If you’re looking for a gift that lasts a lifetime, Mixbook might be the perfect choice. It’s not your average photo book. Over the years, I’ve made dozens of scrapbooks, both the digital kinds and the old-fashioned, do-it-yourself kinds. (You know — crop the photos, decorate the pages with stickers and paper, and then write some cute notes.) While I enjoy the crafty scrapbooks, the digital ones are so much faster, take significantly less space, and are easier to bring with you to show off your latest travels and adventures.
And right now is the best time to test them out. Today through December 19, you can save up to 50% off, plus an extra 10%.
You can make memories albums, calendars, cards, and other unique gifts on Mixbook. I tried both the computer and app versions for albums, and the computer version for the calendar and card.
How To Make Your Photobook
Mixbook App
While I was a little apprehensive about making my book on my phone, I downloaded the Mixbook app and dove right in. The book was dedicated to a great vacation in Branson with my college-aged daughter and her roommates. I’m giving it to them for Christmas.
Before you get started, I would take a look at the tips and tricks the app has to offer. The suggestions walk you through just about any question you might have.
If you’re looking for which book to select, I usually pick the hard cover or the hard cover layflat version. They hold up really well through lots of page turns. Then, you have so many designs to choose from. There is definitely one for every type of life event or trip. I chose the modern colored canvases.
Next up, loading the 60 pictures from my phone. It took a few minutes and loading on my laptop was faster for me. But it depends on your phone storage and Wi-Fi connections. When placing the photos in your book, make sure to tap on the selected spot you want the photo to go or you will just keep replacing the same photo. The undo function will become your best friend.
Once the photos were placed, it was time to add the comments and stickers. Both were super easy and intuitive. When you’re finished, go through it one more time and then add it to your cart. Easy as pie!
My favorite part about the app is you can make the book during your trip when the experiences are fresh in your mind. I always like to take notes during a vacation so I don’t forget any of the details. This might sound a little over the top, but years later when you’re trying to remember that sushi place or that resort, it’s right there in your book. You can even type a few details into the book and finish it when you get home — or on the long flight or road trip home! The premade layouts help you focus on your design and take out some of the guesswork.
Mixbook Website
I think part of the reason I prefer my laptop to create books is because I like to see everything larger. Blame it on my aging eyes! But in all fairness, I’ve only ever made books on my computer, so the app was not as familiar.
I decided to make another holiday gift book for my goddaughter’s first trip to the beach. Like I mentioned, the photo upload was done in seconds. I Air Dropped them from my iPhone to my Mac, but I also added additional photos from my Google Drive. This upload was also very easy and fast.
Everything about the books are customizable; from the size of the book to the fonts you use, right down to the type of pages you want. I’ve done both matte and glossy. I decided on glossy this time. I think the pictures are sharper.
Another great feature that saves time is the autofill function. This would work best if you uploaded photos each day of your trip. Personally, I prefer to place the pictures myself. However, if order doesn’t matter to you, autofill is the way to go!
My favorite part about Mixbook is you can share your project with other people and they can add photos and make edits. This saves time on people sending you photos. They can just pop them in the project and you can work on it together. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve wasted getting photos from folks when they could just log on, upload the photos, and even put in their own captions.
Pro Tip: The one thing to keep in mind — only one person can edit at a time.
More Mixbook Gift Ideas
Photo Calendars
Another holiday gift I typically give to my mom is a calendar. I mark all important birthdays and events on it. Each month is highlighted with photos of the birthday boy or girl. It’s fun to look back over the years and these are my mom’s favorite gifts. As a matter of fact, she keeps all of these calendars!
This calendar had a few differences from other calendars I’ve made. But with practice, it became easy to use and I even invited my family to add their own photos.
Holiday Cards
And one last thing I tried out was their Christmas card designer. The process was very simple and comparable to other sites I’ve used. They had plenty of great designs to choose from as well.
I’m so excited to give these gifts this year. It’s so much fun to relive the memories found in the pages of your books and calendars.
To continue gift shopping, check out:
