The Unexpected Book My Daughter Asks for Every Single Year (It’s So Special!)

I love family traditions. As an only child of divorced parents who moved around a lot, I craved consistency when I was younger. Now, as a parent, I’m intentional about creating meaningful traditions for my family of four, especially around the holidays, to foster a sense of security and consistency. We’ve got Fond of You Fondue night for Valentine’s Day, tamale-making on Christmas Day, and beloved themed nights for Hanukkah, like game night and book night.

Every year, my 7-year-old daughter in particular looks forward to “book night” on Hanukkah — not for the latest Ivy & Bean book (though she loves those, too!), but for the gift she waits for all year: her very own photo book with pictures of her family, friends, and pets.

I love poring over a whole year of happy memories with my kids because I think it helps them feel like an important part of our family and reminds them of all the ways they’ve been shown love in the past 12 months, boosting their confidence and self-esteem.

Sharing photos has also sparked deeper conversations about the people in our lives and the experiences we’ve shared. It’s helped my kids refresh their memories about family members, like grandparents and aunts and uncles, who we don’t get to see as often. Also, it’s encouraged my two kids, who are 14 and 7, to hold onto precious memories from when they were still little, like when we brought my younger child home and my older child got to meet her for the first time.

Not to mention, in this current digital moment, it feels more important than ever to find a way to share physical photos as opposed to digital ones. The tactile connection maximizes impact and means  another screen-free activity,  something parents like me can’t get enough of. 

By packaging up these sweet memories in a personalized book, I’m creating a physical and visual anchor that my kids can return to whenever they want. And that’s really often! My younger child loves to share her photo books with any friends or family who happen to visit, especially around the holidays, and it’s so sweet to see the pride she takes in sharing her own family history with our guests.

Over the years, I’ve used several different companies to make photo books. They all work pretty much the same way: You select photos from your computer hard drive or cloud-based storage, and upload them to the platform. You can either design the book yourself, starting with a blank template, or pop them into the predesigned templates. I have basically zero graphic design skills, so I usually opt for the second option, plugging in my photos and moving them around until I have what I’m looking for. Here are the best services I’ve used over the years.