When we moved to the Wirral, unpacking turned into a brutal audit of everything we owned. Boxes sealed for six months went to the charity shop. The things that found a spot in the new house were, almost without exception, the ones we’d loved in the old one.
A lot of them were personalised photo gifts. Not just in my house, but at my parents’ and in the kids’ rooms too. MYPICTURE, part of The Customization Group, has three £50 vouchers up for grabs for people who help with their research into which personalised photo gifts actually last, plus a 15% discount code for everyone who takes part. (Full details at the end of this post.)
When they asked me to pitch in, I realised I had three generations of evidence sitting around me.
The personalised photo gifts at my Nana’s
The type of photo gifts grandparents keep longest are the ones they can see or use every day.
At my mum’s there are three gifts I’ve bought over the years that have never moved. There’s a photo mug with the kids’ faces on it that she uses every morning; she says it’s the only one that makes her smile. There’s a photo calendar on the kitchen wall that we update together every January, and she tells visitors about the pictures before they’ve even asked. And there’s a framed photo print of the three kids on the hallway wall, in the exact spot where it was hung the day I gave it to her.
My mum isn’t precious about gifts. She’ll quietly recycle things she doesn’t love. These three stayed because they do what grandparents want a gift to do: show them the people they miss when the people aren’t there.
The personalised photo gifts that moved houses with us
Some personalised gifts survived our move. Those were also the ones already doing visible work in the house.
Over the sofa in our new lounge is a canvas print from a family holiday a few summers ago. Just the five of us, nothing posed, taken by a stranger who kindly waited while we corralled the kids. It’s not fine art. It’s a specific afternoon with specific people, and that’s exactly why it earned the biggest wall in the room.
On the coffee table are two photo books. One is the kids’ first big UK road trip, the other is a year of weekends out. These are the ones the kids pull off the shelf when their cousins visit, pointing out themselves at ages they can barely remember. The novelty mugs and generic prints didn’t make the move. The ones with our actual lives in them did.
The personalised photo gifts in the kids’ rooms
Kids are honest about what they keep near them. If it’s not on the bed, in the bed, or on the wall by their head, it didn’t land.
Our youngest has a personalised photo blanket on her bed with a picture of our old family dog on it. She asks for it before every nap, and the picture matters more than the fabric. The eldest has a photo cushion on her bed from last summer’s trip. And the middle one has a personalised photo puzzle of a family picture.
What I’ve learned: for kids, these aren’t decorative. They’re comfort objects. One day they’ll go with them when they leave home.
Have your say in MYPICTURE’s survey
I wrote this from inside a three-generation household, but I know everyone’s evidence looks different. If you have personalised photo gifts of your own sitting around you, I’d love to hear which ones. Take the personalised gifting survey below (it takes about 2 minutes). Everyone who participates has the possibility to win 1 of 3 £50 gift cards from MYPICTURE. Besides, all participants will get 15% off at MYPICTURE at the end.
The gifts that cross between generations are the ones that stay. Nan’s photo mug today is probably the one I’ll inherit. The canvas over our sofa will almost certainly go with one of our kids when they move out. The personalised photo gifts that last aren’t the cleverest or the most expensive. They’re the ones with the right people in them.
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