If you’ve pulled out all the stops on your gift-giving in the past, it’s easy to feel tapped out on original ideas. Luckily, these clever photo gifts will ensure that you’re not getting them something that’s a repeat from years past. And many can be surprisingly affordable, too! Photo gifts feel extra special to receive because their customized nature speaks to the thought and intention that went into coordinating it as a sweet surprise.
The best photo gifts all depend on your recipient's personality. Some of these ideas have the playfulness of a gag gift, while others have a heart-warming, tender mood. But no matter what particular item you choose, the sharp image quality of the gift is the most important criteria — because of this, we selected these 15 photo gifts based on positive user reviews that tout the clarity of the end product.
From sophisticated to sentimental to downright silly, these are the photo gifts that will totally capture their heart.
Minted is the go-to for special-occasion customizations — their gorgeous holiday cards and wedding invitations are always a happy sight in our mailbox. Their photo gifts are equally as beautiful.
This heart-shaped puzzle allows you to personalize it with a lovely photo of your gift recipient, and the background illustration is available in three different color schemes. This design and size is far from the only one that Minted offers — browse their custom puzzle section to peruse all of your options.
A smash-hit photo gift for recipients of all ages, this View-Master-esque device lets you create custom reels to take them on a journey through their fondest memories. Users love what a clever gift idea this is, and tout its quality, too — 85% of those who've reviewed it gave it five stars.
Just keep in mind that you'll want to plan in advance with this gift. You need to get the reel viewer first in order to buy the reels, so allow for at least a month of lead time if you plan on ordering.
Yep, for just $10, you can buy socks with your friend's face on them. But if you have $25 to spare, you can buy socks with six different faces on them. Who wouldn't want that?
The ultimate silly gift that they'll never see coming, these socks are touted by reviewers who love their photo quality, saying they're great for pet photos, too!
This photo gift takes the term quite literally! This gift credit to Shoott gives your recipient a 30-minute, safely distanced, outdoor session with a professional photographer in their area along with a prepaid amount of free photos. We love this idea for a young family to capture a moment that feels so fleeting.
Shoott is currently available in 47 cities across the U.S., with more being added in 2021.
This small but chic tabletop calendar is one of those photo gifts that's perfect for any occasion: anniversaries, Mother's Day, Father's Day, winter holidays, or birthdays. It has the look of a miniature clipboard with a reclaimed walnut-wood surface and brass hardware.
I've gifted one of Artifact Uprising's desk calendars to my mom for Mother's Day, and not only was it stunning in its quality, but it's a gift without an expiration date. Once you buy the easel and calendar for $49, you can purchase refills (with new photos!) for just $20.
Did you know that you can easily download all of your Instagram photo archives? If you want to put together a special photo gift for the friend who's always by your side (figuratively and literally in all of your photos), this sweet square-shaped hardcover is the way to go.
This book prints 30 photos on glossy, 200 GSM paper for a high-quality feel that looks like a million bucks.
Custom frames and mats aren't cheap, and they can sometimes feel like an extravagance that's hard to justify. If your loved one doesn't have a reliable frame shop in their area, it ends up being a project that's never checked off the list.
A gift card to Framebridge allows them to finally find the perfect custom frame for that photo or art print that they love so dearly. The site offers countless frame and matting options, and the gift credits are available in predetermined amounts, or you can choose your own.
Lockets have a fascinating history, originating as mourning jewelry in the 16th century, though wearable containers have existed since the ancient Egyptian era. It's no wonder then, why lockets feel like such a heartfelt, sentimental photo gift.
This locket is currently available in rose gold and silver, and you can send the two photos that you'd like printed in it directly to the Etsy seller. Reviewers of this item love that the images they sent were perfectly sized and centered to fit the locket, and that they are a beautiful way to keep a loved one close.
Unless you're an Instax obsessive, physical photos are rare to come by. This tiny, rechargeable photo printer from Canon is just about the size of a deck of cards and it links to your device via Bluetooth to print out small 2-by-3-inch pictures.
I really like the Canon Ivy because it's so small and user-friendly, and if the last photo printer you used was an early '00s-era clunker, it's a massive improvement. It makes a great photo gift for those who love scrapbooking, and the photos it creates make adorable small keepsakes.
A great complement gift with the Instax Mini or the aforementioned photo printer, this photo frame makes for the perfect way to display their mini memories (and change them up all the time). We like that it makes their pictures a part of the decor, instead of something to tuck away until nostalgia strikes.
It's an incredibly well-reviewed item on Urban Outfitters, with users touting how cute and convenient it is.
OK, this might be a photo gift that's for someone with whom you share a household! TilePix are a trio of photo frames that can showcase one full photo or a collage.
What makes them unique is that instead of hammering nails into your walls to hang them, the user can simply stick removable magnetic pads to the wall and then easily attach the frames. Finally, your favorite family photos will all have a cohesive look and be easy to rearrange.
This photo gift is great for your partner in all things adventurous. If your goal is to see all 50 states together (perhaps you partook in the infamous "summer of road trips" in 2020), this photo map is the best way to immortalize your travels.
The map's photo mat is touted by reviewers as being high quality, but just keep in mind that a frame is not included.
Your relatives with young children may have books and flashcards galore to teach them shapes, animals, and colors. But we bet that they don't have a custom memory game that's filled with their family's friendly faces!
This 24-card memory game set lets you upload 12 of your own photos to match together with their duplicates. Reviewers love what a "fun surprise" this photo gift is, and say it's a hit with young grandkids.
These sticker sheets are basically IRL Memojis. This single sampler sheet features stickers that are 3.5- to .5 inches tall, so they can choose just how big of a statement to make.
Users adore how ridiculous yet high quality this photo gift is, specifically touting the brand's fast shipping and the stickers' exceptional stickiness. It's probably a no-brainer that many of them also make stickers of their pets’ faces. (I mean, for just $10, wouldn’t you?)
When we talk about great gifts that keep on giving, this is the type of thing we really mean. Social Print Studio's Daily Calendar is a card calendar that comprises 365 precious pages.
These cards are printed on 170 GSM paper, and the user can choose between five different date formats that all have a clean, modern look. Reviewers love these so much that some have said that getting a custom page-a-day calendar is a new family tradition.
It may be a project to curate all of those images, but think of it as a labor of love.
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