The best holiday photo gifts start now
It may feel too early to start thinking about holiday gifts, especially when it’s still warm enough for the beach. But if you’ve ever had the idea to make a meaningful gift from family photos, September is actually the perfect time to begin.
The gifts people treasure most often aren’t the ones ordered overnight. They’re the ones filled with memories, stories and a little thought. And the good news is that you have plenty of time to create one without making yourself crazy.
Create a family photo book. This doesn’t have to be the enormous “our entire family history” project that never gets finished. Choose one story instead. It might be a family vacation, a grandparent’s life, your family’s favorite holiday traditions or simply “Our Year Together.”
Start now by gathering the photos into one folder or album and choosing your favorites. Remember, the “best” photos may not be the ones where everyone is smiling and looking at the camera. The best photos show the emotion of the moment, day or event. Add a few captions with names, dates, places and funny memories. By narrowing the story before you begin designing, creating the actual book becomes much easier and far more enjoyable.
Turn children’s artwork into a keepsake. If your refrigerator, drawers and closets are overflowing with masterpieces, photograph or scan your favorites and turn them into an art book for parents or grandparents. Include the child’s name, age and perhaps a sentence about the picture in their own words.
You don’t have to save every piece of paper to preserve this wonderful stage of childhood. A thoughtfully curated book can capture years of creativity while allowing you to let go of some of the physical clutter. You can also use individual pieces of artwork to create calendars, cards or framed gifts. An easy way to capture the artwork is with the Scribbly app, https://scribbly.art/.
Give your family its memories back. Older photos, slides, home movies and even old digital files can make an extraordinary gift when they’re brought into a format the family can actually enjoy. Instead of handing someone a flash drive filled with thousands of unnamed files, select a meaningful collection.
Digitize Mom and Dad’s wedding album, gather photos of the grandchildren with their grandparents or convert favorite home movies and organize them by year or event. Add names and dates whenever possible. The organization and context are what turn a collection of files into a family gift that will be enjoyed together for years.
Whichever project you choose, preparation is what makes the difference. September is the time to gather, sort and select. October can be for scanning, photographing artwork, writing captions and designing. That leaves November for ordering, reviewing and fixing anything that doesn’t look quite right.
Give yourself a deadline well before the shipping rush. Starting early also gives you time to quietly ask family members for missing photos or stories without revealing what you’re creating.
I often see how differently people react to gifts made from their own memories. They aren’t simply opened and put aside. They spark stories, get passed around the room and sometimes bring a few happy tears.
So while everyone else is waiting for the holiday shopping season to begin, take a look at the photos and artwork already in your home. The makings of one of this year’s best gifts may already be sitting in a box, on your phone or hanging on your refrigerator.
Rhoda Gordon, a local Certified Photo Manager, is the owner of Sunflower Photo Solutions and the creator of DIG YOUR PHOTOS!™, a DIY photo organizing kit. Discover more tips, tricks and how-tos on her YouTube channel, youtube.com/@digyourphotos, and visit sunflowerphotosolutions.com or digyourphotos.com.
