My husband’s and my anniversary is coming up, and so, like I do every year, I’m here compiling the pictures from our phones, Facebook, and Instagram to create the annual ‘Clement Family Yearbook’. While we don’t do anniversary gifts, I do ‘gift’ this to my husband each year, and then, over coffee, or a nice dinner, we sit and look back on the last year together.
So many people who see our books say “I should be doing this too!” and honestly – yes, please! It’s relatively easy, even for the ‘non-crafty,’ and my son loves to go through them, seeing pictures of us through the years.
Let me walk you through how I personally do it, and maybe it will help you get your own pictures off your phone and into books you can cherish:
First, there are so many great sites you can use to make photo books. The ones I prefer are Mixbook or Shutterfly. Mixbook would be my top “go-to” because I like to be a little creative, and the pages on Mixbook are completely changeable. Shutterfly is really good for auto-generating pages. Both have apps, which are great for uploading pictures directly from your phone. I usually spend a few days scrolling Facebook and Instagram for all the pictures that we’ve been in throughout the year, saving them to my phone, and then uploading them directly from there.
Then, to make the yearbook, I start by just throwing the pictures onto 2-page spreads, sorting them all out by the months they were taken. I headline with each month (“December”, “March” etc), and I also like to make notes about what went on that month;” Thanksgiving with Nani,” “Went to the Drive-in with friends”, that kind of thing. I have found, looking back at books from 8, 9 years ago, that these notes become extremely helpful – so many fun things we’ve done I would have otherwise forgotten! (My favorite I wouldn’t have remembered? August 21, 2014 – “We find out we’re going to be parents!”). Once the pictures are all sorted, I then go onto each month’s spread and edit all the details, getting the pictures where I want them. Hit Order and you’re done!
Our books personally start in October – our anniversary is October 12th, and we consider that the day our family was “officially” created, so that’s the beginning of our year. These books are personal to you, so you could start it in January of the year you’re doing, or whenever your own anniversary is. I focus solely on pictures based on my husband, mine, and our son’s year. I try to make sure there’s a good assortment too – not just our son’s activities each month! Times I’ve gone out with my sisters, or my husband’s trips with his friends to baseball games – these are awesome to look back on too!
Most of us share our pictures with family and friends on Instagram and Facebook, or take a bunch on our phones, but then they’re never out where our kids, or others, can look at them.
I encourage you to start your own Family Yearbooks – I promise you’ll thank yourself for years to come!
