• Photo calendars make memorable and useful gifts and can be made two ways. The first is to gather photos and affix them to a blank calendar template, using adhesives such as tape or glue. The second way to make a photo calendar is to use an online photo printing source. These photo processing stores allow you to upload your photos into a template. The calendar will then be printed and bound.
  
  

Showcase a Vacation

• Using favorite photos from a vacation will allow a walk down memory lane every time the calendar is viewed. Choose those photos you love best from a past vacation. If you have more photos than available months, a photo collage can be made for some of the months.
  
  

A Collection of Favorite Things

• Love cars? Horses? Vintage storefronts? Look through your photos and see if there is a theme. Use these photos to show what you love, month after month. If there are not enough photos of a favorite animal, place or hobby, use the calendar project as an excuse to go take some more.
  
  

Calendar of Birthdays

• Use the people in your life to create a photo calendar, putting a photo of the people in the month in which their birthday falls. This gives the recipient of the calendar a visual reminder of each month's birthdays.
  
  

Era Calendar

• Create a calendar with a specific era in mind. Your child's baby pictures, your grandmother's wedding or pictures from "the good old days" will bring warm memories to the recipient of the calendar.
  
  

Considerations

• Creating a calendar is a designing project. Keeping basic design principles in mind will aid in making the calendar pleasing to the eye. Using photos that are cohesive in theme, coloring or style will make the calendar look more professional. For example, using all black-and-white photos or closeups of flowers will help bring a polished look to the calendar.
  
  If the photos you want to use are too old or are the only copies of the picture, make duplicates. You can take the photo to a professional photo processing center and have it make a duplicate. You can make a copy with a copier machine, but the resulting copy will be on regular paper and be noticeable that it is not a real photograph. So scan it or take a picture of the picture.
  
  Place the picture on a flat surface near a window, allowing natural light to wash over the photo. Turn your flash is off, and focus as closely (and straight-on) as possible on the photo with the camera to eliminate the need for cropping. This process might take some experimenting, but is worth the effort if you want to keep older photos in their original condition.