A personalised Christmas gift, even at the last minute
It's 20 December and you're one gift short. The printed album won't arrive in time (allow 5 to 7 business days for production and shipping), but all is not lost. Two options hold up until the 24th: the digital version of the album, to create with your photos and print at home, and the gift card, given on the day and turned into an album later, at the recipient's own pace.
A few examples that work for this case
Last-minute Christmas gift ideas that don't look last-minute
The trouble with a last-minute gift is less the time than the look of it: everyone recognises the gift set grabbed at the drugstore on the 23rd. The ideas below can be ordered or made in a few hours without looking like a backup plan.
1.A gift card for a personalised colouring book
You pick the format, write a short note, and the card lands in your inbox as a PDF right after payment. The recipient then picks their photos and gets their printed book, shipping included, any time within 12 months. The one catch: they don't see the book on the 25th, they create it afterward.
2.The digital version of the book
You build the book with your photos just as you would the printed one, and receive a PDF instead: cover, colour pages and pages to colour. Print it at home or at a print shop, or give it on a tablet. It's £9.99 for 12 photos.
3.An outing with e-tickets
A concert, a play, a museum or theme park visit. The tickets arrive by email and fit in an envelope. Check the available dates before you buy.
4.A handwritten IOU
A dinner you cook, a day of babysitting, a walk together. It costs almost nothing. Set the date when you give it, or the promise gets forgotten.
5.A homemade treat
Cookies, hot fudge sauce, jam, herb salt in a jar. One afternoon in the kitchen is enough, and a nice label does the rest.
6.A gift card to a shop they love
Their favourite bookstore, florist or neighborhood restaurant. Less personal on paper, but it works if you choose the place carefully rather than the closest one.
Gift card or digital version: which one when Christmas is close?
The gift card fits when the recipient has their own photos and enjoys choosing: a parent, a friend, an adult who colours. You give the full book, printed and shipped, without sorting their photos for them. It arrives in your inbox right after payment, you hand it over yourself, and it stays valid for 12 months.
The digital version fits when you're the one with the photos, say for a child or for grandparents. You build the book, download the file from your order page as soon as the pages are ready, and have something to show on the day. The limit: it isn't the bound book, and a home print on regular paper doesn't make the same object.
The PDF isn't a dead end. For 30 days, you can order the printed version of that same book, and the digital price is deducted: in total, you pay what a printed book ordered directly would cost, and you keep the file. Giving the PDF at Christmas and printing the book in January costs nothing extra.
How to present a digital gift under the tree
An email doesn't unwrap. Print the gift card, which comes in A5 size (close to half a letter sheet) with the recipient's name, your note and a QR code leading to the page where it's redeemed. Fold it into an envelope and put it in a small box with some coloured pencils. The package has some heft, and the recipient gets right away that a colouring book is waiting.
For the digital version, print just the cover, one colour page and the colouring page opposite it. Slip them into a card folder with a note explaining what comes next. A child has something to colour on Christmas morning, an adult gets a taste of the whole book.
If you're far away, forward the card by email on the day, or send the PDF with a message. A video call while they open it stands in pretty well for wrapping paper.
How late can you order the printed book before Christmas?
The printed book is made on demand: allow 5 to 7 business days between order and shipping, including a day to prepare and check the pages, then carrier transit. Weekends and public holidays don't count, and carriers are busier in December than the rest of the year.
The cutoff varies with where you live and with the carrier, which is why we don't give a single date for everyone. When you order, the estimated delivery date appears in the order summary before you pay. If it lands before the 24th with some margin, the printed book is still doable. If it's too tight, go straight to the gift card or the PDF rather than betting on the carrier.
Our tip for the last minute
If you want something to unwrap on the 25th, print the digital version on nice paper and slip it into a sleeve. If you'd rather keep the surprise without stressing over printing, give the gift card: the recipient then picks their photos and receives their printed album in early January, which stretches Christmas out a little.
Recommended format
24-page book, £34.99
Hardback
Digital or gift card, the 12-photo format stays the most versatile for a last-minute gift.
See the last-minute optionsHow we make your book
Printed on demand by our print partner, close to your delivery address. Square 21.6 cm format, 90 gsm uncoated inner paper that holds pencils and water-based markers well, hardback on the 12 and 24-photo formats (saddle-stitched on the 6-photo format).
- 21.6 cmsquare format
- Stays flat when open on the table, the right size for colouring.
- 90 gsmmatte uncoated paper
- A grain that grips coloured pencils and won't bleed with markers.
- Soft or hardcover
- Softcover for the 6 photo format, rigid hardback for the 12 / 24.
- 5 to 7days to ship
- Printed as a single copy by a professional printer, then shipped with tracking.
Frequently asked questions
How late can you order to be delivered before Christmas?
The printed album needs 5 to 7 business days before shipping: about 1 day to prepare and check the visuals, then 4 to 6 days of on-demand printing, with carrier transit added on top. Check the delivery estimate before ordering for Christmas and allow extra time during the holiday season. Beyond that, switch to the digital version (available now, to print yourself) or the gift card, both valid right up to 24 December.
How do you avoid the last-minute rush next year?
Gather your photos as early as November, while it's on your mind: it's often the step that drags. Order before the first weekend of December rather than waiting. And if you're giving to several people, group your orders on the same day so you're not chasing deadlines one by one.
How does the digital version work?
You create the album with your photos just like the paper version, and you receive a print-ready file. It's yours to print at home, at a print shop, or to give as is on screen. It's the fastest solution when Christmas is a few days away.
How does the gift card work for the recipient?
They receive a card in their name, pick their photos whenever they like, and their printed album ships within 5 to 7 business days, plus carrier transit. Ideal when you're short on time but want to give the full album, not a watered-down gift.
How long is the gift card valid?
12 months from the purchase. The recipient feels no pressure to pick photos over the holidays: they can wait until January, or even next summer, and order once they've found the right pictures. Everything is paid in advance, shipping included, so they have nothing to pay.
Can I get the digital version printed later?
Yes, for 30 days after the PDF is ready, from your order page. The price you paid for the digital version is deducted from the printed book, so you don't pay twice. The book then follows the usual timeline: 5 to 7 business days before shipping, then carrier transit.
Can the gift card be sent straight to the recipient?
The card goes to your inbox, not theirs, because you're the one giving it. You can forward it by email on the day or print it to hand over in person. The recipient's name and your note appear on the card, and the code works wherever they live, among the countries we ship to.
Our personalised books made from your photos
Three ways to turn your family photos into an activity book, from free colouring to guided play.
- Personalised colouring bookEach photo becomes a colour keepsake page and the same scene to colour freely.
- Personalised colour by numberYour photos as numbered zones with a colour legend: guided colouring, true to the memory.
- Personalised dot to dotThe drawing of your photo appears as you connect the numbers, then gets coloured in.
Ready to create your book?
Every page is checked before printing.
See the last-minute optionsRead more
Practical guide
Everfold, My Colorful World, Us in Colors and Memory Pencil: one page per photo, or two?
Everfold, My Colorful World and Us in Colors turn each photo into one black-and-white line-art page. Memory Pencil, which wrote this comparison, makes two: a colour reference page of the memory, then the same scene to colour.
Practical guide
How to choose a dot-to-dot book your child will actually finish
Between a child just discovering numbers and one who can follow a long sequence, the right book is not the same. Real difficulty, readability, number of dots, themes: the guide to choosing well.
Other ideas you may like
Personalised Christmas gift from a photo
Your family photos turned into a colouring book to gift at Christmas. One colour page and one page to colour per photo. Delivered before Christmas.
Christmas gift for kids
Under the tree this year: a unique colouring book made from your family photos, delivered before Christmas.