'I love making people cry with gifts'
It may sound a little schadenfreude, but I love making people cry with presents. Take the time I penned a personal poem for each of my siblings and parents to receive on Christmas Day back home while I was living in Australia. Or when I made a playlist for my mother-in-law with 13 songs chosen by her oldest friends and closest family – complete with voice notes about why they chose each track. Cue instant waterworks.
How about when I digitised our old camcorder tapes for my family for Christmas, so my sisters could have 42 hours of footage of us three girls from our childhood to our teens, permanently rolling on a digital frame? There wasn’t a dry eye.
If you can’t already tell, I’m chronically sentimental. I’ve made quite the reputation for myself, so when it comes to big gifting moments, the pressure is on. But every time, seeing how much it means to my friends and family serves as a reminder that something personal says so much more than another last-minute gift set. A nostalgic playlist or curated photo album is a gift money can’t buy – memories bottled.
The reason presents that play on past times are so meaningful, besides the emotional sight or sound of halcyon days gone by, is the obvious time and thought it takes for someone to put them together.
Back in the day, making a mix tape on your cassette player was no mean feat. Cutting and sticking a scrap book to remember a special holiday or – heaven forbid – a chronological memory book for someone’s 60th birthday, was practically a full-time job. While old-school methods are still the most special (although you may be hard-pressed to find somewhere to play a tape), thankfully, there are now lots of time-saving ways to do the whole sentimental thing, thanks to handy shortcuts, apps and hacks.
You’ll find some practical resources and ideas below, from one time-poor sentimentalist to another. So, you can give the gift of lasting memories this year, whether your budget is big or small, and still leave enough brain space for feeding brandy to the Christmas pudding or finding the perfect turkey – yet another labour of love.
Create a living picture wall
Skill challenge: 1/5
My mum has one of these in her kitchen and us kids have put all our old childhood photos on the app, plus recent ones showing what we’re up to now. That way, Mum has a constant stream of pictures of us all to keep her in the loop, plus some golden oldies from when we were little. Although she tells me it’s highly distracting when she’s trying to work. Whoops.
Make a photo album of the year
Skill challenge: 2/5
If you don’t have the time or patience to make a photo album, you can upload photos to this website, and it makes and designs one for you. It hasn’t quite got the tea-stained, rustic feel of an old school scrap book, but it’s super quick and easy to create in comparison and just as lovely to unwrap.
If making a photobook spanning a lifetime seems a little too daunting, I like doing it for each family holiday or trip I go on, or you could create one that captures the best bits of the past year. It means that treasured quality time is immortalised forever.
Send a monthly family newsletter
Skill challenge: 3/5
This one is perfect for grandparents who may not feel as in the loop with the extended family as they’d like. It lets you build a monthly newsletter about your family’s lives based on posts you make in the app, then delivers them to loved ones to flip through.
“This subscription ensures older relatives in [my] family feel loved and included in today’s digital age,” says GH picture editor Laura Beckwith.
Curate a personalised playlist
Skill challenge: 2/5
Back to that time I made an album (read: Spotify playlist) of 13 songs for my mother-in-law's 60th birthday, chosen by those closest to her – including some of her old school friends. I asked each person to tell me why the song reminded them of her and saved those voice notes in between the audio files onto a memory stick. She now has the Spotify playlist to listen to whenever she wants, and I sent her all the voice notes on WhatsApp, so she can replay those too. Much more thoughtful than another set of smellies.
Turn their favourite lyrics into art
Skill challenge: 0/5
Music can instantly take us back in time, unlocking forgotten memories and feelings. I can be on a jog and an old song will play on shuffle, and I’m instantly reminded of a person or place in my life that’s woven into the words or melody of the song. Often, it’s awkward dancing at school discos, sleepover karaoke sessions and belting out ballads in my Nan's car on the way to school. What a time.
Framing lyrics to a loved one’s favourite song, or one you know you both love, can be a magical reminder of a moment you’ve shared. Take inspiration from GHI homes writer, Megan Geall, who got the chorus of the first song her friends danced to at their wedding framed for them for Christmas. Does it get much cuter?
Transform old family videos
Skill challenge: 1/5
Ever wondered what to do with all those old camcorder tapes sat in the garage? Getting ours developed was the best present I could’ve given my family. Not only does it provide hours of Christmas Day entertainment (that’s the Radio Times viewing schedule firmly out the window), but you can then play the videos on digital photo frames or your laptop whenever you want, so childhood memories can be made into films that you can watch time and time again. Movie magic.
Channel Steven Spielberg
Skill challenge: 5/5
It’s nowhere near as hard as it used to be to make a well-edited video, complete with personalised soundtrack. Apps like CapCut can automatically make a film on your phone in time with whatever sound you feel like adding. You can even write some words and record a voiceover for a compilation video, for full sentimental effect.
Simply select the clips you like, and the app will do the rest – you can then edit or move the slider along to include more or less of each clip. The app is free, so you can make something special for a loved one that doesn’t break the bank, and it’s a fun way to spend an hour or two. If you’re as mushy as me, anyway.
You Might Also Like
