This is my favorite halfway-DIY Christmas gift that’s always a hit with my kids. Every year I make them memory books of their year, one per kid, and then I order them during Shutterfly’s Black Friday sales. They’re fun, inexpensive presents that get pulled off the shelf and browsed all year long.
Here are my best tips for making a memory book for your little(s), so they can look back on themselves through the years and remember their favorite times!
What to Include in a Memory Book
Personally, I stick to the standard 20 pages that Shutterfly offers, with 3-9 photos per page. Memories that I include in the books are:
- Pictures of trips we’ve taken during the year, with captions about where we stayed and what we did
- Developmental milestone photos, such as walking, talking or starting school, with written details
- Holiday pictures! Because I order them for Christmas gifts, the books start at Christmastime the previous year and run through Thanksgiving.
- Snapshots of them at places we frequented during the year, such as the zoo, pool, parks etc.
- Action shots of kids at school or extracurricular activities–this year I included some photos taken by the older kids’ teachers, as well as pictures at swimming lessons. Next year we’ll add skiing and soccer to that mix, too!
- School/family photo session pictures
- At least a couple of pages with candid everyday photos, no captions necessary.
I include pictures with siblings/parents/extended family/friends, but I try keep the majority pictures and notes about just them. I want them to get something unique and personalized–otherwise I’d just make a big family photo book for all of us! It’s a labor of love but so much fun and so appreciated by them, too.
How to Make Shutterfly Books (the Technical Details)
You can go as upscale as you want. However, I keep it simple with the 8″x8″ photo books from Shutterfly (I pay a little extra for hard covers because, toddlers). My tips for creating your book:
- The “idea page layouts” are often cute and have extra stamps/colors that you don’t have to add yourself!
- Manually place the photos so you can theme the pages and write descriptive captions.
- Add a basic title on the binding (like “[Name’s] 2023”) so you can keep them organized and identify them on a shelf through the years.
- If a product seems more expensive than the listing you clicked, make sure you haven’t selected foil details, a matte cover, etc–all of those little upgrades add up fast!
- I would recommend a basic hardcover if your kids are very little, not a softcover that’s easier to rip.
- Start at least a few weeks before Christmas and wait for a sale to order the books. They are $30-40+ full price for hardcovers, but there are often great deals on Black Friday/Cyber Monday.
How do you keep track of photos? My mom used to get hers developed at National Camera, back when we had film cameras. She labeled the back of each one and put them in an old-fashioned photo album. I’m thankful it’s easier now!
xx Claire
