The Top 15 Creative and Unique Photo Book Gift Ideas

What makes a better gift than a photo book? I have to admit, I am slightly obsessed with them, and I could literally create one for any occasion imaginable. I have always been one of those "picture gift" people (shocking, right?), and I love sharing awesome photos in new and unique ways.  Photo books are incredibly easy and each one is specifically created to satisfy one particular person. Nothing is more personal than that, and that is what makes a photo book such a great gift!

PS. photo books don't all have to contain "photos, " some of these ideas aren't even about the photos at all.

So now I am going to share with you my top 15 creative and unique photo book gift ideas... feel free to steal as many of these ideas as you wish!

Let's get started, shall we...

1. Tell a Story:

True or made up, doesn't matter. Most of us just add pictures to a photo book... but how about writing a story and just adding pictures to fit? This would be good for a child's birthday where you can make up a story about "Princess Mackenzie" or "King Jason" being awesome characters who save the day! Or it would be good for an adult who has accomplished something great, write a story about how amazing they are and give it to them as a gift. Who wouldn't love that?

A more obvious use for this too would be a love story written for your significant other (made up or your actual story). My hubs got me a personalized novel for our 1 year (the paper anniversary) and we were the main characters in it. I loved it, and the book itself was a great read! It might have been even better if he would have made it up himself!

This would be good too for a graduate… a photo book depicting every year of school. There are so many possibilities here... so many stories you could tell!

2. “Reasons why I Love You” Book/Inside Jokes:

This is the type of book I got for my hubby for our 1 year (as I stated in the above paragraph, this is the paper anniversary). So I made him a book of the reasons I love him... and before you barf at the cuteness of the idea... most of the pages are filled with funny, inside jokes of ours. For example, he once said randomly while eating pancakes, that he thinks he is Buddy the elf... and when I asked him why, he responded "because I really like syrup." (if you have ever seen the movie “Elf” then you get this reference). He is so random sometimes... but anyway, one of the pages in the book says "I love you because you think you are Buddy the Elf due to your love of syrup" with just a picture of a bottle of maple syrup. He loved the book and appreciated the little stories and inside jokes that I included in it. I like this because it allows you to remember all the little things in your relationship that maybe down the road could be easily forgotten.

3. Track your Unique Experiences (concerts, sporting events, zoos, etc.):

What have you done in your life or where have you been? I have been to so many concerts in my day and someday I will make myself a photo book to document them all. I have pictures to add and I have a list compiled of who I have seen, when, and where. My husband, on the other hand LOVES the zoo, and he likes to go all over to see different zoos in different places. One day, I will probably want to make him a book of all the zoos he has visited because I know it is something he would enjoy.

If you don't have a random obsession or experience, this can be something much simpler. For example, I made my daughter a photo book for her 8th birthday called "Mackenzie's travels." As a little girl, she had traveled so many places that most people don't get to go, so I wanted to give her something special to remember it all by. It isn't just your basic scrapbook, it tells her unique story of where she has been, who she was with, and what she has seen. The book came out wonderfully and was a huge hit!

4. Funny Things your Kids Said:

Kids say crazy SH@#!! Remember it all and share it with anyone who will appreciate it. This is where I hope my mom doesn't read this because I am definitely doing this for at some point. After all the stories I hear at family gatherings about funny things my brother and I used to say, I think she will appreciate having it all in one place. I have also already started compiling a list of the hilarious things my oldest has said over the years, and can't wait until my youngest kids can add to it! Who wouldn't love this?

5. Diary:

This one takes some planning. Imagine how special it would be on your wedding day, to receive a photo book from your new spouse recounting everything from the moment you first met up until the proposal? Not only would you get insight on your spouse's innermost thoughts and feelings, but you get to remember all of those moments yourself. Now that's enough to make even the most stone-hearted tear up. This would definitely be the most sentimental photo book you could give/receive. 

6. New Spin on Baby Books:

Although photo books are everywhere now because they are easy and cheap to make, adults today didn't have them when they were growing up. So chances are YOUR baby photos, were not made into a photo book. I recently was provided some baby pictures of my husband compliments of my mother-in-law, and decided that I would scan them along with some of my own and create our own baby combined baby book. I am huge scrapbooker, so we have baby books of our kids in our living room. I wanted to include the baby pictures of me and my husband also, without being weird and making adult/baby scrapbooks. So I created a simple 8x8 book, filled with our pictures, and cute sayings about how we are meant to be. It turned out well and now we have it in our living room with our family scrapbooks as opposed to loose photos in a box in the basement.

7. Advice Book:

Gather advice at the shower then create the book as a wedding gift! I have been to so many bridal showers where the hostesses have asked the guests to write down the most important piece of marriage advice they can think of, and then they are all collected and given to the bride. What better way to present them than by turning them into a photo book, complete with the advice and possibly a picture of each advice-giver filling the pages? Not only is it a great way to keep and look back on the advice, but it is also a nice little keepsake to remember the shower and who all attended. This can be done for other life events as well (baby showers, graduations, etc.)

8. Recipe Book:

Anything from a book of fun children recipes to a huge family collection of traditional recipes. Have that one figure in your family who is easily the greatest cook in the world? Create a book filled with his/her most popular recipes and give it out to family members for Christmas! This is another good one for a bridal shower. Have each guest submit their favorite recipe, and then compile a recipe photo book for the bride.

9. Family Yearbook:

Take a couple pictures of each member of the family and have them answer a few questions (favorite color, favorite book, etc). Do this every year to see how everyone's answers change and how they grow. You can either collect all the info every year and then create a book with each year listed as its own page (or couple pages), or you can create a yearbook every year... and include in it any vacations you took, milestones, etc… don’t forget to include lots of pictures! This one might be nice for relatives who aren't close geographically, or really large families.

10. Children's Art Book:

How cute are those finger-painting works of art that the kids make? Collect and scan their best artwork to create a photo book of it to remember forever! Not only would this be adorable to show off, but it is so much easier to store than those giant pieces of construction paper. You and the kids can even turn the photo book into an art project. Write a story together and have them do the illustrations. This could be loads of family fun!

11. Fun for Kids:

Create a book of children activities that your family enjoys to keep handy when a rainy day comes along and you need some inspiration. Let your kids go through it when they are bored and pick on activity. Pinterest has great child-fun activities for inspiration of things to go into a book like this. Think home-made games, science experiments, arts and crafts. The possibilities are endless.

12. How-To/Guide Books:

Are you really good at something that others always ask for your help on? Create a photo book explaining how to do what you do. This not only is good to give someone personalized info, but it could be good for a nice laugh too. For example, if a friend is moving away and you always help her with her landscaping because she would kill any living plants around her, create a book explaining some of the most important landscaping tips you have so that she will be able to fend for herself in her new home.

13. Date books:

Create a book depicting all the great dates you have been on with your significant other. Or on the other end, create a book of all the great dates you would LIKE to go on with your significant other. The two of you could vow to go on every date in the book (the dates could be somewhat outrageous). Pinterest is also a great place to find unique date ideas to help with this one. 

14. Bucket list book:

Create a book of all the things you would like to do in your life. Putting the list in writing makes it more likely you will follow it.. and what better way to keep your list safe than to make it into a hardcover book? Everyone needs a bucket list!

15. Brag-book:

Create a brag worthy book filled with whatever you want to display at your desk at work. You can get mini accordion books to fit in easily in your pocket or purse to show off anywhere. These are great for parents to show off their new babies, or high school seniors. A brag book would also be appropriate for an entrepreneur showing off his/her work. For example, a landscaper could put together a book of different ponds, patios, and other specialty projects he has done to show off to potential new clients.

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Okay, I hope I have managed to inspire some creativity in the next gift you have to give someone! You can really never go wrong with a personalized, unique photo book. Now go out there and create one to make someone's day!

Thanks for reading =)

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What ideas did I miss? Please feel free to comment below any additional photo book ideas that you have.