If you are stuck for gift ideas for a loved one why not transform your favourite photos into a personalised gift that they can enjoy all year long. There are so many options for photo gifts out there I thought I would give a quick summary of some things I have purchased in the past and share what’s on offer now.
1. Mug
As shown in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! on the 19th November, ex EastEnders star Jessica Plummer was incredibly emotional after receiving a mug with her daughter on it.
These are so easy to produce, just choose your favourite images and away you go. It’s so nice to see your loved ones every time you make a cuppa or coffee. I have some from when my children were babies, which bring back lovely memories every time I make a brew.
Its great to shop local so I encourage you to always check out your local printers first before jumping online as they do normally offer so many great gift ideas, if your in lichfield contact Caroline at Vixen Print.
2. Photo Bauble
Brighten up your Christmas tree with a personalised bauble and turn it into a new Christmas tradition adding this to your tree every year. Start a collection, and you’ll have a full set to hand on to the next generation one day. Funky Pigeon have some great designs but you can create them yourselves, Boots have a some you can create yourself for as little as £4.
3. Greeting Cards – slip in photo
These are so easy to use. You buy the ready-made Christmas card from Boots and then all you have to do is print off your favourite picture and slot them in.
4. Personalised Christmas Cards
You could design a Christmas card with one of your images from any number of sites. I recommend Vixen Print as a local printing firm who have great quality paper.
5. Coasters
Personalise your home with your favourite picture by simply by slotting it into the back of these coasters from The Range.
6. Wall Art
There is nothing better than having a favourite image hanging on the wall. If you can find a local framer to you like Bradley Framing here in Cannock, they can offer so many different framing options to suit your home décor as well as ordering your print, matching your mount and getting it hanging ready. All you have to do is wrap it.
7. Jigsaw puzzle
Two gifts in one, beat the boredom with a jigsaw to while away your Christmas evening and then frame your beautiful image. This is one of my favourite images from this year and we had it created as a gift for my aunt, who has now hung it on the wall.
8. Calendar
Calendars are a great year long gift; you can add as many images to the calendar as you like. There are templates to use and you can even add in any key dates. Try and buy locally if you can, Vixen Print is local to Lichfield, Instant Print is local to Cannock.
It’s become a tradition in our family to create a calendar for my in-laws of beautiful images of all of the family as there are so many of us. I know it brings happy tears to their eyes every Christmas.
9. Keyring
A keyring is great as you get to see the photo every time you pick your keys up. You have an option of printing the image yourself and adding them into the plastic or getting pre-printed ones. These ones from not on the high street are unique as you can add several images.
10. Mouse Mat
A nice permanent fixture to any office and a great practical gift for anyone with a home office – something that has increased a lot this year. Most of the companies mentioned here offer these as well so worth checking them out or Vista Print is also a place I have used before.
11. Freestanding Wooden Block Plaque
An alternative to a standard framed picture, these wooden blocks make a lovely way to display pictures on a bookshelf or on your desk. Use multiple photos to create a memory plaque that can hang or stand up on its own. Some of these come with poems on too, such as this lovely one from Etsy.
12. Digital Picture Frame
This gives you the ability to load up a huge number of images and it will just flick through them all on a loop. I brought these a few years ago for my nan and aunt so they could always see pictures of us as a family.
13. Amazon Device
Did you know if you have an echo show device and you’re a prime member you can save your favourite images into the prime photos app which can be shared on the screen as a slideshow. This also applies to your firestick on your tv. When the device is on but inactive it starts to show your photos, which if you so lovely to see on any room in your home that you have one.
Your mobile phone camera is more than capable of taking a stunning photo but if you would like to get better at your photography why not treat yourself to my beginners photography course. Then you can send photo gifts all year long, as they really are like sending a hug in a gift.
I hope this has given you some great ideas for gifts this Christmas. There are so many other options too, so well worth a google and if you do find any. more which are epic please do feel free to share in the comments. Happy gift buying everyone.
*I’m not an affiliate of these companies so I do not get anything in return for these recommendations.