It takes a lot of organizing and planning to have a family photo session. You get the photos back and then maybe frame a couple for a wall or the mantle. But then what? Are there other fun things to do with family photos? Why, yes, there are! Thank you for asking!

After your family photo session, it can be overwhelming to pick the photos you love best and then decide what to do with them. We’ll give you more than enough options so you can use even more of those gorgeous shots.

We’ve written about what to do with your family photos before, but there are a lot more options now and it just keeps expanding. It’s time for an update!

No matter the family photo session you have, these fun ideas will make your photos make even more people happy!

And before we get started, if you need more proof that your photos are awesome, just take a look at this site dedicated to awkward family photos. If you need a good laugh, you’re in for one. (A reminder: those photos are submitted by the families so no one is getting their feelings hurt.)

(Please note that we won’t link to any printers, etc. for any of this. It’s easy to find people who create this work by doing a simple google search. We don’t want to seem like we’re endorsing one creator over another. One thing we will ask of you: look locally first. Buying local matters, and as a local business, we’re sure appreciative of people who understand that.)

Now onto these fun ideas for your family photos… (and some of them are also just funny… or could be.)

Wrapping Paper

Yep. People have been sending holiday cards made from their family photos for years. You know the ones… they don’t even sign them or write anything on them. ((ha)) Now you can get your photos turned into wrapping paper. This might even be a great excuse to have a family photo shoot that is holiday themed every year. And now you won’t need to write a little tag because extended family and friends will know who the gifts are from.

Fun Ideas for Holidays

Besides wrapping paper, you can, of course, create an ornament from your family photos. Again, another reason to have yearly photo shoots. You can have your family photos printed onto fabric and you could make a tree skirt, stockings, ANYTHING from that fabric (if you have some basic sewing skills, that is). Ugly sweater contests could be taken to a whole new level! Just imagine what you could do with some glitter and pompoms. (Okay… just so you know, there was no whiskey involved in the writing of this post. We’re just being silly. And we encourage you to be silly too.)

Coloring Books

You can get your photos turned into line drawings and then made into coloring books. If you have small children, this could be one of the extra fun ideas. And what a great keepsake to look back on years from now.

Different Sized Photo Books

You can have these printed in any size, all the way to super mini. As in, fits in the palm of your hand. You can carry them around with you or have them next to your bed or give them away to loved ones. Tiny is an extra FUN idea!

Fun Ideas for Jewelry

Necklace lockets have always and forever been a thing, but there are plenty of other ways you could turn photos into jewelry. Firstly, you could have photos made into pendants that could be used for a necklace or earrings or a bracelet. You could have multiple photos made into a charm bracelet. (This could be a great gift for that child who’s leaving for college.)

Think Outside the Frame

You can also get your photos printed on something other than paper for display on the wall. For example, a beautiful piece of wood, or if you’re in Erie, a piece of driftwood might be cool. You could purchase wooden boxes and have the photo printed on that and then give those out as gifts. They would make great jewelry boxes.

Phone Cases

Who doesn’t want a super unique phone case? You can get them custom printed with your favorite photos!

Fun Ideas for Food

Did you know you can get anything printed on a cake? Or on some iced cookies? If you have multiple kids, they could each have their own personalized birthday treats! Or if you’re having a baby shower or a wedding or a family reunion… those could be great opportunities to dig out old family photos and put them on baked goods. You can even get them on marshmallows and m & m’s! ((WHAT?!?))

Cuddly Things

You can get blankets made, sure, but also head shaped pillows (this is another one that is making us giggle). You can have your child’s face put on dolls and plushies. Or you could put your face on one of those for your child.

Fun Crafts to Do with Your Family Photos

Here we will provide some links so you can see HOW to do these things.

Is your child always outside and always dirty? How funny would it be to put them in a soap dispenser. Go here for details.

You can make your own family clock. Go here for more info on how to make a personalized picture clock.

You could include the whole family in making a big collage. A little side note here: we don’t recommend just sticking your photos to the wall. This seems to be something people are doing and well, it’s not going to last in terms of looking nice. The edges will start to curl. There’s dust to contend with. And then how are you sticking them and what will that do to the wall over time? If you’re making a collage, create it on something else. Here are 32 DIY photo collage ideas.

What to do with old family photos

Old family photos are history and they’re precious but what to do with them? Here’s a great article about saving them physically and/or digitally with lots of why and how to.

As always, we’d love to hear fun ideas from you! Have you done something extra creative or extra ingenious with your family photos? Do share!