle family photographer who also takes school photos, I'm always thinking about how to get our favorite pictures off our phones and into real life. So I thought it'd be fun to round up some of my favorite personalized photo gifts. They're mostly things I've given or things I want (hello, Aura frame... someone tell my husband).
Leave a comment or just tell me if you've tried any of these... or if you have other ideas!
1. A Personalized Photo Water Bottle
I got one of these for my mom when she had a knee replacement last year, and she ALWAYS has it with her! Yay for hydration. I used photos of my kids at the pool and the beach for a little water theme, but anything works. Shutterfly makes photo water bottles in a bunch of styles. Remember to use your Costco membership if you have one, because Costco members get a big discount on Shutterfly orders.
2. A Custom Photo Calendar for the Kitchen Wall
Every month I thank 2012 me, who started a photo calendar in Shutterfly with the grand idea to just copy it each year and add a new photo for every month. What a win. So every month I get to look back at what was, and then think about how full my days are now. It's never too late to start this idea, or to just make a calendar for next year. It's functional and fun!
If you want to go a step further, the Photo-a-Day Calendar from Social Print Studio is a little block calendar with a photo for every day of the year. It was a little wonky to set up, but I worked with my siblings and my in-laws, and we gave one to each of the grandparents. They still have the little prints all over.
3. A Classic Framed School Portrait (Kids Can Decorate It!)
There's nothing quite like a real print on a real wall. I come from a newspaper background and I will always love ink on paper. A simple framed school portrait is timeless, and it's the kind of thing you'll be so glad to have in twenty years.
Here's my favorite twist: let the kids decorate the frame or the mat. Grab a plain wooden frame or a wide paper mat and hand over the paint, markers, or stickers. Now the gift is from them, not just of them. It's a little messy and a little imperfect and completely them, which is exactly the point.
4. A DIY Photo Garland
This one is so easy and so joyful. Print a handful of small photos around a theme, clip them onto twine or ribbon, and hang them across a mantel, a window, or a bedroom wall.
I did this with my Halloween costume photos, and it's such a fun way to decorate! You could do first days of school, every holiday morning in pajamas, the kids with the dog through the years, or every school portrait from kindergarten on. Watching them grow up across one string of photos is something else. (PS... my daughter was born in October, so I had to change the theme on our October calendar page. See the calendar above!)
Tip: if you want super easy, quick prints, use Walgreens Photo and select "matte."
5. A Photo Christmas Ornament
You can't go wrong with a classic photo ornament. I have these for sale in my holiday shop for schools, and Shutterfly has tons of ornament styles too. Or have the kids make one! Just start with a printed photo and bedazzle away. No need for a fancy Pinterest craft!
6. A Custom Photo Pillow (Yes, Shaped Like Your Pet)
For pure joy, I can't stop thinking about these custom shaped photo pillows from Wanderprints. They cut the pillow to the shape of your photo, so you end up with a squishy little version of your kid or your cat. I'm going to get one shaped like our dog for my 3-year-old. I haven't used this company yet, but it looks good.
7. Photo Wrapping Paper : My two favorite printshops
Mpix is one of my go-to labs for prints, and they have so many fun extras beyond the usual. My favorite surprise: printed photo wrapping paper. Imagine wrapping Grandma's gift in paper covered in her grandkids' faces. Half the fun is the unwrapping. And if you want to get some high quality prints or gifts, check out Artifact Uprising.
8. An Annual Family Photo Album
If I could nudge every family toward one thing, it would be this. Once a year, gather your favorite photos, the professional ones and the phone ones, and put them into a printed album. In my family I make it annually but my sister in law and her husband each take turns. I keep a little note in my phone where I write a little bit month by month to add some details like how my daughter says “fork” and it sounds like “f***” and my big kids can’t stop laughing.
Phones get lost, accounts get forgotten, and hard drives fill up. But an album sits on the shelf, and kids pull it down on their own. My kids grab ours all the time and flip through it, and it's such a good way to talk about our favorite memories and our favorite people, especially Nana, who lives on so fully in our hearts.
I print through the professional lab I use for my family sessions, but I used to use Shutterfly.
9. A Digital Photo Frame for the Grandparents
If you have family far away, an Aura frame is a gift that keeps going long after the holidays. You set it up, and then everyone in the family can send photos to it from their phones. School portraits, the first snow, the blurry soccer game shot, all of it shows up on the frame on Grandpa's counter.
I've used a cheaper version and an Aura, and the Aura is worth it for how easy the app is. I'm hoping for one for Christmas myself (again, tell Nick!). I think their sales get pretty good after Thanksgiving.
However you share your photos this year, on a wall, a tree, a water bottle, or a pillow shaped like the dog, I hope they remind you how magical your people are right now.
Happy holidays, friends.
Anela
P.S. If you're wishing you had more sweet photos of your now, the kids just as they are at home, you're in luck. For the first time ever, I'm offering winter sessions I'm calling Cozy at Home. They're priced a little lower than my typical full sessions since I'm trying this out. I'll come hang out with your people, and you can totally just be making cookies in your PJs. Photos just for you, no need to get fancy. Book your Cozy at Home session here.
