Why old photos make the best gift for grandma
Grandparents usually have everything they need. What they don't have is their wedding photo without the crease down the middle, or the only picture of their own mother looking like it did in 1950. A restored family photo costs little, can't be bought in a store, and is often the gift that gets the longest look on Christmas morning.
BeforeAfter8 gift ideas
- 1
Her wedding photo, restored and framed
The single most loved choice. Restore the creases and fading, print it at 8×10 or 11×14, and frame it. Restore old photos can size the file for the frame in the same step.
- 2
Her parents or grandparents, in color
A black-and-white portrait of the generation before her, colorized, often lands hardest of all: it can be the first time she has seen them in color. Give the black-and-white original alongside it.
- 3
A then-and-now pair
An old photo of her as a girl next to a recent one, or the same house or beach decades apart, in a double frame.
- 4
A photo book of restored family photos
Restore ten to thirty photos from the family box and print them as a book. Add a line under each with names, places and years, which turns it into a record the whole family will want.
- 5
A large canvas or framed print for the living room
A favorite family photo at 16×20 or bigger. Small, old prints need restoring and enlarging first, or they print soft; see why photos print blurry.
- 6
A 2027 calendar of family photos
Twelve restored photos, one for each month, with birthdays marked. Most photo printers make calendars and they ship well into December.
- 7
The whole family archive, scanned and saved
Scan the box of prints and give them to her, and to the rest of the family, on a USB stick or in a shared album. Less glamorous, but it means the photos can never be lost.
- 8
A memory box with a restored photo on the lid
A keepsake box with a restored photo printed on or framed in the lid, for letters, recipes and cards.
How to get the photos without spoiling the surprise
- Ask another relative. Aunts, uncles and cousins often have copies of the same photos.
- Photograph prints on a visit. Lay them flat near a window, flash off, phone straight above, and put them back where they were. That is enough to restore from.
- Look in shared family albums, old Facebook posts and genealogy sites, where relatives often upload scans.
- Borrow the album "to look through it" and scan it at home.
When to order
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| November | What to do: Find and scan or photograph the photos. |
| By late November | What to do: Restore and colorize them. With Resly each takes about 20 seconds. |
| By early December | What to do: Order prints, books and calendars. Photo printers get busy and slow in December. |
| Mid-December | What to do: Frame the prints, or pick them up from a local print shop if you left it late. |
Check your print service's own holiday deadline. Local same-day print shops are the fallback for a last-minute print.
BeforeAfter