Create picture-perfect personal gifts this Christmas

Personalised Christmas picture gifts are the perfect way to show someone special how important they are – after all, there’s nothing quite as precious as a happy memory. From wall art and furnishings to keepsake books and top-of-the-range digital photo frames, it’s easy to create personal, high quality presents that will raise a smile all year round – all you need is a digital camera.

eCards and personalised animations

Gone are the days when eCards were impersonal – and often garish – affairs. Now you can send a special message to anyone anywhere in the world with special features making your gesture even more thoughtful. From simply including a favourite image, to superimposing a picture of your loved-one’s face over the body of a famous celebrity to raise a smile, a host of websites will allow you to quickly and very easily create your perfect eCard. And for bigger laughs try a personalised animation service, which will see your loved ones transformed into anything from a dancing elf to Romeo and Juliet.

Digital photo frames

Why display just one photograph when you can showcase dozens? Digital photograph frames allow you to display a slideshow of your most cherished photos – often with beautiful transitions between pictures – and make a great gift if you just can’t choose your favourite. Such frames come with all the software you need to upload and adjust your images (but there are plenty of how-to guides online) and make a perfect, personalised gift. By combining a selection of photos you could document a relationship, or the early years of a little one, or simply put together a whole host of pictures from shared good times, guaranteed to make your recipient smile.

Photos on canvas

Turn precious pictures into works of art by having them reproduced on to a canvas, just like a real painting. Canvas art websites allow you to choose from hundreds of shapes, sizes and finishes, and will guide you through the creation process with easy-to-use ‘virtual canvas’ software – some even offer ‘virtual room’ features, so you can see how your artwork will look on the wall before you make a purchase.

Photo books

A modern take on the traditional photograph album, photo books allow you to keep your digital pictures close to hand and beautifully presented. Simply upload your pictures and have fun assembling them into the perfect order, ready for high quality printing in books of whatever size, shape and style you want. Many services will allow you to add your own captions, or even embossing on the front of the book to make your gift that bit more personal.

Printing onto fabric

Think outside the box – quite literally – and have your favourite photos printed on to cushion covers, bags, purses and anything else covered in fabric. Turn sofas into talking points and handbags into happy thoughts; whether you choose a single image, or a collage of your favourites, photo printing onto fabric makes for cool and functional unique gifts.

To take quality photos worthy of showing off, invest in a new digital camera from John Lewis.4

This is a sponsored post.