Our Year in Photos: 2020 Yearbook
Every New Year’s Day, I take a couple of hours to sit down and compile a photo book that captures our family highlights from the past year. In years past, I have always used these adorable little 4×4″ albums, printed out my own photos at home, and journaled on the back of each page. It only took a couple of hours to put together and was such a great way to reflect on the year gone by in order to prepare for the year ahead. This year I decided to use a photobook service, taking the regular couple of hours it took to compile the book to instead upload and organize the photos on a print service website. After an emotionally exhausting year, it just felt a little more feasible and I don’t regret making the shift because the heart of the practice remains the same.
Here at the Little Reesor House, we not only celebrate, but relish in the little things. I love ensuring that our photo memory books do the same. To some, the collection of images may not mean much – sometimes my year books include images of food or sunny little spots in our home. I’m a visual person and more often than not, a seemingly silly image actually holds a handful of meaning for a specific feeling or experience I (or we) had. When I’m reflecting back on my year, I like remembering all the little things too. Not just the perfectly curated reel of family vacation images and outwardly notable moments. I like seeing how we have grown and changed over the year and highlighting the moments and catalysts that contributed to it.
I also always try to include a brief written blurb or memory on the photos included in the book and organize the images chronologically by month. It’s so helpful to look back on the little moments that make up a month and the months that make up a year. When I made the albums in past years, I was able to journal a short blurb on the back of the photo in order to share the significance for future reference. Since I had my photos compiled in a book for me this year, I had to find a different solution. Instead, I wrote out a brief description of each in a document, printed it off, and folded it up to include in an envelope I pasted to the inside of the back cover. That way, it’s easy to pull out and reference if we need it, but the written components don’t take away from how striking the big images are across each page.
There are many easy to use photobook services these days, but I would personally recommend Parabo Press over any others I have tried. This book is stunning – the photos, although simply gathered from my phone library, are clear as day. The pages are soft and matte, making them feel as special as they are. I personally went with the hardcover book to ensure that it lasted over the years, but I’m sure the soft cover version would be just as beautiful. The only downside of the company is that they are US-based, which can be a little tricky when ordering from Canada. But the turn-around and shipping time was as quick as promised. I haven’t found any service in Canada that is as good of quality, so I will happily wait the four weeks again next time I place an order.
Do you print your photos? These yearly photo books are really the only time I do and whenever I look through them I am thankful that I did. We live in such an interesting time where our lives seem to primarily exist online and these beautiful, physical reminders always bring me back.
*In the interest of full disclosure, please note that some links in my posts are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase the item through this link, I may earn a small commission from the sale. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. You are not obligated to purchase any products directly through these links. If you have any questions, please reach out.
