I’m breaking down the gift my family asks for every single year: The Pinhole Press Large Wall Photo Calendar.
In this episode I walk you through how I use a simple 12-photo calendar to stay intentional with our memories, make gifting easier, and actually use the photos sitting on my camera roll.
For the last decade, I’ve made the same gift every year: a personalized wall calendar filled with photos from our year.
It’s simple, it’s deeply personal, and it has quietly become part of our family’s legacy — for my kids and their grandparents.
In this episode I share:
- Why this “same every year” gift never gets old
- How I organize and find photos without overwhelm
- The GOOD TIMES mnemonic I use to pick the right 12 photos
- How to customize versions for different branches of your family
- Small habits you can start now to make next year’s calendar a breeze
And yes — I asked Pinhole Press for a discount code for you: use FOL15 at checkout for 15% off your order at pinholepress.com.
Key Takeaways
- Reframe “photo gifts” as a 12-photo project. You don’t need to make 10 books or hundreds of prints — one calendar + one photo per month is a doable, meaningful gift.
- The same structure, new memories. The gift doesn’t change (a wall calendar), but the photos, milestones, and stories do — making it an annual time capsule everyone looks forward to.
- Photo calendars are quiet connection builders. Grandparents and faraway family see your kids every day on their wall, and your kids see those relatives and remember who they are.
- Systems make memory-keeping easier. Simple folders, clear file names, and a “For Calendar” album mean you’re never starting from scratch when it’s time to design.
- You can start prepping next year’s calendar now. A dedicated “2026 Calendar” album on your phone is a tiny habit that will save you so much stress later.
- Use GOOD TIMES to choose your photos fast. This simple mnemonic helps you pick the most meaningful images without overthinking:
GOOD TIMES =
- G — Gift
- Who is this calendar for?
- Start with your base calendar, then swap in photos that feature the recipient (e.g., “Papa Jeffrey”) in their version.
- O — Only the best
- Skip the blurry photos, near-duplicates, and outtakes.
- Choose the clearest, most expressive image from each moment.
- O — One image
- You only need one photo per month.
- Pick it and move on — don’t spiral in decision fatigue.
- D — Details
- Close-ups of little hands holding frogs, muddy boots, birthday candles — tiny details can tell a whole story.
- T — Theme
- Let the month guide you: seasons, birthdays, trips, traditions, holidays.
- January = a birthday kid; July = beach or backyard; December = cozy or festive.
- I — Iconic moments
- The MVP moments: the photo you’d be sad not to print.
- Think: the shot you’d frame if you had to choose just one.
- M — Milestones
- First bike ride, lost tooth, first day of school, new job, new home.
- These belong in your calendar so you can see growth at a glance.
- E — Emotion
- Ask: what do I feel when I look at this image?
- Choose photos that radiate joy, coziness, wonder, play, whatever you want that month to evoke.
- S — Story
- If one image gives you time, place, people, and feeling — that’s your winner.
- Keep the narrative tight: think of the calendar as a 12-chapter story of your year.
How I Organize Photos for Easier Calendars
If I’m using my DSLR / “fancy camera”
- Store photos on an external hard drive.
- Create a folder for each year.
- Inside that, create folders for each photo day, named like this:
2025-01-09_Papa-Jeffrey-Visited2025-06-21_Frog-Catching-At-Farm
- Always start with:
- Year–Month–Day (using 01–12 for months so they sort chronologically)
- Then add a short description of what happened.
- When it’s calendar time, I can quickly scan the year’s folder and instantly see our timeline and key memories.
If you only use your phone
- Start at the beginning of the year and scroll through by date.
- As you go, favorite or select the standout images and add them to an album called:
For Calendaror2025 Calendar
- Use your phone’s built-in search to find photos faster by:
- Date (e.g., August 26, 2025)
- Location (e.g., “Disney”, “Cape Cod”)
- Keyword (e.g., “frog”, “pond”, “beach”)
- People (facial recognition in Apple Photos / Google Photos).
- Pro tip for next year:
- Create a
2026 Calendaralbum now and drop in “MVP” photos as the year goes — future-you will be so grateful.
- Create a
Why Photo Calendars Make the Best Yearly Gift
- The gift stays in their life all year, not just on one holiday morning.
- Kids get excited to flip to the new month and talk about what they were doing “last year.”
- Grandparents and faraway family see your kids daily and feel included in their lives.
- It gently nudges you to take more photos with intention because you know you’ll want one per month.
- For you, it’s a repeatable system: same structure, new stories every year.
Resources & Mentions
- Pinhole Press Photo Calendars
- Large format wall calendar (My go to choice for the last several years)
- Use code FOL15 at checkout for 15% off at pinholepress.com
- Skylight Calendar
- The digital calendar we use for daily schedules alongside our printed photo calendar.
- Intentional Memories Workshop (Coming Soon)
- A multi-week workshop in January where we’ll:
- Reflect on the year past
- Plan for the year ahead
- Set up photo organization systems
- Build intentional memory-keeping habits
- A multi-week workshop in January where we’ll:
- Join the waitlist or get started with our Intentional Memories Workbook today!
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