When someone says December, the first thing that usually comes to mind is Christmas. But for just as many people, December is equally as important for Jewish traditions, primarily because of Hanukkah, the Festival of Light. Just like Christmas, Hanukkah is a calm and intimate holiday when families relive traditions, such as lighting the menorah together, playing with a dreidel, and just being together.
Additionally, Hanukkah is the perfect occasion for giving gifts to each other; and regardless of whether it’s store-bought or custom-made, if it comes from the heart you can be sure that the recipient will love it. And there is no more personal a Hanukkah gift than a customized photo book containing memories from past holidays or pictures showing the family and friends together.
As Hanukkah is usually celebrated in December, photo books can take inspiration from Christmas albums in virtually every aspect, including by dividing the book into equal chapters with each chapter covering a different theme. And ‘theme’ can be interpreted in two ways: either literally by choosing a fitting template from the selection available in the photo book editor or even coming up with one on your own; or figuratively, where the pictures are arranged in such a way to convey a story. Both solutions are great, although a custom theme does allow more artistic freedom and will of course feel much more personal.
Accompanying text is a difficult subject since it can easily come across as tacky, but if your writing is not too cliched and is in keeping with the holiday spirit (i.e. Hanukkah-related stories, quotations, or words), then anything goes. A similar rule applies to embellishments: as long as pages are not overcrowded by them, any symbol – whether it’s Jewish or not – is more than welcome in your future book. And remember that if you don’t fancy using any embellishments, there is an equally good physical accompaniment in the form of Hanukkah photo props.
As for pictures – the soul of any photo book – the choice comes down to you: whether they’re photos from previous Hanukkahs or simply a selection of pictures with family and friends spending heartwarming moments together, in the photo book they go. Additionally, most photo book editors are capable of importing pictures from your Facebook, Instagram and other social media accounts and platforms, while there are also programs that allow users to turn photo book building into a community or family project.
A Hanukkah photo book is a wonderful idea for surprising your loved ones with something truly unique and personal, but who said that you’re restricted to photo books when creating a Hanukkah photo gift?
In that regard, photo cards and calendars are usually the most popular alternative gifts for any occasion, including Hanukkah. The main reason behind their popularity, aside from the cost-friendly pricing, is that they can be customized the same way as photo books; in fact, the rules of customization are basically the same as Hanukkah photo books. Moreover, most photo cards have more than one picture holder, just like the page of a photo book, which is a huge asset if you have multiple pictures that are close to your heart or want to change each card a bit to further personalize it for receiver.
However, it’s also possible to choose something bigger, like a canvas print. Although canvas prints can only be created from one photo at a time – unless you create a collage image just for this purpose – putting it up on the wall like an old painting will certainly draw the attention of others and also remind the person who the gift is for of the great Hanukkah they had with their loved ones.
Before presenting the best Hanukkah photo book services, let us remind you that unfortunately photo printing services typically don’t offer Hanukkah themes for photo books. What they do have, however, are Hanukkah photo cards that are perfect sources of inspiration for whatever photo gift you have in mind.
Well-renowned for its high-quality photo books, Shutterfly has a knack for bringing memories to life. Since its early days in 1999, the company has developed an impressive product range that includes photo cards, stationery, prints, calendars, gifts, and photo books that can be customized to your liking.
Shutterfly grants users full creative control when building their photo book. There are preset themes to choose from, as well as the option to have a book made for you with your photos and a theme of your choice. If you choose to craft the photo book yourself, then it can be created with the versatile editor, either from a desktop or mobile device.
Letting creativity run free, there are over 200 themes to choose from with an assortment of different paper types, sizes, and covers. Once your book is customized to your heart’s content, it can be ordered for affordable prices starting at $24.98. Plus, there are ways to lower this price through seasonal offers and bulk orders.
Founded in 2006, Mixbook has established its position as one of the best photo book editing services on the market. One of the reasons for the company’s impressive reputation is its nearly flawless editor that helps you quickly craft the photo book of your dreams.
This editor includes over 700 designs, layout options, and other customizations to make your photo book unique. Mixbook also offers a reasonable range of size-to-cover pairings, with eight sizes and four cover options.
For affordable pricing and shipping, you receive a quality product within one to three weeks. Mixbook is present in the U.S. and the UK, and ships internationally. It’s even possible to reduce the price by waiting for one of the occasional discounts Mixbook runs on its website or refer Mixbook to a friend and get off for each successful referral.
With the intention of keeping cherished memories alive, Chatbooks was founded in 2014. The creators of this top-tier photo book service dedicate themselves to preserving and modernizing the traditional method of storing precious photos.
Combining this with digital technology, Chatbooks has created the perfect platform to transform moments shared on social media into neat photo books. You can subscribe to a monthly service or go for the conventional approach and choose among the many single-purchase options.
Regardless of the model chosen, your simple yet stylish books are created with utmost dedication for affordable prices, starting at $7.20 per book plus free shipping. Additionally, subscribing to the newsletter grants you 10% off your order, and if you aren’t satisfied with the product delivered, you can get a new copy or your money back.
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