I get that it’s September, and we’ve not even crossed from Halloween into Thanksgiving territory yet, but hear me out. First of all, it’s NEVER too early to talk about the holidays. And as a photographer who’s going to be doing Christmas Minis very soon I can’t even judge people who put out a tree early… so there you go.

But in the spirit of claiming that it’s not too early to talk about it – I want to touch on something you definitely SHOULD be thinking about already.

What you can do this year with your family photos! Of course, all of this applies whether you have a Christmas Mini session or not – you could even use photos from this summer, if you wanted to. “Christmas in July” themed holiday cards? Anyone?

Anyway, there are a ton of ways you can use your family photos this Christmas, and I wanna go through a couple of my favorites.

Family Photos Make Amazing Gifts for Grandma!

Or your sister, or your partner, or… anyone!

First and foremost, we have to address the elephant in the room, because everyone was thinking it. The most obvious use for family photography in the holiday season is as your gifts! I like to think that giving photos as gifts is up there with gifting people experiences. It’s not a gift that’s going to break, or wear out, or go out of style with time.

It’s not going to sit in a drawer, or gather dust in the open bag until you get halfway through spring and remember that Uncle Arnie bought you a scarf that it is now too warm to wear. When you gift photos… those suckers are going on a wall. Or at least LEANING against a wall. Or if they’re an album, they’re going on the coffee table, or a shelf. But the magic is, you are literally gifting them a moment in time.

You’re giving them a glorious reminder. That sounds overstated, but I’m totally serious! By gifting Grandma or Grandpa or Mom or Dad the framed photos you took together earlier that year, you’re giving them a bite-sized piece of that memory that they can return to whenever they walk through their foyer, or down the stairs, or into the livingroom. It doesn’t get more magical than that!

You Can Have Them Printed for your Christmas Cards

Hear me out.

I miss holiday cards. I genuinely do. It makes sense why they’re getting rarer and rarer, I mean we all have everyone’s excruciating daily updates to their Facebook page, so we know when Cousin Suzie had her baby, and we know when Uncle Steve got a new job. So the traditional updates in holiday cards just haven’t really aged super well.

And that’s okay. But… I really secretly kind of want to bring it back. So, go get on Canva and make a holiday card with one of your family photos from this year! Or even better, wait until you have the photos from your Christmas Mini, and make it happen with those!!

If you make it in Canva, you can order postcard prints RIGHT from the web-app, so you don’t have to even leave Canva to go from “I have this picture” to “I have this holiday card” to “OMG, a box of them is on its way to my front door!” And then you can imagine the spark of joy when your people receive them, because as we all know, physical mail that isn’t a bill is possibly the most exciting thing on the planet.

You Can Hang Them On Your Tree!!

And finally, we have possibly the most fun of all of these suggestions: printed tree ornaments. Because yes, you can order custom ornaments made out of your photos, whether those photos are Christmas photos or not! And although these aren’t an option that you get to stare at on your wall (or your Grandma’s wall) every day, they’re still meaningful, and magical, and just like an album… they’re never going out of style.

How are YOU going to use your Family Photos this Christmas?

Hopefully, lots of ways!

Before you try to find another book about how to perfect your dad’s golf swing, consider printing a family photo to gift this year instead. And if you need recommendations on sizing, framing, albums, or anything else print-related, we should chat!

If you already have a session scheduled, just reach out wherever we’re talking (probably email) and we can do a bit of consultation! Or, if you’re not already on the calendar, I suggest taking a look at my Christmas Minis! They’re available to book now, and can, of course, be used for ALL of these gifting ideas!