Well-executed family calendars can be fun and beautiful mementos of your year ahead. Learn valuable tricks and make your calendar a creative place to show your love.
Anyone can make a personalized family calendar by gathering an unrelated hodgepodge of photographs to showcase twelve months of memories. The harder part is making a memorable calendar that your in-laws will proudly hang on their wall for years to come.
Pictures make the calendar, so selecting photos that look good, fit together, and set the right tone is crucial. Need a place to start? These tips will help you curate your best calendar yet.
A good rule of thumb is to look for seasonally appropriate photos. A picture from the family ski trip smack-dab in the middle of July will confuse your relatives and detract from the calendar’s aesthetic.
Don’t make something disorganized by matching that vacation picture in Bermuda with the frigid month of January. Images that conform with the season add up to a harmonious calendar, so it’s best to save the ski trip pictures for the winter months.
Holidays provide convenient markers for each season. Who in your family made the most unique Halloween costume? Use October to showcase their creativity. November presents the opportunity for the annual family Thanksgiving photo, and any summertime barbeque photos will fit well with June, July, or August.
A fantastic way to set a tone for a season is with a landscape shot. The reds and yellows of fall, the budding greens of spring, and the stark beauty of winter can all create beautiful backdrops for any family photo.
The May photo could be a picturesque moment from your family’s Memorial Day picnic at the cabin by the lake — the memorable vista will get everyone excited for summer and quality time with the family.
Everyone loves a little attention, and the calendar is the perfect platform to give each family member a month’s worth of pep in their step. An individual portrait can coordinate with the family member’s birthday month or accomplishments. A photo can commemorate a graduation, first steps, or any other special event that got the family buzzing with excitement.
A family calendar can make #tbt (that’s Instagram/Twitter speak for Throwback Thursday) last an entire month by breathing new life into old family photos — everyone loves a little nostalgia!
A fun way to put a new twist on older photos is by recreating them. Sunny Skyz featured a particularly ambitious set of brothers who made an entire calendar from recreated childhood photos. Recreating photos can even add a dose of fun family time to the calendar-making process.
Another way to pay homage to old photos is with black-and-white images. An original picture from your grandparents’ wedding can mark the month of their 60th wedding anniversary. By converting current photos to black and white, you can intersperse old family photos with new ones. In an instant, the calendar takes on a classic look.
With these fun ideas in mind, a tasteful and unique family calendar is only a few clicks away. The first step is to enlist the help of Printique, where there are dozens of templates to choose from. With Printique, you can easily create professional-looking, memorable calendars that will bring a smile to your face all year long.