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 14th.

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.

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 3rd, 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 24th including:

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

Last-Minute Mother’s Day Gift Ideas That Will Warm Her Heart

If you’re still on the hunt for the perfect Mother’s Day gift, not to worry! With Mother’s Day being a bit earlier this year, even the most seasoned gifter might be a little off their game. Luckily, there are still plenty of Mother’s Day gift ideas that are not only quick and easy to order but are still thoughtful and made with love. From one-of-a-kind cards to personalized mugs and photo books, below are some of our Photolab’s top last-minute gift ideas that will warm her heart.

A Thoughtful Mug for Mom

Showing mom you think she’s the best mom ever is easy: just put it on a mug! You can add personalized text to any of our Photolab’s mugs, so you can tell her exactly how much you care for her. Add a photo of your choice as well – one she will be able to cherish for years to come.

If you have young kids, you can encourage them to design their own special mugs for mom with the help of our Take and Create Books. These books are full of templates for items including our mugs, which they can draw their own artwork in, and then have those drawings digitized and printed on a mug (or other gift items). You can learn more about our Take and Create Books here.

Our mugs can be ready for pick-up in just 24 hours, making them an excellent choice if you’re in a pinch for a last-minute gift. Plus, they only take a few minutes to customize!

A Special Locket Full of Love

With a personalized locket, mom can keep her loved ones close to her heart at all times. Choose from locket-sized photos in various shapes, including circle, heart, oval, and square, to match your chosen locket. Each print also comes with a variety of sizes from 1”x1” to 0.2”x0.2” so you can pick the one that fits perfectly.

If you’re gifting to a senior/grandmother, it could also be a thoughtful surprise to include old photos of her and her children. Rather than cutting up the originals though, make sure they’re digitized first! Our Photo Scanning Box service can help you digitize large amounts of old print photos quickly and easily.

These locket prints are ready for pick up in just 24 to 72 hours at most of our locations.

A Photoshoot Just for Her

Treat mom to a photoshoot that’s all about her! This gift requires no prep time at all but is a thoughtful way to show your appreciation for your mom and how beautiful she is inside and out. Hire a local photographer, or pick up a camera and stage your own photoshoot at home for her. You can include the kids as well, but take some photos just of her too. Make sure to mention in your ‘Mother’s Day Photo Shoot’ gift that she’ll receive a selection of prints/enlargements or a canvas gallery wrap to commemorate the experience and preserve those special images. This can also be a thoughtful gift for a mom-to-be!

If you’re looking for pointers for doing your at-home photoshoot, make sure to check out our DIY Studio modules; it’s free to sign up, and you’ll get all kinds of helpful tips from pro photographer Erin Manning in each module. For your Mother’s Day photoshoot, we recommend checking out the modules on ‘Composition Tips’ and ‘Lighting Techniques.’

A Photo Book of ‘Moments with Mom’

So many of our most memorable moments in life are often with mom. Help her cherish them by preserving all of your favourite moments with mom in a fully personalized photo book. Hand-pick the photos displayed on each page, and even add thoughtful notes to tell her why those moments mean the world to you. Don’t worry about the design element – we have a Mother’s Day template all set to go for you, so you can simply drag and drop your images!

If you’re tight on time, not to worry. Our Express Book, an 8×8 photographic book with a leatherette cover, is easy to customize and ready for pick-up in just 24 to 72 hours.

A One-of-a-Kind Mother’s Day Card

Sometimes there just isn’t a Mother’s Day card in the card aisle that says exactly what you want to say. That’s where our personalized greeting cards come in. They can be customized with any theme and photo(s) of your choosing, plus you can add a truly personal and heartfelt message for mom that is one-of-a-kind. Just knowing you took the time to make a card for her is sure to warm her heart!

Left it a little late? Just because you’re looking for a Mother’s Day card last minute doesn’t mean it can’t still be thoughtful. Our single-sided photo cards and premium folded greeting cards on photographic paper can be customized and ready for pick-up in just 24 to 72 hours!

A Photo Button for the #1 Mom

Tell the world your mom is #1 by designing a photo button that she can proudly wear all Mother’s Day like a badge of honour! Want it to say something else besides ‘#1 Mom’? While ordering, add any text (and photo) you like! Our buttons are fully customizable. We also have both 3” and 1.25” round buttons, as well as heart-shaped buttons to choose from.

If you’re thinking of ordering one for your mom, just make sure not to leave it too last minute: our photo buttons are ready for pick-up in just 5 to 7 days.

 

To customize your Mother’s Day gifts on-the-go, just download our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android to order straight from your smartphone! Otherwise, you can also always order through our Photolab online or in-store using our kiosks. For exact turnaround times, please check with your local London Drugs Photolab.

3 Ways to Celebrate with Dad on Father’s Day (In-Person or Virtually)

While many types of celebrations have had to change and adjust this year, there are still lots of ways you can celebrate with your dad on Father’s Day, no matter if you’re together or apart right now. Whether you can see your dad IRL (in real life) this Father’s Day or not, here are 3 ways you can celebrate together and show dad why he’s #1.

Serve Breakfast in Bed

The quintessential Father’s Day tradition, breakfast in bed, has become a classic way to celebrate for a reason – it helps him start his day off right, with a little indulgence and a lot of love.

In-person:

Go all-out on a breakfast that is just for dad. Pile it high with his favourites: waffles or pancakes, bacon or sausages, hash browns, eggs – the works! You can also surprise him with his favourite cuppa joe in his very own Father’s Day mug, personalized by you with the help of our Photolab. Add a personal message and some photos that you know will make him smile. Need it last minute? We can have your mug ready for pick up in-store in as little as 24 hours!

Virtually:

Not there to make dad breakfast in-person? No problem. Pick dad’s favourite local breakfast spot and order him a surprise breakfast, delivered right to his door! Plus, we can deliver our photo mugs anywhere in Canada, so you can customize a Father’s Day mug for dad online and then have it shipped to dad in time for Father’s Day. Then set up a Facetime or Zoom call together so you can catch up virtually while he enjoys his breakfast in bed.

Fire up the Grill

If your dad is a self-proclaimed grill master, why not center his Father’s Day celebration around the BBQ?

In-person:

On your run to the grocery store, pick up some barbeque must-haves like steaks, ribs or burgers that you can grill up on the BBQ together on Father’s Day. Make sure you have the necessary condiments too. As a special gift for dad, customize his own BBQ apron that he can proudly wear as you both grill up a perfect Father’s Day dinner.

Virtually:

See if there are any local restaurants offering meal kits that you can send directly to dad, complete with everything he needs for a great Father’s Day BBQ. Better yet, order one for yourself too, so you can grill together (while apart) and enjoy over Facetime or Zoom. Order his own customized BBQ apron with a photo of your choosing, and have it shipped to him in advance, so he can wear it the day-of.

Play Some Golf

Does dad’s idea of a perfect day involve golf? If so, why not make it an activity for the two of you to partake in on Father’s Day!

In-person:

Some golf courses are open and allowing people to play while physically distancing. If available in your area, book a tee time for you and dad to get out and play a round of golf in the fresh air – just make sure to book soon, as tee times are now more spread out. As the perfect accompanying gift, personalize dad a golf towel with a fun photo that he can use while on the course!

Virtually:

Play golf together…virtually! PlayStation 4 has an online multiplayer option for the Everybody’s Golf game, so you can both play together. Send dad a copy of the game, along with a golf towel from our Photolab that you personalized yourself.

 

Of course, a Father’s Day card is always a thoughtful addition to any Father’s Day gift. Customize your own card from the comfort of your home with the help of our Photolab! Pick a Father’s Day template, add some photos and a personalized message, and either pick up in-store or have it shipped (to yourself or directly to your dad). It’s a great way to show him you’re thinking of him, whether you’re together, or apart right now.

 

 

Mother’s Day Gifts Made at Home with Love

If you’ve already exhausted your supply of puzzles, we’ve got a new activity to keep yourself and the kids busy while self-isolating. Our Photolab’s free Take and Create Book is now available online! Even better, you can use this Take and Create Book to create unique and personalized gifts for Mother’s Day – right from home in 4 easy steps.

1. Get your Take and Create Book

You can pick up your free Take and Create Book at our Photolab if you happen to be in-store, but if you’d like to get your hands on a copy while you’re self-isolating at home, you can simply download it here.

2. Fill in the Templates

These Take and Create Books are full of templates for custom gifts like mugs (for mom’s daily cuppa joe) and ornaments (to hang in her car or anywhere at home) that both you and your kids can draw and colour in. Let the creativity flow! Have the kids write a special message for mom, or draw an image they think mom will love. You can even put your artistic skills to the test too – doodle something that shows your appreciation for your own mom. It makes a great art activity for an afternoon indoors. Plus, mom is sure to appreciate that you crafted her Mother’s Day gift yourself.

3. Scan Your Drawings

Once you’re done filling in the book, simply scan the templates using an at-home scanner or a smartphone scanning app to digitize them as image files. Crop what’s outside the template lines, and you’ll be all set to upload to our Photolab’s website or to our London Drugs Photolab App (available for iOS and Android).

4. Upload to our Photolab

After your images are uploaded, you’ll be able to browse our Photolab’s products to find the ones that match your templates, like mugs and ornaments. Then just customize each gift with your images, and choose delivery to have them shipped directly to your home!

 

All done making a gift for mom and looking for another activity to pass the time? We can help you customize your own puzzles! Just choose a photo, and our Photolab can turn it into a puzzle with 25, 114, 120 or even 1,000 pieces.

Mommy Outside the Box’s Gift Ideas for the Hard-to-Buy-For

Stumped on what to give the hardest-to-buy-for people on your holiday shopping list? Shayna from Mommy Outside the Box has lots of creative ideas. All you’ll need is some photos and a little help from our London Drugs Photolab!

Photo credit: Mommy Outside the Box

There is snow on the ground (at least where I am). The tree is up. Holiday music is playing in the grocery store. Our local tree lighting ceremony is this week. I do believe the holidays are upon us! Just like every year, I feel like that sort of snuck up on me. Wasn’t I just carving pumpkins? But here we are and it’s time to get into the holiday spirit. It’s a busy time of year that’s for sure. There’s baking to do. Decorations to put up. Gatherings to attend. And gifts to buy.

I love giving gifts! There is so much joy in finding the perfect gift for those special people in your life. It’s just not always easy to know what that perfect gift is. I’m sure we all have at least one person on our list that is a little difficult to know what to get. I know when I’m stuck on ideas for people close to me I try to come up with something a little more personal to give them.

Gifts to Cherish

We all have memories that we cherish and we are making more all the time. I bet you can pull up your phone right now and scroll through your camera roll and find a lot of pictures that make you stop and smile. I bet they would make other people smile too. There’s nothing better than sharing a smile. And that’s so easy to do with photo gifts. I love it when I’m unpacking my Christmas decorations to put up, and come across the photo ornaments that I’ve been given in the past. Those always get a special place on my tree or on mantle and they bring me joy throughout the holiday season.

We are already into December but, luckily, it’s not too late to check off that Christmas list and order some precious photo gifts from the LDPhotolab! They have so many options – from holiday cards to beautiful ornaments and everything in between, it’s easy to find that perfect gift to add a photo to and share a smile.

I just placed an order myself so I could share some ideas with you. Photo gifts are so easy to order from London Drugs. You can upload your photos and order your gifts from your computer, at a kiosk in store or make it super easy and download the London Drugs Photolab App on your iOS or Android device!

Greetings Cards – Order by December 17

Photo credit: Mommy Outside the Box

I love getting actual Christmas cards in the mail! And I imagine others do as well so I try to send out at least a few every year. I had some lovely photos from a family shoot that my daughter and I had done earlier this fall and I knew I wanted to include one of those pictures in our cards this year. And rather than send cards with a picture tucked inside it just made more sense to put our photo right on the card. You will find a large selection of layouts and styles online to make your card perfect!

Personalized Ornaments – Order by December 17

I have a small collection of personalized ornaments and they are by far my favorite! I also give them every year. Ornaments with my always growing daughter make the perfect gift for her grandparents! The LDPhotolab has a ton of styles and finishes for ornaments. You can order them in metal, crystal, ceramic and even wood.

This crystal ornament that I ordered with a picture of my daughter and one of her best friends is my new favorite. These girls are so adorable and the ornament is so beautiful! It’s really hard to capture how lovely it really is in a photo. The colors are so vibrant.

Photo credit: Mommy Outside the Box

So, I actually didn’t mean to put my own face on this wooden ornament. It was supposed to be a picture of my daughter but the mix up was completely user error on my part! I just might just hold on to this one for a while and gift it to my daughter when she’s older and is putting up a tree of her own. Maybe then she can remember when her mom wasn’t quite so old! But, mistake or not, I do love how this wooden ornament turned out. I’m a sucker for anything with a “rustic” look and feel and that’s exactly how this turned out, especially with the black and white photo.

Photo credit: Mommy Outside the Box

Pet Tags – Order by December 17

My daughter and I have three adorable cats. I mean they are a lot of trouble, but they are so stinking cute! Now our cats hate collars so there is no way they are going to wear pet tags but I knew my daughter would love this keepsake and I will be ordering more with pictures of her other two cats. These are things she will always cherish.

Photo credit: Mommy Outside the Box

Fine Art Prints

Special gifts are awesome but sometimes a simple picture really does say a thousand words. This particular picture is tied a very specific and important memory and event in my life and I really wanted to get it printed as a reminder of where I was and where I am. There are lots of print options at the LD Photolab. You can get your standard prints in glossy or pearl or you can also try out some of their fine art paper like Bamboo, Baryta and Kauai. I had this picture printed on Kauai paper and I absolutely love how it turned out. This is such an easy way to make your favorite photos just a little more special. Both the Baryta and Kauai paper are a smooth cotton and they completely change the look and feel of your photos.

Photo credit: Mommy Outside the Box

And Many More

This is just a small sampling of the unique and creative photo gifts you can order from London Drugs. Here are a few other ideas that caught my eye:

  • Photo calendars – wall calendars or desktop in a variety of sizes.
  • Photo books always make a lovely gift. The LDPhotolab has a variety of beautiful and creative photo books to choose from.
  • Canvas gallery wraps come in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit any space and are such a beautiful way to showcase photos.
  • Photo mugs are another great choice for the tea or coffee drinker on your list.

There are just so many ideas that it would be impossible for me to write about them all in this post. You really should head over to the website and check them out yourself! You still have time to order and have your gifts in hand before Christmas. You can check out the holiday ordering cutoff dates here.

 

A $100 gift card to London Drugs sure would help you get a headstart on your own personalized holiday gifts, wouldn’t it? Check out Mommy Outside the Box’s blog post here to see how you can enter for a chance to win one!

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.

  1. Will this gift be useful to the recipient? “This frame will perfectly showcase some portraits from her photography hobby.”
  2. Is the gift touching?“He will weep with joy when he sees this keychain with his favourite people on it.”
  3. Is this gift thoughtful? “She will cherish this ornament forever.”
  4. 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

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.

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