Best Christmas Photo Books

Whether it has pictures of past holidays or memories of events from the last year collected by family members or friends, a Christmas photo book will definitely bring back fond memories and fill your heart with joy even years after it was received.

Christmas photo book ideas

Even though many people deviate from the usual concept of a Christmas photo book by adding pictures taken throughout the year – to close out the year this way – it is best to stick to traditions and collect photos related to the holiday.

In this category the options available could be virtually anything: the first Christmas, a selection of photos taken during previous holiday seasons, a book about the meals you made during Christmases gone by, the presents received or given to your loved ones throughout the years and so on.

Another intriguing idea is to turn the photo book into an illustrated advent calendar with one picture per page accompanied by some short text. Speaking of which, there are no restrictions on text so long as it maintains the warm glow of the holiday spirit; try including short stories, quotes, entire lyrics from the greatest Christmas classics, recipes, or even a single word to represent how you feel.

The only thing that is more or less fixed is the color scheme of the book. Whether you find the Christmas templates ideal or you prefer the DIY method, remember to use colors associated with the holidays, such as red, green, gold, silver, brown, and of course white.

Christmas throughout the years

We briefly touched on the subject of creating a photo book from pictures taken during previous Christmas and holiday seasons, but due to its immense popularity it’s something that we should discuss in much closer detail. The best place to begin is to consider the order, perhaps opting for the good old chronological order – though maybe give it a little twist by styling it like an advent calendar.

Another way to make the photo book unique is by determining the subject. Focus on the entire family by including those annual pictures where everybody is huddled around the Christmas tree or the dinner table. Or, if you are a young couple spending your first Christmas together, try the ‘comparison approach’ where pages alter between having pictures from your past Christmases and those of your soul mate.

However, if you want to hit jackpot, make children the subject of your book. Since virtually every moment – whether it’s opening presents, visiting grandparents, meeting Santa to sit in his lap or just playing in the snow – is usually recorded, you can create a time machine showing how much the kids have changed, making it an ideal gift for parents, other relatives and the now-grown-up children alike.

Holiday photo book as a gift

A photo book is a perfect Christmas gift regardless of whether it is given to family members, friends or anybody else you care about. However, be sure to follow certain guidelines in order to make the present a tremendous success.

Perhaps the most fun – and maybe even most overlooked – approach for creating your holiday photo book is collaboration: invite as many people as possible to either add photos to the would-be book or to suggest themes, layouts, additional decorations and more.

Although any idea related to Christmas and/or the person the book is intended for is a good idea, it is best to reach a consensus that satisfies all needs. However, keep in mind that it’s best to decide everything before starting the design process, since only a few photo book editors allow users to collaborate on a project in real time.

But if you have absolutely no idea what to include or you want to avoid disappointment then switch to plan B: gift vouchers. With these your loved ones are given an exceptional opportunity to build their very own Christmas photo book in any way they want.

Recommended holiday photo book services

Christmas is such a popular theme that it is impossible not to find an online photo book builder without it. But if you pick one of our favorite companies from the following three – Mixbook, PrestoPhoto and Shutterfly – then you will definitely not be disappointed.