Becoming minimalist meant eschewing things for experiences and happy memories, so I prefer not to give and receive random meaningless things as gifts anymore- except when it comes to photo gifts. Personalized photo gifts are not only meaningful (the opposite of going to a store and looking for something on sale that you can pretend you thought they wanted), but treasured. They bring connection, shared memories, images of loved ones and important and memorable events that make the recipient happy to see whenever they turn to a new page on their personalized calendar, or pull on a personalized photo blanket on a cold day, and enjoy hot chocolate in their photo mugs. The only wall decor we have are family photo canvases, and our cupboard is filled with photo mugs. Our book shelf features annual photo books that guests love to peruse when they visit- 30 pages per year of our most fun memories and adventures.
Father’s Day is coming up, and even though dads and granddads and husbands can be tough to fight for, there is one thing I’m sure they will love- gifts with pictures of their loves one!
Photobooks bring us back to the best times
This is a great gift idea for grandparents, but it’s also my perfect gift for my own family. Ever since 2013, I created an annual photobook with pictures of the most important events of the year, or the best captured photos of handsomeness exhibited by my guys, so my sons (and guests who visit my home and see the stack of photobooks on our coffee table) can browse the pages and go back in time. Sometime in 2019, life got even more hectic than usual, and I didn’t create our 2018 photo book in the early months of the new year as per usual, and when 2020 arrived the guilt over being two years over due was really pressing on me. Then March 2020 landed and nothing was happening anymore, so I started to curate images from 2018-2020 from trips we loved and fun activities, and this year I finally created a gorgeous, hardcover photobook from Mpix. It’s not a single volume like previous years, but a compilation of 3 years (we didn’t do much in 2020 so it wasn’t that big in the end).
I created a desktop folder for 2021 to make it easier to create our photobook next year, with our favorite memories and pictures edited and collected inside and ready to be uploaded once the year closes. No more excuses or letting years pass and forgetting!
Photo Mugs make mornings better
These are a great gift for parents and grandparents, or anyone who has a connection to the people in the photos. I know we all love our kids, but my sons’ teachers probably don’t want mugs with the photos of a kid they had one year cluttering up their cabinets, so I reserve photo mugs for people we are close to. This year my dad turned 75, and Father’s Day is coming up, so a mug with pictures of his six beloved grandchildren to greet him every morning is a perfect way to enjoy his morning coffee. We found an elegant design on Mpix that featured an initial on one side and the words “Home Sweet Home”, and space for the pictures on the other side:
My husband also absolutely loves these, and gifting them to anyone who is a parent (with pictures of their kids) is a wonderful gift idea- for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, a birthday, etc. Since I get a new one every so often as the children get older, we use the old ones and trade out novelty mugs with company or brand names that don’t mean much to us out, so we are heading toward ending up with a set of coffee mugs that are all personalized with our children’s pictures.
Photo Magnets, keychains, and blankets… oh my!
My sister just had her first baby, and she is just one of many couples we know who had a baby in the last year (despite what news reports are saying, it’s been a veritable baby boom in our neck of the woods, with at least eight couples we know having their first baby and others having their second or third). Do you know what new parents love? Picture of their baby… everywhere. A photo magnet of my niece displaying her first car ride home from the hospital was too sweet, so now it’s on their fridge, and the image is very sharp- great quality! My brother toting a keychain with photos of his newborn daughter as he goes to work makes him happy, and gorgeous blankets with a picture, or lots of pictures- a collage of family memories- is so fun to have thrown on the sofa, ready to pull on when we want to feel cozy. Why have a plain old boring pull on your sofa when you can have a meaningful blanket with your most beloved images?
Personalized Fun Photo Gifts
We love to play cards, and now that the deck has a picture we love on the back, it’s even more fun. This falls into the “fun” category, and we find we love these types of photo gifts for others best of all. My husband’s favorite tie features pictures of the boys, and puzzles with a beloved photo waiting to be put together is actually a great gift for a friend or teacher or newlyweds (just make sure to get a high quality, high resolution picture from them to use beforehand, and don’t resort to a low quality camera shot, even if you want to surprise them; just don’t tell them what the picture is for to keep it a surprise!)
This last category of personalized photo gifts is also my favorite for party favors- people are kind of over candy dishes and mini picture frames.
If you are shopping for Father’s Day, June 15th is the last day to order from Mpix for expedited shipping, but you can still use this code penelope2521 for 25% off your order until July 31st, 2021. Get your Father’s Day gifts, annual photo books, birthday gifts, and more with gifts you know they will love ♥︎