6 Ways to Savour Your Summer Memories

As the days begin to shorten, we become more aware of the fact that summer is starting to wind down. But while summer will inevitably come to an end, you can still relive your summer memories all year round…with the help of your photos! If you’ve been taking snapshots of your best summer moments with your smartphone or camera, it’s a good idea to have a plan for those photos so they don’t end up simply collecting metaphorical dust on a hard drive or your phone. Instead, you can reinforce your summer memories by making those moments into something tangible – like a photo book, a puzzle, or even a blanket!

Here are 6 ways our Photolab can help you savour your summer memories:

1. Staycation Photo Book

This summer has been far different than most. People are spending time closer to home, exploring their own backyard and going hiking, doing local road trips, hitting the beach or just enjoying time at home. It’s been the summer of the staycation. A great way to preserve all of those staycation memories in one place is to create your own photo book.

Printed on high quality photo paper using exceptional inks, our Photolab Technicians review every image and correct as necessary so you know your photo book will be just right. If you have tons of photos to choose from, not to worry! You can add extra pages to any of our photo books to accommodate. While customizing your photo book, you’ll also be able to choose from some great summer-themed templates. Personalize even further with text to help tell the story of your summer adventures.

For ideas on how to capture your summer staycation memories, check out this blog here.

2. Instagram Books

Are all of your best summer photos on Instagram? You can easily share those #Summer2020 memories, straight from Instagram! When you order an Instagram Book through our Photolab, you’ll be able to upload photos directly from your Instagram account. The books are available in 4×4 and 6×6 to best display your square Insta pics. All of our Instagram Books are ready within just 24-72 hours.

3. Puzzles & Playing Cards

With more time being spent a home this year, we’re all looking for new activities to keep us entertained while indoors. You can personalize puzzles and playing cards with your favourite summer photos so can play games with family and roommates while also reliving your summer memories. If you’re looking for a challenge, some of our puzzles have 1000 pieces! They also make a nice gift to include in a care package that you can send to family and friends.

4. Blankets

Wrap yourself in your summer memories by personalizing a photo blanket! Cozy up this fall in a fleece or sherpa blanket with a favourite photo from your summer staycation printed on it – why not send one to the grandparents too? Or add a snapshot to one of our beach blankets and use it to soak in the last days of summer. If you can’t decide on just one photo, you can also choose our blanket collages, which allow you to personalize your blanket with multiple photos!

5. Photo Mugs & Bottles

Reminisce about your summer with every sip! You can personalize your own photo mug or water bottle with a little help from our Photolab. We even have stainless steel tumblers, beer steins, and latte and espresso mugs that you can add your own photo to. Why not customize a mug or bottle for each member in your household, so you’ll never argue over whose is whose again?

If you want one in a flash, our 11oz designer mugs are ready for pick-up in up to 24 hours!

6. Summer Holiday Postcards

You’ve made some great memories this summer, and our personalized postcards make it easy to share them with loved ones! Just pick a size and quantity (you can order individually or in 25-packs), upload a photo, and choose from a wide variety of fun templates. Type your message on the back or add a handwritten note once your postcards are printed; update your friends and family on how you’ve been spending your summer and let them know you’ve been thinking of them. It’s a nice way to keep in touch while also creating a great keepsake.

 

Find even more creative ways to savour your summer memories by checking out our Photolab online, or by downloading the London Drugs Photolab App (available for iOS and Android)!

Celebrating Life and Special Milestones Through Photos

Life is filled with all kinds of defining moments and milestones. From birthdays to anniversaries, and even funerals, these moments in time are an opportunity for us to appreciate and celebrate the life we have lived.

For over a hundred years, photos have been an essential way of preserving life’s moments, allowing us to look back and celebrate each and every one of them. What has changed in those one hundred years, however, is the expanded variety of ways to showcase those precious photos.

 

Milestone Birthdays

Every birthday is special, but milestone birthdays, like the 30th, 40th, 50th (or even 90th!) birthdays, are extra special. A great way to commemorate that special year is with a Poster Collage or Photo Book of their best moments – from birth to now.

Dig through old snapshots to find some adorable baby photos, some of the awkward teen years, and some that are more current. In the end, you’ll have compiled a collection of photos that tells the story of their life…so far! We even offer a variety of birthday templates, to help design and customize your Photo Book. Wrap it up as a gift, or put it out on display at their birthday party so guests can flip through it.

If you need some help digitizing a collection of old photos to add to your Poster Collage or Photo Book, our Photo Scanning Box Service will make the process seamless. Just fill the box with up to 800 photographs and documents, bring it back to your local London Drugs Photolab, and our Experts will digitize them for you.

You can even use those digitized photos to create all kinds of other birthday gifts, from personalized t-shirts and puzzles, to photo calendars and jewelry boxes.

 

Anniversaries

Whether it’s your first wedding anniversary or your 15th, you’ll want to make that relationship milestone special. Why not celebrate by surprising your significant other with a gift that truly captures your love?

If you’re planning to give your hubby or wifey a traditional anniversary gift, we have a few suggestions that will show them just how much you appreciate the time you’ve spent together.

 

1st year: Paper

Don’t just go with regular old paper for your first anniversary, gift them luxe, glossy photo paper! Choose from any of our Photo Books, Enlargements, or Poster Collages and customize with your favourite photos together. Your wedding photos are a good place to start. In fact, we have lots of wedding-themed templates you can use while personalizing your photo gift.

2nd year: Cotton

Get creative with your second anniversary gift by ordering a Canvas Gallery Wrap. The textured print surface is made of cotton, so you’ll be on the dot with the traditional anniversary gift, plus your other half will be super impressed that you’ve turned a photo of you two into a piece of fine art for your home!

 

9th year: Pottery

A Photo Mug is the perfect way to fulfill that traditional ‘pottery’ anniversary gift, while also making them something thoughtful and personal. Just pick a mug colour (their favourite colour, perhaps?), a few photos, and some text (your anniversary date?) to completely customize your gift. It’s sure to impress!

 

10th year: Aluminum

The traditional ‘aluminum’ anniversary gift is meant to reflect your marriage’s resilience. What better way to share that than with a beautiful photo, printed on one of our highly durable Aluminum Metal Panels? Pick one memory you’d like to showcase from your 10 incredible years together, or if you can’t choose just one, create a collage with all your favourite moments.

15th year: Crystal

Just when they think you’ve run out of great anniversary gift ideas…you gift them a beautiful, personalized Photo Crystal for your 15th anniversary! A truly unique gift that showcases a favourite moment in time together. Choose from our selection of photo crystals, or our crystal ornaments (we think the heart-shaped ornament or crystal with base would be especially fitting).

 

Funerals

There’s a reason funerals are often called a ‘Celebration of Life’. It’s a time when family and friends can come together, in memory of someone special, to celebrate a life well lived.

A very touching way to help preserve and celebrate their memory is with photos. Start by combing through old photo albums and digging through shoe boxes full of old photographs. To make things a bit easier, use our Photo Scanning Box Service to have up to 800 photos and documents digitized for you by our Photolab, so you can easily personalize all kinds of beautiful photo keepsakes with the digital files.

To create a truly sentimental and heartfelt memento, personalize a Photo Book with images of their life, and blank sections for family and friends to add personal message and stories by hand. It’s a keepsake the family can take home at the end of the funeral service, and read over the kind words from supportive family and friends.

Another thoughtful gift for the family is a personalized Fleece Blanket. The cozy blanket will feel like a warm hug, as they cuddle up in the memories of their loved one. Choose one photo, or a selection of photos, to feature as a collage on the blanket’s surface.

 

Need a little help creating your photo gift? Speak with one of our Photolab Experts at your local London Drugs! Or, if you’re ready to go, you can start personalizing your gift on our Photolab website, or at any of our in-store Photolab kiosks.