5 Ideas for Themed Year-in-Review Photo Books

This time last year, we posted about making your year-in-review photo books in 5 easy steps. After all, there isn’t a person on Earth who’s not reflective this time of year, and the transition to the New Year provides a great excuse to organize memories from the last twelve months. If you want to create a year in review to remember this past year, it’s key to break it down into bite-size steps since the process can be daunting – especially since many of us have become gluttonous when it comes to taking and hoarding photographs. Paring down the pics into a flip-worthy book takes some serious discipline.

So if looking back over the year and thinking of everything you want to remember, consider choosing one dominant theme. Think about one thing that represented either the largest amount of your time this year – or the biggest portion of your heart. Here are a few of my favorite themes that can become a representation of your entire year.

A Year in Food Whether you’re a lone cook, experimenting solo in the kitchen to create dishes for family and friends; an avid photographer of food eaten at every restaurant or diner you’ve ever frequented; or a part of a dinner club where friends make and share meals together weekly or monthly, consider making food the theme of your year in review. Simply create a folder in which you place all your food pics, then upload them to the Mixbook editor. Flow them into a template chronologically using the auto-fill feature, then manually edit to make sure they fall right where you want them. Add captions, recipes or menu names to customize your book and remember all the great meals you enjoyed in a year.

A Year in Style If you or your children – or the whole family! – is ultra fashion-minded, it can be fun to create an album that tracks the outfits over time. It may seem slightly silly now, but twenty years from now it will be priceless to look back over all the ways you all got ready for the day over the course of an entire year. From hairstyles and party clothes to Halloween costumes and prom gowns, the clothes we choose to wear will capture much that goes unspoken – and that will carry meaning (good for both hilarity and poignancy) long into the future.

A Year in Sneakers Whether you’re an avid CrossFitter, a marathoner or you’re always on the field or in the local sports complex with your kids, consider creating a year-in-review album dedicated to all the sweat, blood and tears you poured into your devotion this past year. There’s nothing more validating, inspiring and motivating than reviewing your sustained efforts over time. You never know, the images organized this way may even reveal some previously unnoticed growth. You may see that your form changed, your child’s gaze became more confident, or you actually formed a couple new muscles over time. Go you!

A Year in the Office Whether you’ve got an incredibly close-knit team in the workplace, or you’re working hard to build that camaraderie, a year-in-review photo book is a great way to capture all the strides made in one year in the office. From parties and travel to corporate off-sites and candids, a lot of photos can accumulate during the year. And until you look at them all in one photo book, the memories can sort of get lost in the constant frenzy of tasks to be done. But if you take the time to create the book, and print out a few copies for the office – or one for each employee – you’ll start to see bonds being made, connections getting stronger, and morale growing.

A Year in Love If you take lots of pictures like most of us, chances are there’s a lot of love to be found. Consider creating a photo book that features moments with family and friends that feature big hugs and plenty of smooches. You can’t imagine the restorative power of flipping through a book like this when you’re having a meh day. Knowing those days will come – even in a fresh new year, this is one way to bottle the good stuff. Your year-in-love photo book is perfect to make for one special someone, or for an entire family or friend group. Add captions as you wish – or let the love speak for itself!

Happy Mixbooking! Happy Remembering!