Being surrounded by their loved ones is usually all any mother needs to feel special, but coming up with a Mother’s Day gift capable of saying ‘thank you’ is no easy feat. And while any present that comes from the heart is perfect for the occasion, a great option that is guaranteed to last way beyond Mother’s Day is a photo book filled with joyous and important moments from the family’s life.
Unlike the good old days, however, creating a photo book is a simple process since online photo book builders are tailored to make a creator’s dream come true, thanks to the virtually endless possibilities for customization. In fact, many of these editors provide users with the option to collaborate with one other, turning the Mother’s Day photo book building process into a true family project and as a direct result making the gift even more heartfelt.
Mother’s Day Photo Book Ideas
Having the freedom to express your creativity is what makes photo book creation so compelling, with endless options for family members to come up with something truly unique for moms. But even if the concept isn’t set in stone, it’s recommended to stick to certain things in order to end up with a spectacular Mother’s Day gift.
Themes
Although Mother’s Day photo book templates are actually quite rare in online photo book builders, it’s only at first that may this seem like a disadvantage. Photo book editors provide so many family-related, fully customizable designs that it can kickstart anyone’s inspiration in no time. For instance, why not create a cookbook that has photos of the family and your favorite recipes? Or how about focusing just on the history of the family or a shared hobby?
The point is that anything goes when it comes to the theme as long as it’s lighthearted or heartwarming, correlates with your mom’s interests, and puts an emphasis on the family as a whole.
Photos
There are only two major rules regarding photos: they have to fit the photo book’s overall theme and should mostly focus on what’s important to mommy, which if we had to guess would most likely be her children. The pictures don’t need to originate from any one place, however: whether computer, smartphone, or social media, grab and use as many images from as many places as you like. However, the best results are achieved when the number of photos per page is kept to three or four and there is a balance between collages, full page photos, and two-page spreads.
Text and Embellishments
Photos can be arranged in such a way that they can tell a story on their own, but that doesn’t mean that text or embellishment shouldn’t be included. In fact, so long as stickers aren’t applied in a distracting manner, they can perfectly emphasize the photo book’s fun theme and at the same time showcase how enjoyable photo book building can be. The same more or less goes for text, too, since descriptions, short stories, and even quotes can successfully convey a sweet, caring, or humorous message. It’s best to be careful with quotes, though: having too much of them or not using your imagination could easily make the book cliched.
Physical Appearance
Even though it’s true that a good cover can sell any kind of book, when it comes to a Mother’s Day photo book it’s best to place a greater emphasis on the content. As such, a hardcover book in the size of 8×8 or 8×10 is a perfect choice, combined with a main photo for a simple yet stylish look while still being generally big enough to appreciate. However, if you think that a bigger book with a more ornate cover – say leather, for example – would be the best for the occasion, then there’s no reason not to consider it.
Mother’s Day Photo Book as a Family Project
The fact that it is a long-lasting gift isn’t the only reason why a photo book is an ideal gift for Mother’s Day. Unlike buying a box of chocolates or ordering a bouquet of flowers, the creation of a photo book doesn’t necessarily have to be a one-person project. In fact, if the right photo book editor is chosen – Mixbook, for instance – then any family member can participate in the building process from the get-go, turning it into a unique, cooperative experience. Collaboration is an excellent idea when the children are involved because even if their participation is limited to just having fun with the photo book building software – which is like a playground of sorts – they can still be credited as co-creators. This makes mommy’s present even more sweet and personal.
Best Photo Book Builders of 2024
Rank | Company | Info | Visit |
1
|
|
||
2
|
|
||
3
|
|
Still, keep in mind that only a small number of photo book builders provide a collaboration option, and most of them limit this feature to just uploading photos. But what’s more important is to control everything in the creation process. Although any idea can be implemented into the would-be photo book, if there isn’t a plan to stick to, then the book could easily become a messy hodgepodge. This might be okay as a joke, but as a Mother’s Day gift it’s anything but funny.
Recommended Mother’s Day Photo Book Services
Shutterfly
When it comes to photo book building, there is no better choice than Shutterfly. For starters, it sports over 200 themes – including some related to Mother’s Day – that can be freely mixed with one another. Both the browser-based editor and the mobile app are a pleasure to use, as not only are they both straightforward to use but there’s an incredible variety to the layouts, embellishments, backgrounds, and so on.
What’s more impressive, however, is that Shutterfly even added in such extras like Ideal Pages – which automatically chooses the best background and layout for you – or Make My Book, a service where Shutterfly’s experts will make the book according to your instructions.
Although a standard 8×8 book with 20 pages costs at least $29.99, books can be ordered for as low as $15.99.
PastBook
Sometimes the simplest of photo books can be the best Mother’s Day present, and with PastBook that goal can be easily achieved. Although it doesn’t provide too many customization options as its competitors, it is ridiculously easy to use, making it the perfect option for children to showcase their photo book editing skills.
What can be particularly appealing about this is that PastBook perfectly integrates with Facebook and Instagram, down to the fact that it will even import the captions and dates of the uploaded photos. You don’t have to worry about limiting yourself only to a handful of pictures either, since a single PastBook photo book can be comprised of up to 500 pages – albeit at the cost of the option to upgrade to the hard cover.
The base price of a 16-page, 6×8.5 photo book with softcover is $20.40, but note that ordering the book within two hours of creation drops the price by 35%.
Photobook America
Admittedly, Photobook America may not provide that much variety in its photo book themes, customization options, or sizes, but there is one thing that still makes it stand out from the rest: it’s available as an online editor, a mobile app, and Windows-only downloadable software. However, this photo book builder shouldn’t be written off completely, since it comes with a brilliant autofill feature as well as a handful of enhancement options for photos, too. Although all iterations of the editor are simple and straightforward to use, the best tool is still the desktop app with a virtual assistant and better tools and customization options.
Prices of the photo books usually vary significantly depending on the chosen size, cover type, and the number of pages – of which you can have up to 400 – but the smallest 6×6-size book with soft cover costs $21.99 plus shipping.
Best Photo Books of 2024
Rank | Company | Info | Visit |
1
|
|
||
2
|
|
||
3
|
|
Get the Best Photo Books Deals
Save big and keep up with the latest photo books trends when you sign up to our monthly newsletter.