This post is brought to you by the Kodak Moments App
We have thousands of travel photos sitting on our hard drive. They don’t do much else except hold precious memories.
A selection of them appear in blog posts on our site, or on our social media channels. Now and then I open a folder to flick through the memories and reminisce.
It’s a treat!
I’m grateful for today’s technology. Otherwise, I’d have to rent a shed to store all the photos in boxes. But, it’s a shame to let so many of them sit there.
Birthdays and special seasons are a great time to whip them out and use them as gifts.Here are 8 ways to turn your travel memories into Christmas gifts.
1. Framed photos
Never forget the classics! It’s a proven winner. Choose photos that hold special memories with the people you love on your travels. Pop them in a photo frame and wrap them up. Your kids can even make the photo frames themselves.
It’s a great idea to include a note or letter, “Remember when… “ explain what you loved so much about the adventure you had together.
Our parents love framed photos of the kids to hang in their gallery. I printed off a couple of beautiful ones of Kalyra and Savannah using the KODAK MOMENTS App to frame for them for a Christmas present.
2. Photo books
One gift idea we love to give is to create a photo book of the girls for our parents. That’s been a tricky one to do the past couple of years with our hectic lifestyle, especially given internet challenges road tripping around Australia!
Photo books of your travels are great gifts as they’re better at showcasing the spirit of each personality. And they are even more special if you create one for the family member you travelled with! Grandparents will love it!
3. Photo pin board
Print off photos of your travels and create a pin or collage board. You can add in decorative ribbons and stickers and hang inspirational quotes that remind you of the travel adventures you had with the one you love. And they can act as inspiration or a vision board for your next trip!
4. Turn your photos into art
We have a couple of beautiful friends and readers who have painted some of our travel photos of the girls on canvas. The paintings are such a thoughtful and treasured gift. We can’t wait until we display them in a house of our own.
The girls LOVE it and Savannah cried when I took it off her to store it in a safe place!
5. Picture wall
Print off your vibrant travel photos and string them together so they form a hanging art display.
6. Personalised photo map
A personalised photo map is a super cool idea I found on Pinterest. Get a large map of the country you’ve visited. Cut out printed photos that match each state you visited and cut them so they fit exactly into the shape of the state. Super cool collage idea.
For a country like Australia with minimal states and massive land size, you’ll have more than one photo in each state so you’ll have to collage it.
7. Polaroid coasters
Print off your favourite Instagram photos and glue them onto coasters from the $2 store. Cover it in Mod Podge, which is a water soluble glue – you can find it at a Spotlight store. Great conversation starters when friends come to visit and fabulous gifts!
8. Scrapbooks
Put a little extra love and creativity in your gifts. Print off your favourite travel photos – that are relevant to the person you are creating the gift for – and then design beautiful mementos of your time together.
Creating a scrapbook is a great activity to do with your kids as it becomes a bonding experience on its own.
For the last six months of our Australian road trip, we travelled with another family and their daughter, Maddie, who was the same age as Kalyra. It was so wonderful for them to have amazing adventures together.
We decided to create a scrapbook of memories together for Maddie for Christmas. We chose the photos and uploaded them to Dropbox. From there we used the KODAK MOMENTS App to order the prints and have them delivered to the door. We purchased a scrapbook from Kikki. K and some stickers and decorative items.
For each photo, Kalyra wrote a short paragraph sharing a special memory of their time together in that Kodak Moment! Not only did she love creating this for her special friend, but she also loved reliving our travel memories all over again.
The KODAK MOMENTS App
The KODAK MOMENTS App makes it pretty simple to print photos off and have them delivered to your door. I was stoked when they told me about it and could have used the service a couple of months ago.
I wanted a few framed photographs in the house for the video shoot we did with Garnier. As we’re transient, we don’t have any framed photos – they’re in boxes back in Craig’s parent’s garage.
I wish I had the App then.
You simply choose the photos you want from your mobile device, select the size and quantity, finalise your order, and they deliver the prints to your home.
It’s super useful if you take a lot of photos on your phone or keep them stored on social platforms like Instagram or Facebook. The app can pull the photos from your feed, and you select the ones you want.
No need to wait until you return from your holiday to print off your photos to put in frames, create scrapbooks, or use as gifts. Select the photos you want on your last day of your holiday, and they’ll be waiting for you when you get home.
We often have good intentions to print off photos or create memorabilia with them, but as the gap between the thought and getting to the print shop increases, the good intention doesn’t happen.
With the KODAK MOMENTS App, you can do it right when the idea arrives.
No more letting that moment escape you.
Enjoy a KODAK MOMENTS App discount on us
Kodak Alaris has generously offered yTravel readers a 30% discount when ordering prints via their KODAK MOMENTS App (terms and conditions apply, please see below).
Here’s how to claim it:
1. Download the KODAK MOMENTS App for Apple or Android
2. Use the code: YTB30OFF
3. Code expires: 21st December
Christmas is around the corner – get creating some awesome Christmas gifts using your most treasured travel moments.
They’re the best gifts to receive.
Do you have any other great ideas for turning travel photos into gifts?
8 Ideas for Turning Your Travel Photos Into Gifts
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