Fun ways to use your photos as gifts

Having photos taken around the holidays, is such a perfect opportunity to get creative and use your photos for a million different purposes such as fun and cool gifts. I put together three gift categories that I think will give you the best gift ideas. The coolest thing about these gifts is that they are totally personalized and unique, which makes them extra special. Some of the stuff I listed below will be affordable and other items will have a higher price tag. I tried to make sure each category has a variety of choices to fit everyone’s needs and preferences. If you’re reading this blog past the holidays, don’t worry they’re not all holiday themed categories. These ideas are perfect for anniversaries, birthday’s, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, and any gift occasion really.

1. Christmas Themed Ideas

Since we are near the holidays i’ll start with some Christmas themed ideas. Personally, I love receiving photo gifts for the holidays. It might have to do with the fact that I’m a photographer but I think they’re super special and the coolest thing is that typically around this time you find great deals for photo gifts. I’ll start off with the most common gift around the holidays, which is the annual family holiday card. I have clients who this has become a family tradition. They love doing this annually to show the growth of their family to other family members and friends. If you want to do something different, you can always gift Christmas ornaments that people can display on their Christmas trees. One of my favorite things to gift during the holidays is a snow globe. I think that no matter how old you get snow globes will always be the coolest thing ever. Especially when they have a cool photo inside of them. This next idea isn’t technically a gift but is something that I will personally be doing myself for the first time this year and that is where I’ll be recycling old family photos along with new photos of my family. I know this may sound too much for some people, but I think it’s silly and cool at the same time and such a unique idea. I’ve seen a lot of pet owners do this and I thought it was such a cute idea! I’ll link some of the places and shops where you can find some of the ideas I listed in this category below:

LINKS: Christmas ornaments: Christmas ornament , Christmas wrapping paper :Wrapping photo paper , Holiday cards: holiday cards

Snow globes: Snow globes

2. House Hold Gifts Ideas

I knew that this category had to be a must. I have ideas for stuff you can put in the kitchen, office, or just regular home decor. To begin with a simple but favorite gift are classic photo mugs. You can personalize these any way you want, add your family last name, or a sweet message. It’s totally up to you. Picture frames are another classic along with photos books and canvas. I’ve seen some pretty cool brands where you can add a unique spin on photo books, frames, and canvas. I’ll make sure to link them below. Now for the not so common gifts I have is a photo clock. Which I know don’t sound conventional but are super cute. Another unique decor piece is a photo moon lamp. Which doesn’t sound appealing but wow it’s beautiful. You might have heard of 3D photo blocks. While these are perfect for office settings or honestly anywhere in your home, they are super special because they display the photos in such a cool way. Everyone loves them. A similar gift to a 3D block is a acrylic block collage. This block collage will give the illusion that your photos are floating. Different but worth giving. In the same ballpark I added the digital photo smart frames. This was one of those purchases that I also gifted myself. This is a perfect gift for someone who loves to display photos but doesn’t want to hang up 20 Frames. This smart photo frame will display the photos like a slideshow depending on which one you buy. It gives you an amount limit on the photos you can add. These are just some of my favorites, There are tons of home decor options. I’ll link my favorites below.

LINKS: Mugs: Photo mugs, Frames: Frames, Canvas: canvas, Photo books: Photo books, Clocks: clocks, Acrylic block collage: Acrylic block, 3D block: 3D photo block, Photo moon lamps: moon lamp, Photo smart frames: smart frames

1. Sentimental Idea

This is probably my favorite category. I know that by simply adding a special photo to an item can add so much value. In my family we have heirlooms that have been passed down over the years. One of these is a necklace from my great grandmother. I always told my mom that I wish I knew what she looked like. If only there was a photo inside the charmed heart shaped necklace. Which lead me to my first suggestion, jewelry with a hidden photo. Like I mentioned my great grandmothers heart shaped necklace, I’ve seen many online that give you the option to add a photo inside. A super unique one that I came across while I was lead down the photo jewelry rabbit hole was a peep hole necklace or bracelet where as you peek into the hole, you find the photo. I was blown away, I loved the idea. Another item I saw was super nostalgic was a personalized photo story book. These books give you the option to add in any images and write whatever you want in the short story book. I can see these books being passed down to generation after generation. Maybe you want to share the story of your family or special person. That makes these books so special. Another special gift idea with a touch of nostalgia are photo blankets. I know some of my people who have a special blanket whether it be from their child’s first blanket, to a blanket that brings them to a happy memory. Photo blankets would be the perfect gift that can be used for a long time and kept forever. For similar reasons, I also added a photo pillow. I’ve seen people snuggled with their photo pillows of special loved ones. They say it’s like if their presents were hugging them. I’ll link these nostalgic gift ideas below.

LINKS: Photo blankets: blankets, Story books: Story books, Photo jewelry : jewelry, Pillows : pillow

That wraps up our photo gift guide. I hope I helped you find some pretty cool gifts for your family and friends or perhaps for yourself. If you have any of these items yourself and want to share your experiences with them, drop it in the comment section of the blog. I tried my best to link all the items I mentioned. If you can’t find the item in a link or it’s sold out I suggest typing in the item name on google. That will give you tons of brands and places to shop for the item.