holiday gift ideas Archives - London Drugs Blog

Beat the Holiday Rush by Ordering these Creative Gifts Early

In the blink of an eye, the holidays will be upon us. It happens every year – you think you have lots of time, and then suddenly, you’re scrambling to get everything ticked off your holiday shopping list. Why not make this year different? If you’re planning to send gifts or cards by mail, then there’s even more reason to be proactive and start ticking off your holiday gifting list early. To ensure they are delivered in time, Canada Post recommends shopping and getting your parcels in the mail early, as they are expecting to see a short-term surge in packages in December.

Our London Drugs Photolab has all kinds of gift ideas, from greeting cards to tree ornaments, that you can personalize with your own photos for some truly unique and thoughtful gifts. The best part? You can order them all without ever having to step foot in a mall. By ordering early, you can get your gifts delivered to your home well before the holidays – either by ordering online or using our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android. Or if you need your gifts even quicker, you can opt for in-store pick-up conveniently at your nearest London Drugs store.

Keep reading below for 6 creative gift ideas that will help you beat the holiday rush!

Personalized Greeting Cards

If there’s one thing that belongs at the very top of your to-do list, it’s your holiday greeting cards. Depending on how far around the world you’re planning to send your cards, you’ll want to give them ample time to arrive (preferably at the start of the holidays). Before the holiday rush hits, take some time to design your cards, create your list of recipients, and get them ready to toss in the mail.

Holiday greeting cards are a tradition for many families, as they’re a chance to get your family and friends caught up on your year (and show off your beautiful family with a few photos too). To help you make your cards extra special, we offer personalization options that allow you to add photos and text directly to the cards – no more hand cramps writing them by hand! And pro tip: order a stack of 25 cards to save! Our Photolab also has a variety of themed card templates for Christmas, Hanukkah, and general Winter themes, so no matter what your traditions, you can find a beautiful card to customize. Check out this blog for more ideas for personalizing your holiday greeting cards.

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Gifts like personalized Christmas tree ornaments are an excellent choice for neighbours, co-workers, teachers, or anyone else you want to share a little something with to wish them a happy holiday season. If you’re gifting personalized tree ornaments, it’s best to order them before the holidays begin and give them out early. That way, they have time to hang them on the tree and fully appreciate them during the holiday season!

We have everything from beautiful wood ornaments to ceramic, crystal, pewter, metal, and ball ornaments. Each one can be customized with a photo, as well as a personal message or date if you like.

Puzzles & Playing Cards

With more time spent at home this year, puzzles have had a major resurgence in popularity. Our photo puzzles are a fun and unique gift your friends and family will surely appreciate, especially if they’ve exhausted their own collection of puzzles already. Just pick a photo of your choosing, and we’ll personalize the puzzle with that image! You can even order a puzzle that comes with a matching storage tin. Another option is to personalize a pack of playing cards with a special photo. These make great stocking stuffers too!

Cozy Photo Blankets & Pillows

What do you buy for the person who has everything? Rather than scrambling at the last minute for gifts for those tough-to-buy-for people on your holiday shopping list, here’s a gift idea you can order right now: a personalized photo blanket. These blankets can be customized with either one image or a collage of images and come in ultra-cozy textures like sherpa and fleece. Perfect for the chilly months ahead.

You can also personalize a pillow case with pictures – we even have sequined pillow cases that reveal your photo when you swipe your hand across the sequins! Choose from festive red or silver sequins.

These gifts are a great way to give the gift of coziness, plus the photo personalization adds uniqueness and thoughtfulness that they are sure to appreciate.

Key Chains & Personalized Pet Tags

Know of someone whose pet is their best friend? Here’s a creative gift idea they’re sure to love: a personalized pet tag or key chain! You can order the tag or key chain with a snapshot of their beloved pet printed on it or upload a fun design with their pet’s name. Personalized key chains also make a great stocking stuffer or small gift for anyone else on your holiday list.

Ready to get a head start on your holiday gifting? You can order your personalized gifts and greeting cards online through our London Drugs App (iOS and Android), or using our in-store kiosks. Don’t forget: you have the option to have your order shipped directly to you or pick it up conveniently at your local London Drugs once it’s ready.

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!

The Mommy Mix’s Top Holiday Gifting Ideas Using Your Own Photos

Photographer, blogger, wife and mom of 2 boys, Amanda from The Mommy Mix is here today to share some of her top holiday gift ideas! Her secret? It’s all about the personalization.

Photo credit: The Mommy Mix

The holiday shopping season is here, and that means our minds are focused on the perfect holiday gifting ideas. When choosing early Christmas presents, there are a few key questions you need to ask yourself.

Will this gift be useful to the recipient? “This frame will perfectly showcase some portraits from her photography hobby.”
Is the gift touching?“He will weep with joy when he sees this keychain with his favourite people on it.”
Is this gift thoughtful? “She will cherish this ornament forever.”
Does this gift show how much the recipient means to you?“He is going to love this gift filled with a few of his favourite things.”

London Drugs can help you get the answers to these questions and check off the loved ones on your holiday shopping list early.

Perfect Holiday Photo Gifting Ideas

Nothing says “Christmas” more than family, and friends, therefore the obvious choice for gift-giving is a personalized item. Something that they will never outgrow or get tired of, something that they will want to keep for a lifetime. The London Drugs Photolab has many options for the perfect personalized photo gift.

Christmas ornaments are the gifts that will keep on giving year after year. Metal, pewter, crystal, ceramic, and now a wood ornament that allows the natural grain to come through. Every time your recipient trims their tree, they will think of you, and all of the joy you bring to their lives.

Photo credit: The Mommy Mix

The wood ornaments are so durable – even a child can’t break it. Also, they make great personalized gift tags.

Create a photo keychain for the special people on your list. These keychains are not like the cheap plastic ones you used to find at your local portrait studio. No, these personalized keychains are stunning and make great gifts for grandparents or parents who love to show off the little ones in their lives.

Photo credit: The Mommy Mix

I have to say I wasn’t sure what to think when I placed my order for a Tanner and a Panda Keychain. However, I am in love, and only sorry I didn’t order one for myself.

Does anyone print photos anymore? I know I have a ton of memories sitting on my computer and phone, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. Bring those images to life in a photo book or even just a good old fashion photo print on matte, glossy or fine art paper – Baryta and Kauai – with a beautiful frame around it. The gift that speaks volumes without using words.

Photo credit: The Mommy Mix

Other Holiday Gift Ideas from the London Drugs Photolab

Create individual cards for everyone on your list with personalized holiday greeting cards.
Show the pet lovers and furry friends on your list you care with pet tags or a personalized pet bowl.
Photo fleece blankets will keep your loved ones warm and toasty during the winter chill.

What are you waiting for? Beat the rush and skip the stress of being a last-minute shopper with the personalized gift selection at the London Drugs Photolab. For more details and to order your photo gifts or prints, visit your local London Drugs in-store kiosk, the London Drugs Photolab website or download the London Drugs Photolab App on iOS or Android.

Which personalized photo gifts will you be buying this holiday season?

To help you get a jumpstart on your holiday gifting, Amanda is giving away a $100 London Drugs gift card to one lucky Canadian reader over on The Mommy Mix! Head over there to find out how you can enter for a chance to win.

Holiday Gift Ideas for Neighbours, Teachers, Co-Workers & More

During the holidays, surprising your loved ones with the ‘big ticket’ items they’ve been dreaming about all year is easy – what’s hard is finding a way to really wow with the smaller gifts meant for neighbours, teachers, co-workers or anyone else on your holiday shopping list. This year, consider foregoing the usual box of chocolates in favour of something that will really make them feel special: something personalized.

Our LDExperts recommend personalizing a photo mug, water bottle or carafe with a photo (and even a personal message if you like) to create a truly unique gift for all of the special people in your life. It’s sure to not only spread some holiday cheer, but will show them you’re thinking of them.

To help get you started, here are some ideas for customizing your own photo gifts:

For Your Neighbours

Do you have a snapshot of your neighbour and their family from a block party this summer? Or do you have a photo of your kids and theirs playing together? Maybe you can easily snap a photo of their pride and joy sportscar in the driveway. Whatever it is, find an image that will showcase some of the favourite things or people in their life, and use it to customize a mug, water bottle or carafe for them. It’s a small way to thank them for being such a wonderful neighbour this past year!

For Your Teachers

If you’re looking for a thoughtful way to thank your child’s teachers for all their hard work, a personalized gift will go a long way. Teachers generally get a lot of mugs as gifts, so why not switch it up and personalize a water bottle for them instead? Employ your child to draw up some artwork – maybe a simple ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Thank you Ms. ______’ theme – and we can help you scan that artwork and put it on a water bottle! Or if you have a scanner at home, you can then simply upload that digitized artwork to our Photolab site to customize your bottle.

For Your Co-Workers

Co-workers aren’t always easy to get gifts for, especially when you’re trying to keep it to something small. Here’s a creative gift idea you’ll know they’ll appreciate: personalize a mug or carafe for them, so that no one in the office will ever accidentally use their mug again! Add some custom text to it like ‘This is Gary’s Mug’, or simply add a photo of their face to the mug, so there will be zero confusion who’s mug or carafe it is. Now they won’t have to fear leaving their mug in the office cupboard! That might just make you their new favourite co-worker.

For Your Friends

This is an easy one – just pick a favourite snapshot of you and your BFF. We’re sure you won’t have any difficulties finding lots to choose from. Or take a quick peek at their Instagram, for a particularly special moment from their year, and surprise them with that on a water bottle or mug.

Our LDExperts also suggest making your gifts even sweeter by including some treats inside! Add a packet of hot chocolate mix, a candy cane, and a small baggy of marshmallows – all wrapped up in some cellophane.

To get started on your own personalized gifts, just visit our London Drugs Photolab online, in-store or simply download our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android.

And don’t worry – if someone surprises you with a gift you weren’t expecting…you can order our 11oz and 14oz mugs same-day!

How to Next Level Your Christmas Stockings

Are you stockings starting to look a little shabby? No, we’re not talking about the ones on your feet – we’re talking about your family’s Christmas stockings! For lots of families, hanging stockings over the fireplace is a long-standing holiday tradition. But sometimes those traditions need a little sprucing up. If your stockings are looking a little worse for wear after years of use, we can help you upgrade to some truly next level stockings…completely personalized for every member of your family!

Customized Stockings

Our Photolab offers customizable Christmas stockings in a variety of styles. If each member of your family gets a stocking, give them the opportunity to make it their own. Let them choose a photo for their stocking, and they can even add their name or nickname to it. Don’t leave out the family pet either – we can help you make one for them too! You also have the option to have the photo featured on just one side, or on both sides of the stocking. Of course, all of our stockings will come with a small loop so they’re ready to hang!

Customized Stocking Stuffers

While you’re at it, you can take your stocking stuffers to the next level too! It’s always great to have some stocking stuffer fillers in there like candy canes and chocolates, but stockings are also a great place to include some more thoughtful, small gifts as well. We have lots of items you can customize, that will fit perfectly into your family’s Christmas stockings.

Two of our LDExperts’ top picks for personalized stockings stuffers are photo keychains and ornaments. Both are small enough to fit perfectly in your stockings, and are a nice, thoughtful gift they can cherish beyond this holiday season.

Keychains can be customized with your choice of photo, and come in a variety of styles, from a metal heart to a metal square with leatherette backing. We can also include a name or personal message on the photo for added customization. The same can be done with our ornaments.

The ornaments are available in 20 different styles: on metal, pewter, crystal or ceramic. Our metal ornaments can be printed on the font and back, and all of our ornaments come with a pre-drilled hole so you can easily hang from your tree with a small ribbon. We think the personalized ornaments are a great gift to make a yearly tradition! Each Christmas, simply pick a photo that best represents that person’s year – and add the year in text to the ornament so they’ll always remember when that memory was from. It’s a sweet custom that will be so special to look back on, as you collect new ornaments over the years.

Ready to take your Christmas stockings to the next level? Visit our London Drugs Photolab online, in-store or simply download our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android to get started!

Stocking Stuffer Gift Ideas from Blogger Melissa Cartier: Express Books & Book-It Mini Books

Hi everyone, Melissa from Melissa Cartier here again.

My husband and I have a little tradition where our only gifts for each other are meaningful, within a budget we set and must fit in our stockings. I love opening my stocking each year, and some of my favourite memories as a kid was Santa placing my stocking at the foot of my bed for me to find when I woke up. As for buying stocking sized gifts for my husband… it’s a challenge. He’s very practical and doesn’t really like chocolate (we are very different haha).

While looking at the different creative projects on the London Drugs Photolab App (iOS version only), I noticed the Book-It Mini Books. The price easily fit within our set budget and they are small enough to fit in a stocking. Kevin and I have created so many memories with our son this past year that it was so easy to put together a little book of some of our favourites. While I didn’t need the quick timeline, I was really impressed these Book-It Mini Books can be made in 24 hours!

The Book-It Mini Book I made is adorable. I chose the black hard cover, pearl finish paper and a single image on each page. I also chose the centered square image option which I love because it reminds me of a little book of Instagram photos. It’s going to make a great stocking stuffer but if you’re looking for smaller gifts that are still meaningful the Express Books and Book-It Mini Books are a great option. They are quick, easy to make and budget friendly, so they are perfect for co-workers, your child’s teachers or anyone you’ve travelled with.

I love getting photos developed and putting them into photo albums (with each photo dated, of course) but I could see myself using the Book-It Mini Books as little keep sakes after notable events where we take quite a few photos. Family trips, birthdays or even holidays. I have so many photos from Thomas’ first Christmas that would be so sweet to compile in a Book-It. I know Kevin is going to love finding this little book of memories in his stocking this year!

Holiday Gift Ideas from Blogger Melissa Cartier: Coffeetable Books & Photographic Albums

Hi everyone, Melissa from Melissa Cartier here!

On my blog, I recently shared my process for developing all of my photos quickly and directly from my phone using the London Drugs Photolab App! After hearing how much I love their app, the lovely team from London Drugs asked if I’d like to talk about some of the creative products their Photolab has to offer. The first thought that popped into my mind was trying some of them out by tackling a few names on my Christmas list and I quickly agreed.

One person on my list that I have a really tough time buying for is my Dad. His Christmas list every year is black socks and golf balls. I wish I was kidding. While I don’t mind working from a Christmas list I can’t say I’m eager to buy him black socks every year. Besides, isn’t the best part of Christmas shopping finding thoughtful gifts that have meaning behind them? One of my favourite gifts to get for my dad is a framed photo. Two years ago it was a photo from my wedding and last Christmas it was a photo of him and my son.

After scrolling through all of the creative products I could make in the London Drugs Photolab App (how fun would it be to make a recipe book or a book of Instagram photos for a gift?), I settled on a Coffeetable Photo Book. I loved the traditional look of the Photographic Albums as well. It didn’t take me long to create a quality book full of our favourite memories from this past year all from photos on my phone. I really liked that I could choose a layout for each page and while I had the option of including text, for this book I wanted more of a picture book feel. I chose a 10×8 muslin cloth book with a window for this project, but on my next one I think I’ll get a custom photo cover because those look really impressive

If you have a photographer, or just someone in your life who is sentimental like I am, these photo books are both fantastic gift options.

My Coffeetable Photo Book was ready in 5 days and I’m so happy with how it turned out! The quality of the pages didn’t disappoint, and I know my Dad is going to love flipping through all of the memories our family has created this year.

Beat the Holiday Rush by Ordering these Creative Gifts Early

Personalized Greeting Cards

Christmas Tree Ornaments

Puzzles & Playing Cards

Cozy Photo Blankets & Pillows

Key Chains & Personalized Pet Tags

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!

The Mommy Mix’s Top Holiday Gifting Ideas Using Your Own Photos

Perfect Holiday Photo Gifting Ideas

Other Holiday Gift Ideas from the London Drugs Photolab

Holiday Gift Ideas for Neighbours, Teachers, Co-Workers & More

For Your Neighbours

For Your Teachers

For Your Co-Workers

For Your Friends

How to Next Level Your Christmas Stockings

Customized Stockings

Customized Stocking Stuffers

Stocking Stuffer Gift Ideas from Blogger Melissa Cartier: Express Books & Book-It Mini Books

Holiday Gift Ideas from Blogger Melissa Cartier: Coffeetable Books & Photographic Albums

Archive

Categories

Pages

Newsletter