It's not a vacation unless you take hundreds or thousands of photos — or at least, that seems to be the consensus among many travelers. But when you get home, it can be overwhelming to sort through all of your images. And in today’s digital age, you might be tempted to leave the photos in a Facebook album instead of displaying them in your home.
It’s true that organizing your travel photos is a lot of work. But we think these photos deserve a little love! After all, your photos are your memories, reminding you of the amazing trip you took. With that in mind, here are five easy things you can do with your travel photos that you’ve probably never thought of before.
Make Postcards
Use an online service such as Shutterfly to turn your photos into postcards or greeting cards, customized with vacation pictures from your recent trip. Keep your favorite few images on the fridge and drop the other cards in the mail. You can spread the love by sending cards to friends and family, meaning that the photos can be enjoyed but they won’t be cluttering up your house. And if you forgot to purchase postcards on your trip, no worries — you’ve got some now!
Eat Them
Yes, you heard that right — you can turn your favorite pictures into sugar cookies or a bakery cake. Maybe this option won't last the longest, but it's a fun and unique way to celebrate your recent tirp. Many online businesses, like Gourmet Cookie Bouquets, create custom-made sugar cookies with a photo of your choice on the front. And some large grocery stores or bakeries will put your picture on top of a cake. Cookies or a cake with your travel photos make a great way to celebrate a birthday or other family holiday.
Coloring Book
Make your photos into a travel-themed coloring book! Really Color lets you upload photos to create coloring pages or a full coloring book. They can be used just for fun and are also ideal as wedding or party favors (want to share shots of your destination engagement? Create a coloring book for wedding guests). And with online tools like Really Color, it’s easy and painless to upload your images and make the book. The finished coloring book can act as a coffee table conversation starter or be gifted to young and old alike.
Calendar
Can’t choose just one photo? You don’t have to — making a customized photo calendar is a way to use anywhere from 12 to 70-plus pictures from your trip. With this calendar, you can enjoy pictures from your vacation all year long. Use a service such as Walgreens (which has several different options for calendar size and style) or Shutterfly to create your calendar; then hang your creation on the fridge for the whole family to enjoy, or next to your desk at work. If you’re not the paper-calendar type of person, go digital with a platform like DAKboard — a customizable digital wall calendar that shows photos, weather updates, news, and more. Making a photo calendar is a fun way to remember the memories made on your trip long after you’re back at home.
Playing Cards
Do you enjoy a good game of rummy or Go Fish? Make your own playing cards with travel photos on the back. Make Playing Cards.com delivers around the world and offers custom playing cards, custom game cards, custom plastic cards, and boxes. Whether you keep the cards for yourself or use them as a Christmas stocking stuffer, photo playing cards are a great method of storing and enjoying those travel photos that you weren’t sure what to do with.
Feature Image Credit: Sunny Au8ust /Unsplash