my favorite gift to give

For three years in a row, I have chosen my top twelve pictures for a beautiful family calendar. The first year I made the calendar just for our family but the grandparents all saw that calendar and loved it so much that I made a mental note for the next year. So the next year, Mimi and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa H and Oma Zina all got their own Grovestead calendar. And then this year I made a second calendar for my mom's 70th birthday filled with pictures of her grandkids. It turned out so adorable that I decided to give this same cousin-filled version to my nieces for Christmas so they would have fun pictures of their cousins hanging in their room all year long.

These are absolutely my favorite gift to give. The pictures are beautiful but mostly the gift is just so personal and reinforce the joy of family.

I order mine through Shutterfly and could not be more pleased. There are all sorts of layouts to choose from, but I always go for the one picture, very clean, no text option. Their program is easy to use and their service was super speedy. You can order your own calendar here and get 40% off until January 4th!

It's now the new year, but you can still order a personal calendar for 2017. Or just tuck this idea away for next year...and consider your next year's christmas shopping for grandparents and nieces and nephews done! And now you can use the next eleven months to take beautiful pictures of your family.