This post was created in partnership with #Snapfish. All opinions are my own. #SnapfishBloggers
All month long I’m sharing ideas for simple Holiday gifts for family and friends. I’ll be posting ideas for gifts that you can sew, bake, make or buy. Some will be quick, and others will be well worth the extra time involved. Today I’m sharing with you an idea that would be perfect for far away family and friends or members of your immediate family… a DIY Favorite Places Photo Calendar.
Let me tell you something. We take a LOT of pictures. Actually we took a lot of pictures before we had cameras on our phones, and now that we have that the photos have multiplied ten fold. Does anyone remember using film ?? You’d shoot away on your camera and just HOPE that your photos would be beautiful…Then you’d send off your film to be developed and wait. I still remember the thrill of opening that envelope and getting the first glimpse of my finished photos. Even though I now shoot 100% digital photos I still LOVE that thrill that comes from opening freshly printed photographs.
I’ve said it before and I’ll mention it again… get your photos OFF your phones and computers and onto tangible items. Things like printed photos, mugs, photo books and calendars. We don’t know where technology will be in 10 or 15 years, what if you can’t get to your pictures?
With all of the photos our family takes, I get stuck sometimes knowing what to do with all of them. I’m an avid scrapbooker but admit to not being “caught up” (or even caring if I ever am)…. I’ve discovered over the years that it’s fun to find other ways to capture our families memories besides just chronological photo albums or scrapbooks.
This year I decided to make a calendar of all of our “favorite places”. When I first had the notion of making a photo calendar I thought about the process to literally… I thought that I need to find photos we took in January for the January page, February for February etc…. Narrowing down the photos was getting overwhelming.
After realizing that my first plan needed to be simpler, I thought I’d try something different. I listed on a piece of paper 12 of our favorite places to go then found a few of my favorite shots of each place.
I then uploaded them to Snapfish and was able to quickly create a calendar. I spent a few minutes “poking around” and realized there were loads of ways to customize the calendar just for our family….. A few of the things I found.
- Uploading the photos was crazy easy (you can even upload directly from IG and Facebook)
- You can pick a layout that you love. I used a simple layout but there are several really beautifully designed ones in the program to pick from. They are in template form so you just drag and drop your photos.
- If you don’t want to only use photos there are stickers and embellishments in several different themes to pick from.
- You don’t have to start on January 1st, you can begin the calendar any time during the year! Which makes it a great birthday gift.
- I love that I was also able to include photos on the days in the calendar too, I added a photo of each family member to their birthday. You can also add text to commemorate special days.
I ended up printing 3 calendars… one for my husband to take to work, one for our home, and one for our daughter who is away at college.
The calendars arrived a few weeks ago and my kids have loved looking through them and picking out their favorite month…
Guess what?? To help you out a bit Snapfish is offering one reader a $50 Gift Certificate to their store! Perfect timing with the Holidays just around the corner!
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I always make give something that I have created and made. This year I want to make Christmas Stockings and put special gifts inside!
I enjoy your blog and following you on IG! The gift I am most looking forward to give this year is a sewing machine for my 9 year old granddaughter. I am teaching her to love sewing and hope she will find it as rewarding in her lifetime as I have found it to be in mine.
Great idea!
I love this idea! I did one years ago and forgot how fun they are! Thanks for reminding me!!
I can’t wait to make my Cinnamon Rolls gift boxes for my friends and family. They are ready for the freezer and easy to pop in the oven for a delicious Christmas morning treat!!
I would love to make one of these calendars to have at work.
I would love to make one of these, with current pictures as gifts, but I would love to make one with older pictures from our cross country journey!
My plan is to sew and quilt a set of matching placemats for my daughter’s new apartment. I know she’ll love them!
I love making calendars for the family – grandparents love seeing the kids’ photos!
Oh my gosh. It’s November and I haven’t a clue what gifts to make or buy.
I’ll be only giving gifts to the pets this year. They will be getting bow ties and pooch pouches.
I am going to give my family the gift of flexibility.
Gifting my latest Christmas table topper for friends !
Thank You for sharing!
What a great idea for family Christmas presents!
I love to give calendars to the grandparents each year. They love the photos of the kids, but also love the reminder of when everyone’s birthdays are.
I am excited to give my Pictures of the new baby!
calenders
I’m going to attempt making a little felt mouse that goes into a felt mitten–with embroidered details–as a necklace for one of my daughters.
I have been working on a blanket that is made up of old shirts. I am giving it to my mom and dad.
I’m making both my daughters T-shirt quilts out of their daddy’s triathlon shirts. Hope they love it.
I am most excited for my girls to open their stockings – lots of fun little things they will be thrilled to get – Russell Wilson mini figure, shopkins, card games, etc.
I am excited to give my niece Barbie stuff and my nephew Star Wars stuff!
I love, love, love the calendar idea as gifts for family!
I am making 90% of my Christmas gifts. One thing I am making for all the grandkids is their own pillowcases with Christmas fabric. Each one is different fabric some with trim some with out. I hope they like them as much as I have enjoyed making them.
I make a year calendar too, but intake my favorite photo that represents that month and then in the days I put a picture I took that day a year prior. Except for December that is 2 years. It is fun to look at each month and see how much the kids have grown and to remember past events.
I am so looking forward to giving my parents a year of monthly meals prepared in my kitchen and brought to theirs.
i’ve done calendars in the past and I’m inspired to do it again this year!
I love to make my parents a photo book every year.
I’m excited to gift my grandmother her favorite perfume!
I have been wanting to make a calendar for years & never get around to doing it. The girls in my family do a girlie trip each year & I wanted to do one of the places we’ve visited.
I live in Hawai’i and am really excited to send pineapples to my family and friends on the mainland. I plan on decorating them with summer themed faces (sunglasses, drink umbrellas, etc.), especially for my younger cousins. I think they’re going to love them.
I am excited about making a doll for my granddaughter for Christmas.
playmobil for my boys!
Your calendar idea is brilliant. I made one years ago, and forgot how much fun it is. I may use family pet photos this time. 🙂 Didn’t know Snapfish was so easy to use!
Thank you for doing this. Your work is so lovely and it’s really kind of you to share.