Easy Homemade Valentine’s Day Treats

If you’re looking for fun activities to do with the kids on Valentine’s Day, we’ve curated a few recipes you can try out to create love-themed treats! They’re easy to make and only require a few ingredients each. Keep reading below to learn how you can whip up these delicious delights while keeping the little ones entertained.

What you’ll need:

2 bags of popcorn
1 package of cinnamon hearts candies
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 cup butter

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt together the cinnamon hearts, corn syrup and butter. Next, place the popcorn on a baking sheet with parchment paper and drizzle cinnamon syrup overtop. Bake for 30 mins at 250 degrees until the candy sets. Enjoy!

What you’ll need:

1 bag of mini pretzels
1 package of Hershey’s chocolate kisses
1 package of Valentine’s Day candy of your choice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 230 degrees. Place pretzels on a baking sheet and top each one with a chocolate kiss. Bake for 5 minutes or until the kisses have melted slightly. Remove from the oven, then top each kiss with a candy heart. Let cool and enjoy!

What you’ll need:

3-4 bars of white chocolate
1 bar of milk or dark chocolate
A variety of nuts of your choice (we recommend pistachios)
1 package of Valentine’s Day candy of your choice
Dried fruit of your choice (we recommend dried strawberries)

Directions:

Break apart the chocolate and in separate bowls, melt the white and dark chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring each time until it is melted completely. On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, spread the melted white chocolate evenly, and aim for 1/4 thickness. Sprinkle your toppings (candies, nuts, dried fruit) and press in slightly with fingers. Next, drizzle the dark chocolate overtop with a spoon. Let set in the fridge for about 20 minutes, then break apart into chunks. Enjoy!

What you’ll need:

Dried fruit of your choice (we recommend dried strawberries)
Nuts of choice (we like almonds and peanuts!)
Healthy Crunch Dark Chocolate Superfoods Real Cherry

Directions:

Perhaps the easiest recipe of all, as this only requires mixing together all of the ingredients. Smaller children will appreciate being able to help out. Remember, you can customize this to meet a variety of dietary preferences.

We hope these easy-peasy treat recipes are a hit in the kitchen, and most importantly, you create some fun memories creating them with the kids this Valentine’s Day! You can find most of these featured ingredients in-store and online at londondrugs.com or explore our full Valentine’s Day selection here.

Share the Love With One of a Kind Custom Photo Gifts

After another year where most have gone long stretches without seeing loved ones, it has made us truly appreciate how important the presence of partners, friends, parents, grandparents and other family members are in our lives. This Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to not only celebrate romantic relationships, but your relationships with all loved ones, and remind them how much they mean to you.

With the help of our Photolab, you can create thoughtful and personalized Valentine’s Day gifts to share with each and every person you care most about. Add some love to a custom card, a heart-shaped puzzle, or even a photo book full of special memories. Just remember to plan ahead and order soon, so you can ensure the gifts you have put care and thought into creating arrive to your loved ones in time for February 14^th.

In case you need a little help getting started, here are some easy ways to create gifts made with love, for all of the people you love.

For Your Partner

Putting a little thought and a lot of love into creating something just for your partner will certainly be appreciated. And a good place to start is with a personalized Valentine’s Day card! Nothing says Valentine’s Day 2022 like a card personalized to say ‘If we can live together in quarantine, we can do anything’. Or tailor your card to whatever else you want to say. If you’ve been apart this year, you can make your message focused on what you miss most about them. Our cards are fully customizable, so you can add a sweet photo of the two of you and the perfect personal message that speaks to your relationship. Make it funny or make it sentimental, the choice is yours!

As for a gift, love is often compared to a jigsaw puzzle, so why not make your own heart-shaped puzzle for your partner for Valentine’s Day? You can spend quality time piecing it together, revealing a special photo of the two of you. Once you’re done, you’ll have a beautiful keepsake that you can frame, or store in a matching tin (if you choose our 114-piece heart puzzle with matching tin).

If something jewelry-related is more your speed, consider gifting them a special locket with meaningful photos inside. We can print locket photos in circle, heart, oval or square shapes, and each locket print is a 4”x6” print with 44 different sizes from 1”x1” down to 0.2”x0.2”, so you can find the perfect one to match your chosen locket.

For Your Parents

If you miss being able to give your family members a hug, you’re not alone. We have had to get creative with ways to keep the connection alive with parents and family members during these times, from drive-by birthday parades to video calls. Show your parents some extra love this Valentine’s Day by creating something unique: a special photo book curated with your favourite moments as a family! Include photos from the last few years, or dust off your shoeboxes full of old photos to find some real gems to share (our Scanning Box Service can help you digitize your old photos and slides).

While we have Valentine’s Day-themed templates you can use to customize your photo book, we also have plenty of other themes if you’re looking for something a little more family-oriented. The books are printed on high quality photo paper and can be customized with linen and leather covers, soft covers and photo covers so you can create a truly special keepsake for your family. While you may not be able to connect with them in person, putting together a one-of-a-kind gift like this will help you show them they are in your heart.

For Your Grandparents

Social distancing measures, especially in care homes, have made isolation a reality for many seniors during the past year. Sending a card or gift their way on Valentine’s Day is a small way you can help stay connected with them, especially if it’s followed up with a virtual chat!

Create something truly touching – a gift that’s personalized just for them. Even better, create something that doubles as an activity! Our puzzles can feature a photo of your choosing, and our customizable text feature allows you to write a special message that lets them know how much you miss them. Photos of their grandkids are a sure bet. Or try digging up an old photo of your grandparents as a young couple so they can reminisce about Valentine’s Days past.

Photo blankets and pillow cases are also thoughtful ways to share special memories that your grandparents can cozy up with! A small gift this Valentine’s Day can go a long way to making grandparents feel loved and reminds them they haven’t been forgotten.

For Your Friends

With trips postponed and catch-ups relegated to virtual meet-ups, maintaining a feeling of connection with friends during the past year has been difficult for many. This Valentine’s Day, show your friends how much your time spent together means to you by surprising them with your favourite memories with them. Our square, compact Instagram Books are a thoughtful way to compile all your favourite moments and remind them you’re looking forward to creating more memories together soon. Include photos from past trips and experiences together, or if you’ve been friends for a long time, you could also include some throwback photos (cue the dated hairstyles and questionable fashion choices) that are sure to put a smile on their face.

Our personalized Valentine’s Day cards are also a great way to send a personal message to your friends. Create a card that perfectly reflects your friendship, from choosing the right design template to customizing with photos, and adding a message telling them just how much their friendship means to you.

For Your Furry BFF

With work-from-home becoming the norm this past year, many of us have spent far more time around our pets than usual. Why not show a little extra appreciation for your furry friend on Valentine’s Day, with a gift that says ‘thanks for putting up with me being home all the time’? A personalized pet tag in the shape of a heart would certainly be appropriate! You can customize with a flattering photo of your pet, and even add text to the front and back so you can include their name as well as contact information in case they ever get lost. If you’re looking for more ways to treat your pet on Valentine’s Day, check out this blog.

We hope these ideas have given you some inspiration to create gifts made with love for your loved ones. You can see our full selection of unique and thoughtful gifts from our Photolab here, and conveniently order online, at our in-store kiosks or using our London Drugs Photolab App (available for iOS and Android). If you can’t drop off your gifts to loved ones locally, not to worry, our Photolab ships anywhere in Canada, so you can send your personalized gifts directly to them! Just make sure to order early so your gifts arrive to them in time for Valentine’s Day.

Pro Tips to Save Your Irreplaceable Digital and Print Photos

Photos hold incredible personal value. They capture special memories in a snapshot, which is why we often consider them irreplaceable. And yet many of us are guilty of leaving those irreplaceable photos to discolour and disintegrate in shoe boxes, or to be forgotten on unstable old hard drives. We’re reminding and educating people to keep photos safe from accidental loss or damage—and to appreciate the photos you have in your possession!

Here are a few ways to save both your print and digital photos, and ensure your irreplaceable memories will remain a part of your family for years to come.

Saving your print photos

We love print photos. There’s something about seeing your photos on display that truly brings them to life. But it’s important to understand your prints can be susceptible to damage and degradation, and that certain steps should be taken to ensure your photos remain safe in the long term.

Carefully remove photos from album

If you have photos in old, magnetic stick albums, those photos have very likely begun to degrade due to the acidic paperboard used. The best course of action is to preserve the layout of the photos (taking a picture of each page for reference works), and then remove the photos one-by-one. Start by removing the photo at the corners, and use a microspatula blade or dental floss to free the photo from the sticky page.

Make digital copies of each print

Once you’re done removing the individual photos, you can protect those precious images from further degradation by making digital copies. To digitize the old photographs, you can use an at-home scanner, or to save time, our Photo Scanning Box Service can help do large batch scanning. Pick up a box at your local London Drugs Photolab, fill it with up to 800 photographs and documents (up to 8.5”x11” in size), and bring it back to us in-store, where we’ll digitize everything for you. Then pick up your originals as well as the digital files on a USB drive!

Beyond just protecting your photos from general degradation over time, digitizing your photos now could also save you down the road, if your original prints are ever destroyed due to unforeseen accidents or disasters like flood or fire.

Upgrade to photo books

In future, instead of magnetic stick albums, we recommend either using standard sleeve photo albums, or photo books. Upgrading to our personalized photo books is ideal as you can easily re-order copies through our Photolab in case of accidental damage, and you can also send additional copies to family and friends. Photo books also make it easier to document dates, places, and people in your photos, all thanks to our customizable tools which allow you to add themes and text to each page.

Saving your digital photos

One of the most important aspects of saving your digital photos is organization. Often, people get in the bad habit of dumping their photos from the smartphones and cameras onto their computer, without really thinking much about how their photos should be organized. You end up with photos scattered all over your computer, with no real way of finding specific photos. Or if you have photos scattered over various devices, it can also be hard to keep track of which photos are stored where if you don’t have an organizational system in place. That’s how photos inevitably end up going missing.

Organize files into folders

First, pick a device that you’re going to save all of your photos to. This could be your desktop, laptop, or hard drive—somewhere you have room to store all of these photos in one place. Having all your photos on one device will make it easier to sort through everything at once.

Then, the easiest way to start organizing your digital images is with folders. Decide how you want to divide them up. For example, you could organize based on season (ex. Summer 2018), simply based on year (ex. 1963), or by month (ex. February 2018). It all depends on how often you take photos. Within those folders, you can divide your photos up even more if you have specific activities photographed (ex. Trip to Mexico, Grandma’s 80^th Birthday).

Rename image files and remove duplicates

Now it’s time to start cleaning up your image files. You can leave your file names as-is, or rename them to better describe each image. While you’re going through, this is also the time to delete any duplicate photos you find. You might realize you accidentally downloaded your Mexico photos twice, or that you have four photos of the exact same thing, and can just pick a favourite of the four to keep.

Add metadata to your photos

With old print photos, people often wrote on the back of images to indicate dates, locations, and people in the photo. But what about digital? Do you have to just rely on your memory? No need! That’s what metadata is for. Thankfully, your camera or smartphone likely automatically captures some metadata already, such as the date and time your photo was taken (as long as you have the time zone set correctly!).

If you’ve digitized old print photos though, you’ll need to add this information yourself. Just right click on the photo file to access its Properties, and you can edit the metadata under ‘Details’, as shown below. Add a title, details of who’s in the photos, date, etc.

Backing up your saved photos

The other essential aspect of saving your photos is backing them up. Ideally, you should be backing up your images on at least two other devices to ensure if one fails, your photos are still safe. Hard drives, flash drives, and cloud storage are all viable options. Just make sure you’re not keeping them all in the same space, in case of a disaster like fire or flood.

If you’ve been dumping your photos onto a hard drive and haven’t taken a look in a few years, it’s very possible the drive has failed and corrupted the files. Moral of the story? Replace hard drives every few years to ensure your photos are not lost forever.

Enjoy your saved photos

Once your photos are safe and sound, thanks to the measures outlined above, you can now enjoy them! If you’re planning on printing photo books, it will now be easy to organize photos into separate books based on your folder organization. And if you’re planning on ordering prints, enlargements or creative photo products like calendars, water bottles and greeting cards, you’ll now easily be able to search out the photos you’re looking for and pick some favourites to feature. And you’ll have that handy metadata to help you personalize your photo products with text!

Best of all, you can rest assured that your precious images are protected digitally, so you can enjoy your photos in the present, and your family will be able to enjoy them in the future.

Our Photolab Experts are ready to help. If you need some direction on how to use our Photo Scanning Box, or some tips on how to create a photo book or other creative photo product, just visit us at your local London Drugs and we can walk you through it.

Happy Save Your Photos Day!

Beginner’s Guide to Winter Photography

Pictures of fresh snow have always been mesmerizing, and every aspiring photographer looks to snap some great shots of powdery white landscapes. Here in Canada, we’re lucky enough to have all kinds of beautiful wintery spots to photograph right across the country. However, stepping out with your equipment in the snow can be a lot more challenging than you’d imagine. Here are some basic tips from our LDExperts in the Photolab that will help you get the best out of your next winter photography adventure.

Gear Tips

Keep batteries warm and carry spares

Battery life tends to reduce in colder weather. While newer lithium ion batteries have less issues, it’s still good to have a backup. Ideally you should charge two to three and keep the spare batteries in an inside jacket pocket. Once your batteries run low just replace them with a charged one and keep the drained battery in your pocket, you may still be able to use it once it warms up. The battery drain will vary depending on how cold it is and how power hungry your camera is.

Bag your camera or use silica gel packs

When you bring your camera indoors from the cold, condensation can form very quickly and instantly damage your camera and lens. One of the easiest and best ways to avoid this is to put your camera in a Ziplock bag and seal it tight. Once you’re in the house, place it near a slightly open window or any cooler location so it can gradually warm up to room temperature. You could also leave it in the car for a while to warm up. Once it reaches room temperature you can take it out of the bag and use it normally. Silica gel packs like the Pelican Reusable Silica Gel Hydrosorbent Unit are also an easy way to ensure all the moisture is absorbed. Just keep it in your camera case.

Avoid fogging the lens

Cold weather adds new risks while photographing outdoors. A warm humid breath will condense on your lens creating a milky frost, and wiping it will just create smudges. You can wear a neck gaiter, or a balaclava pulled over your nose and mouth to avoid this. Never place your camera under your coat or jacket in the hopes of warming it up quickly. The warmth of your body heat and the moisture from sweat could potentially damage your equipment. Breath is the usual culprit of fogged lenses but sometimes at night natural frost can form too. Use your lens caps when you’re not shooting or moving from one location to another. If you need to wipe off the moisture from the lens, always use a microfiber cleaning cloth.

Photography Tips

Focus on contrast

When you’re shooting snow, an all-white frame can cause the autofocus to have a hard time locking in. It helps to focus on any dark object (a branch or the bark below the snow). Autofocus requires contrast to adjust itself properly, so if the focus isn’t locking on, move the focusing point to a darker area and then press your shutter half way to focus. This usually does the trick.

Correct exposure with a histogram

Don’t trust the preview of the images you see on the LCD screen on the back your camera. Checking photographs while outdoors on the LCD screen may not give you the best judgement of how a picture would look on your desktop. Ideally using the histogram is the best way to judge. Take a test shot and check the histogram. If it is slightly “humped” in the middle, then just add a little positive compensation to add brightness. If the graph appears to fall off on the right-hand edge, then just dial in a little negative compensation to stop blown out highlights.

Exposure compensation

Colour balance with snow is quite tricky. Cameras usually tend to make snow look grey. This can be easily corrected by setting the exposure compensation to +1 or +2. You can also adjust exposure compensation while editing. Also, when shooting in shade, be aware of a blue bias. If a photograph is taken in sunlight mode it may come out with a blue tinge, especially in high altitudes.

Shoot in RAW format (or RAW+JPEG)

Don’t bother trying to select and delete photos while outdoors. As mentioned earlier, capturing the correct exposure and color temperature when your scene is overwhelmed by reflective white snow can be tricky. Setting the file format to RAW will allow you to safely adjust your settings later. The camera LCD usually looks washed out so if you shoot in RAW, you’ll be able to recover highlights and adjust shadows afterwards.

Shoot in Aperture Priority Mode

Aperture Priority (‘AV’ on Canon, ‘A’ on Nikon) will allow you to quickly change your depth of field. When shooting in Aperture Priority the camera will choose the ISO, (if the camera is set to auto ISO) and the shutter speed, so all you need to do is switch between aperture settings. This is great in cold weather and allows for a lot of creativity.

Preparation Tips

Capturing fresh snow

If you’re looking for fresh, footprint-free snow you will need to plan ahead and be outdoors first thing in the morning as soon as it gets bright. Planning what shots you want to take a few days in advance helps.

Plan depending on the weather and lighting

Snowy landscapes look great in both sunny and cloudy weather. Cloudy days add elements of colour to break up the white. If it’s snowing, use a shell cover to protect your camera. Winter skies are beautiful this time of year. Warm and cool tones create a different mood and will make your snow images pop. Make use of sunrise and sunset to capture warm tones from the sunlight reflecting on the snow. Looking to create a more dramatic image? Expose the sky and everything else will be darker; this technique adds a little mystery and changes the mood of your image.

Lighting during winter can change very fast. If the sun goes behind a cloud, it can completely change how the snow looks. Waiting for the sun to come out again may be hard, especially in the cold, but the pictures will definitely be worth it.

Play with shutter speed

Shutter Priority (‘Tv’ on Canon and ‘S’ on Nikon) allows you to choose your shutter speed, while the camera takes care of the rest. With a fast shutter speed, you can freeze falling snow in midair. With a slow shutter speed, you can turn those flakes into long white streaks.

Always dress warmly

Dressing right is an absolute essential while stepping out for a winter photoshoot. Getting frost-bite will certainly hamper your ability to operate the camera. If you’re shooting in –40 Celsius you’d definitely need the right gear, which includes everything from long underwear, to fleece or wool sweater and pants, down or synthetic vest, 800 fill down jacket with a hood, windproof insulated pants, a pair of thick wool socks topped by expedition quality winter boots, a hat complete with ear flaps, a balaclava or face mask, and thin nimble gloves with a pair of expedition overmitts dangling from wrist straps to wear between shots.

So, go ahead and snap some great shots this winter. You can create a nice coffee table photobook to display your photos or a photographic album. Another great way to showcase your photographs is to print a customized 2022 calendar so you can treasure your best wintery shots throughout the year.

Ordering items is super easy with our in-store kiosks, the London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android, or simply go online and select from multiple print options and sizes!

Exploring plant-based foods and products gets easier every year. Welcome to Veganuary!

The New Year is a time for starting fresh. Few resolutions can make an impact in so many ways as choosing more plant-based products. Whether you are a committed vegan, or are just starting to find out more about it, London Drugs’ Veganuary event is for you.

What is vegan?

The word ‘vegan’ was coined in 1944, originally meaning “non-dairy vegetarian”. Since then, veganism has come to mean ‘a person who does not consume, use or eat any animal products’, and has grown to include subsets of dietary veganism, ethical veganism and environmental veganism. These describe three of the primary benefits of vegan choices:

Dietary Health: Although veganism can require careful planning, many say we can get all of our necessary nutrients outside of animal produce. Some studies show vegans are thinner, have lower total and LDL cholesterol, and lower blood pressure.¹

Preventing Animal Cruelty: For some, it’s a belief that all sentient creatures have a right to life. For others, affection for animals makes the idea of harming one to put food on their own plate difficult. Whatever the reason, vegan choices are animal-friendly choices.

Reduced Environmental Footprint: Animal agriculture uses a huge amount of land, water and energy. Farmed animals also generate some 14.5% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions^{. 2} Plant-based choices lessen these impacts.

Can you be ‘part’ vegan?

Generally, being ‘vegan’ is defined by completely avoiding animal products, but products that are certified as ‘vegan’ can be enjoyed by anyone. Some people decide to eat vegan once a week, others just like to work more vegan products into their lifestyle.

Check out these great Veganuary choices.

With over 100 plant-based deals in our Veganuary flyer, it’s easier than ever to choose plant-based. Here are just a few ideas:

Try vegan taco night.

Ecoideas Spicy Mexican Jackfruit Shreds have a zesty flavor and meaty texture that is a great soy and gluten free substitute for meat in numerous recipes. Pair it with Que Pasa Vegan Taco Shells and you can start a whole new trend!

Warm up with vegan soup.

Go Asian vegan with Koyo Ramen. Slurp these classic noodles in soup or break them up and eat them ‘raw’ in salads or as a fast snack.

Snack it up, vegan style!

Vegan doesn’t mean ‘no fun’! Bite into Healthy Crunch Dark Chocolate Superfoods – just 70% dark chocolate and real fruit. Vego Whole Hazelnut Chocolate Bars make a great pocket-size snack. And if you crave the savory, get a flavor and fiber blast from Solar Raw Kale Chips, in Pink Salt, Cucumber Dill or Better than Cheddar flavor.

Try vegan cleaning power.

Food isn’t the only way to go vegan. Attitude Cleaning Products can take care of all sorts of surfaces, from bathroom to kitchen and beyond. Ecomax Laundry Detergent lets you wash clothes efficiently, effectively and animal-free. And for the purist, Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Soap and Bar Soap bring the power of castile with certified fair trade ingredients and organic hemp oil.

Choose Animal-Free Beauty

There are more and more choices for vegan beauty products. Mad Hippie Skin Care is free from cruelty, parabens, petrochemicals, GMOs and more. Herbatint Hair Colour gives you 100% grey coverage with no ammonia, alcohol or parabens. Province Apothecary is made in Canada, with organic botanicals sourced from all 10 provinces.

This is just the tip of the vegan iceberg. See for yourself just how many choices you have to join the Veganuary movement. It may just become a whole way of life.

¹ Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition – Health effects of vegan diets
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/89/5/1627S/4596952

² Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock: https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/

Great Photo Gifts That can be Picked up in Time for Christmas

Calling all shutterbugs! Is your phone, camera or hard drive overflowing with great photos you’ve taken? If so, you have a very special card up your sleeve when it comes to holiday gifting! We all know the most memorable gifts are ones that we create ourselves. By creating gifts with your photos, you’re able to share something truly unique and 100% personal that you yourself captured. If photography is your passion, we think these gifts are the perfect way to share your craft with the people you love. Best of all, most of these gifts can be ordered for in-store pick up in time for Christmas.

The Landscape/Wildlife Photographer

If taking photos in the great outdoors is more your speed, gifting your work as a print is a great way to share your passion with family and friends this holiday season. Show off those incredible landscapes you’ve captured or your best wildlife shots! Our glossy and pearl enlargements go all the way up to 44×96 in size, with mounting and laminating options available. Or choose from our selection of fine art prints that are available for last-minute pick-up, including canvas, bamboo, metallic paper and metallic canvas. They make great wall décor for that blank spot in a family member’s home or a friend’s office.

Learn a little more about our fine art prints to see which one is best suited for your images:

Bamboo Prints: Environmentally-friendly, ultra-matte and finely-crafted, Hahnemühle Bamboo is the world’s first Fine Art inkjet paper made from 90% bamboo fibres. It meets the most stringent age resistance requirements, and offers a unique combination of sustainable bamboo fibres, soft surface texture and impressive print quality that will give your photo outstanding expression and soul.

Canvas Prints: Our canvas prints are printed with special pigment, right to the edges of the unframed, premium canvas. You can choose to frame it flat or stretch it yourself! (Note this is not a Canvas Gallery Wrap)

Metallic Prints: These prints have a unique high-gloss pearlescent finish that allows for exceptional image clarity and brilliant colour reproduction.

Metallic Canvas: Our Metallic Canvas will give your images an intense warmth and depth. Through an interplay of transparency, refraction, coating and multiple reflections, you will notice silver-white and metallic reflection effects. (Note this is not a Canvas Gallery Wrap)

Have your image printed as a single print, or split your image up into several prints that can be assembled side-by-side for eye-catching wall décor!

The Family Photographer

You’re the person the family always relies on to get the shot, whether it’s birthdays, holidays or all those special moments in between. With hundreds (if not thousands) of photos of the whole family at your disposal, you’ve got lots to work with to create thoughtful gifts for the holidays!

Each photo you take preserves a special moment in time. Why not give a print of those memories to those who will cherish them most? A selection of your favourite moments captured on camera as glossy or pearl prints, with the perfect frame to match, would make a thoughtful gift. The options are endless but could include anything from family portraits to candids of the kids, or photos of special milestones that happened over the last year. Canvas Gallery Wraps are also a beautiful way to preserve and showcase a special moment in time for your loved ones. The canvases come ready to hang, and you can choose from framed canvases as well for a more finished look.

If picking just a few photos to gift is too hard, then a photo book is the perfect gift to give, and our Express Books, Book-It Mini Books and Instagram Books can be ordered for last-minute pick-up. If Instagram is how you often share your photos, an Instagram Book is a great way to showcase your square Instagram photos offline for people like grandparents who may not see them otherwise. Or choose any of our other photo book options, like our Express Books and Book-It Mini Books, which you can customize with themed templates to pop your photos into.

Need Your Gifts in Time for Christmas? Order Soon!

Before you order your photo gifts, make sure to check our list of holiday cut-off dates for in-store pick-up to ensure your order will be ready in time for Christmas!

To start creating gifts with your photos, head over to our Photolab, download our London Drugs Photolab App (available for iOS and Android), or visit our in-store kiosks!

How to Create Gifts for the Holidays that are 100% Unique

When it comes to making truly unique gifts for your loved ones, it’s all about adding a little personalization…and a lot of heart! In honour of Make a Gift Day on December 3^rd, our Photolab Experts are sharing their tips for crafting your own holiday gifts that have that personal touch your giftees will surely appreciate this holiday season.

While you may be familiar with gifts like our mugs, which can be customized with your own photos, did you know we can also customize those items with your artwork too? Our free Take and Create Books offer easy-to-use templates inside that will help you design your own personalized bookmarks, buttons, face masks and 11oz mugs featuring your drawings!

Look for our Take and Create Books the next time you’re in the Photolab, or download online!

Just pick up your free Take and Create Book from your local London Drugs Photolab (or download it online here), pull out the art supplies, and stretch your creative muscles filling in the templates! Or let the kids have some fun with drawing in their own designs. Once you’re all done, bring the book with the coloured-in templates back to your local Photolab so we can scan them and print them on your desired item. Or, if you have a scanner at home, you can simply scan and upload the image files to our Photolab online!

Or you could colour in your own design for one of our 11oz mugs, using the template below – also found in the Take and Create Books.

Ready to start crafting your own uniquely personalized gifts? Visit your local London Drugs Photolab to pick up your free Take and Create book or download it here! Don’t forget – you can always personalize mugs, and much more with your own photos too.

To get ahead this holiday season, our Photolab Experts encourage you to order your personalized gifts early to ensure they arrive in time. Don’t worry though – for those procrastinators, we have a great selection of our Photolab products available for same day or next day pickup, up to Friday, December 24^th including:

Just visit us in the Photolab for details. Happy Make a Gift Day!

Easy Homemade Valentine’s Day Treats

Share the Love With One of a Kind Custom Photo Gifts

For Your Partner

For Your Parents

For Your Grandparents

For Your Friends

For Your Furry BFF

Pro Tips to Save Your Irreplaceable Digital and Print Photos

Saving your print photos

Carefully remove photos from album

Make digital copies of each print

Upgrade to photo books

Saving your digital photos

Organize files into folders

Rename image files and remove duplicates

Add metadata to your photos

Backing up your saved photos

Enjoy your saved photos

Beginner’s Guide to Winter Photography

Gear Tips

Keep batteries warm and carry spares

Bag your camera or use silica gel packs

Avoid fogging the lens

Photography Tips

Focus on contrast

Correct exposure with a histogram

Exposure compensation

Shoot in RAW format (or RAW+JPEG)

Shoot in Aperture Priority Mode

Preparation Tips

Capturing fresh snow

Plan depending on the weather and lighting

Play with shutter speed

Always dress warmly

Exploring plant-based foods and products gets easier every year. Welcome to Veganuary!

Great Photo Gifts That can be Picked up in Time for Christmas

The Landscape/Wildlife Photographer

The Family Photographer

Need Your Gifts in Time for Christmas? Order Soon!

How to Create Gifts for the Holidays that are 100% Unique

Look for our Take and Create Books the next time you’re in the Photolab, or download online!

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