School is over, and the long summer holidays await. So you might be wondering how to keep the kids entertained from now until the start of September? Whether you have a jam-packed agenda this summer, or a more leisurely time planned to recover from the past 12 months, Snapfish products can be personalised to add some fun into their time off school.
Perhaps you are planning a trip to your favourite beach, to playdates with friends, to summer camp, or just to the local park, whatever you end up doing this summer, the school holidays are a magical time for kids. Whatever the weather, Snapfish has some fun ideas to keep the family entertained this summer.
Personalise Playing Cards With Their Artwork Or Photos
Peel them away from the tablets and phones, and teach them some fun card games. Working on their card game strategy has a great impact on the brain and can help improve memory, lower stress levels, and improve problem-solving skills, which is beneficial for both children and adults of all ages. Create a custom playing card deck with pictures of your children or even kids’ artwork that they’ve drawn or painted to pique their interest in playing, and don’t forget to create a custom rectangular photo tin to store them in.
Forgotten the rules for those childhood card games? Don’t worry – read our card games blog post here to refresh your memory!
Create a unique art box for your budding Picasso
Another idea for creating thoughtful gifts for kids is to make a travel art tin. Made using our humble keepsake tin, it is great for those “Are we nearly there?” car journeys, and will inspire your child’s creativity. Customise the rectangular metal photo tin and fill it with crayons, felt-tips and coloured pencils; remember to pair it with a custom notebook so they have a travelling art pad, too. It’s guaranteed to stimulate any budding artist’s mind and keep them occupied on those long drives. Remember to personalise the top cover of this custom art kit with your child’s name and picture to make this art supply box feel uniquely theirs (and to avoid those back seat squabbles with their siblings as they will each have their own!).
Pro Tip: Once all the art supplies are finished, this beautiful tin will make a great storage space for all their treasured keepsakes, too! Plus, when they have created the masterpieces, you could scan or photograph them and transform them into touching gifts for friends and family who will enjoy receiving these one-of-a-kind art pieces.
Pimp their ride for a summer roadtrip:
Your car is probably one of the most overlooked spaces in your life, and yet, there’s a good chance you and the family will be spending a fair amount of time in it this summer as you take trips to the park, the each, to the grandparents. Imagine the positive impact it could have on your sanity, if you had a “roadtrip survival kit” packed away alongside the kids?
Think about customising a Metal Tin for car essentials (to stop you losing things like tissues or tiny sweets in the less-handy, further away glove box), or which can act as an emergency travel art box, or water bottles, cosy travel blankets and cushions with their names on – so you can avoid squabbles and help them settle in for those longer car journeys – and hopefully delay the “are we there yet?” question!
Read our blog for more road-trip inspiration!
Use photos to teach your kids about geography or the family tree.
Just get a map of the Europe or if you have been further afield, the World, and sort out your best holiday photos and make some pointers. Glue them onto the map so your kids can see where they’ve been – and they can start planning where they want to go in the future.
Or, if your family is scattered across a number of countries, use this idea to show where Granny and Grandad, uncles, aunts, and favourite cousins live.
Create unique DIY jigsaw puzzles using photo prints
If you’re feeling extra crafty — create your own puzzle using photos! Jigsaw puzzles are always a great way to pass the time and keep the kids out of mischief and it’s great fun to make one of your own.
You will need a large photo print or poster print, which you will need to paste onto a piece of cardboard or hardboard. Make sure you smooth the image so the glue is even and weight it down overnight to dry evenly. (You could make the puzzle harder if you use smaller prints and make a collage image). Once the glue is dry, draw a pattern onto the reverse side of the picture with a marker pen and carefully cut of the shapes, and you will have your very own personalised jigsaw puzzle featuring your pictures. Don’t forget a Ziplock bag or personalised tin to keep your puzzle pieces in so you don’t lose them!
Create a Kids Recipe Book
As well as baking with the kids this summer, how about making a keepsake kids recipe book of their favourite treats and including photos of the kids eating the results? It’s easy with the Snapfish photo book templates. We like the Farm To Table Cookbook layout, but you can add text and photos to any of our photo book templates.
Make Fun DIY Photo Frames
We have four fun ways to customise your photo displays this summer:
1. Make your own photo block print displays
It is a great way to spend a rainy day! Follow these 3 simple steps! Paint some wood offcuts and edge with matching washi tape. Choose where you would like your peg to sit on the block and then add some glue to the peg and hold down. Once your glue has dried you can add your print. With this easy fun photo block DIY, you can easily change your chosen print!
Read our blog post for more tips on how to create your DIY photo displays.
2. Create fun lollypop photo frames
This craft is very simple to make, and quick enough to keep a four year old interested and engaged, plus the end result really is sweet. To create these really cute (and really easy to make) Lolly Stick Photo Frames you’ll need Lolly Sticks – we used a mix of coloured and plain but you could paint your own ahead of time. Make sure that they are over 4 inches (10cm) long so they are larger than your prints. Then simply glue your lolly sticks together to form a right angle frame and stick the photos prints (we recommend the 4×4” photo prints you can order from the app or website) to the back.
Finally, add stickers, foam letters, pom poms or anything else you’d like to use to decorate your masterpiece!
Learn how to make lolly stick photo frames in the blog.
3. Create Colourful Photo Wall Blocks
These simple to make photo blocks will add a little colour to your walls this summer, with a little bit of paint, a few wood blocks, and your stunning photos. This simple photo hack will give you colourful Instagram wall art in no time. Just paint the edges of some wood offcuts. Don’t worry if you get paint on the flat sides since one side will face the wall and the photo will cover up the other. Once the paint is dry, apply a thin layer of PVA glue to the block and then place your photo. When your photo is in the desired position, let it dry flat. Your DIY photo blocks are ready to display on your walls – we recommend you use those easy to remove Command strips to hang them to save ay wall damage.
Read the blog for tips on how to make DIY photo blocks.
4. Create Instagram worthy print hanger displays:
To make a DIY Instagram photo frame you will need some plywood offcuts, varnish and bulldog clips. Complete the picture with your favourite 4×4” square photo prints. That’s it!
Learn how to make Instagram photo print hangers in the blog.
Create a Summer Scrapbook using custom notebooks
This year, create a special summer notebook so you can jot down notes about your holiday memories – the bakery with the perfect cakes (and photos of you eating them), or describe the sights, sounds and smells of the vibrant, dramatic sunset. Make sure you can hold onto your holiday for as long as you can by organising all of your summer holiday pictures in one place with a customised scrapbook journal and remember to add in all those stunning summer photos, cinema ticket stubs, train tickets and even the kid’s drawings/funny phrases.
Invite the kid’s friends for a back garden camping adventure
What are the necessities for a successful kid’s night camping night? Think about photo cushions and cosy fleece blankets, drinks + snacks, torches, insect repellent, playing cards, books, and anything else you’ll need for the night ahead.
Our personalised water bottles are perfect for keeping your kids and their friends hydrated all night long. These double-wall insulated bottles will keep your drinks cold for hours! Plus, by customising each bottle with the kid’s friends names or photos, there won’t be any accidental mix-ups and they get a cool take-home keepsake.
Read our blog for more custom camping tips.
Customise Outdoor Picnics At The Park or Beach With Personalised Home Decor
Create Personalised Beach Towels (which come in handy after the kids play in the local paddling pool too)
Create kid-friendly beach towels with extra ‘wow’ by adding their pictures, names, and quotes, to make their towel extra special. Our custom beach towels, available in two sizes, are luxuriously soft and absorbent. They are a stylish essential for every beach, pool, park and garden barbeque where children are likely to splash around.
Pro Tip: Create personalised beach towels for every member of the family so they can mark out their own personal poolside or beach space and avoid any seating conflict!
Order Family Picnic Blankets
Use photos of the family in our pre-made blanket designs, or create your own masterpiece. One fun idea is to create your own floor version of Noughts + crosses (or dare we say Twister) for a unique picnic blanket game to enjoy once the sandwiches have been eaten
Make Party Invites to invite your friends and family over for a BBQ
It may still be grey outside but our personalised summer party invitations will brighten ☀️ up your day! So whether you’re hosting a BBQ, garden party or children’s birthday party, we should all make the most of Summer.
And don’t forget to add some fun summer embellishments
Read our blog to see our top Summertime picks.
What will you make this summer? Share it with us on social media! You can tag us with @snapfishuk in your photos on Instagram or Facebook, or use the hashtag #snapfishuk. Don’t forget to follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest, too. Check out the Snapfish site for even more brilliant gift ideas for your kids (and their friends).