Turn your Christmas photos into presents! We give you the best handmade ideas and top high street stores to buy them from ....
You've been savvy enough to get some Christmas photos snapped of you and the kids, by your local family photographer, and you're busy feeling rather smug about it. Mainly because last year you did 80 percent of your Christmas shopping on the 21st December and you realised in January you managed to purchase the same flashing light up jumper for Uncle Dave as last year. One for wearing and one in the wash, right? Well continue to ooze smugness as you head towards our guide on some easy, cost effective ways to use those lovely festive snaps to create the personalised gifts your family will love.
Firstly why not let Vicki here at Photographvie expertly edit your Christmas pictures and order your personalised gifts and deliver them straight to your door. See below for a range of options: order 3 and you will even get one for free! (that way you can tell your husband your new photo bauble cost you nothing =) )
If you have bought digital images from your Christmas mini session or have seen Vicki at a baby group for Christmas photos and would prefer to create something yourself … our top tips follow.
For a classic gift, turning your photos into a Christmas bauble is a great idea which makes a lovely keepsake and seems to be a big winner with the grandparents. For something extra special you can upload your pictures from Photographvie to Not on the High street and create a beautiful personalised glass photo bauble or at the other end of the budget and more suited to a stocking filler or table gift you can grab a plastic one from the Works and put your own picture in for a mere £1 per bauble.
Find the links here:
This is a prime opportunity to tick two jobs off that lengthening Christmas to do list and use those baby Christmas photos to get your personalised cards sorted too. If you would prefer to get the professional touch with no hassle, please send us a message - our cards are A5 in size and many people keep them up all year as they are great quality too!
If you would prefer to upload and order your own there are lots of good options and places to choose from, including :
Cewe offer a Set of 10 cards from £13.99 (17.8 x 12.7cm)
Moonpig offer a 4 set Card Pack at £6.00 (10.2 x 14.4cm)
Photobox have a Pack of 10 cards, at £8.99 (10.5 x14.8cm)
If you feel like getting your craft on - and also getting thrifty - then there are some fantastic craft ideas to be found on the internet, I am definitely guilty of loosing a good hour of my life to browsing such wonders, wistful for an opportunity to craft without pulling the glue stick out of son no2's hair or realising with horror that son no1 has carried out his best cutting practice on this year’s family photo calendar.
Some of the best ones I have seen lately are a hanging truck ornament made from lolly sticks and your favourite family Christmas picture (https://www.funlovingfamilies.com/diy-car-and-truck-popsicle-stick-christmas-ornaments/) and a lovely stylish hanging black and white photo ornament (https://designertrapped.com/diy-photo-christmas-ornaments-tutorial/)
The Prudent Penny Pincher has a whole article crammed with home crafted photo gifts worth a browse here https://www.prudentpennypincher.com/diy-photo-christmas-gifts/
If you have a few family pictures from throughout the year that you love but just don't know what to do with them why not combine them with your Christmas shots and create a family calendar. Great for a gift or also to keep in an attempt to keep track of school, doctors appointments, clubs, birthdays, his work, your work, their homework, holidays....wait scrap that idea you need a secretary. Anyway in the absence of a fortune and the ability to pay people to act as your brain, a calendar is an affordable alternative. Photobox (Photographvie's top high street choice) sell an A4 wall calendar for £9.99, Vistaprint are £8.99 for a similar size, Asda do an A4 calendar for £13 and Cewe offer one for £19.99.
Thanks Hurrah for Gin for always being there to remind us we are not alone!!
Another great way to make some gifts with your snaps is to create a keepsake with a personalised cushion or a blanket. Granny's love Christmas cushions they can get out in December with the decorations and my boys both squealed in delight at a personalised blanket with their families faces all over. Photobox offer a 28 x 28cm cushion for £20.99 at the moment, Asda £19.99 for a 30cm one, Funky Pigeon are £19.99 including a personalised Christmas message. When it comes to blankets my-picture.co.uk have an offer on their smallest blanket which is selling now for £25, and you can find similar prices at Tesco photo, Photoblankets.co.uk and Asda.
…So it only remains to wish you good luck in a bells ringing, Ho Ho Ho kind of voice and hope you have the kind of Christmas where the kids fall asleep straight after lunch just as you realised absolutely all your friends and family gave you wine and chocolate. Perfect. Bah hiccup.
If you have left it till the last minute - do not fear, we have a limited number of Christmas mini sessions left in November - check the calendar for the last few dates…. or if you would like to visit Photographvie at one of our pop-up Christmas studios this festive season, take a look on our Facebook page for a list of where we will be and when! Look forward to seeing all of you soon x
All views expressed on this site are those of Photographvie team members and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated with. If you find offence with anything on this site, please bring it to my attention and I will gladly discuss it further.