Special Occasion DIY Books ~ graduation, retirement, milestone birthdays, and beyond

Milestones are times to celebrate something special. Gifts that really rise to the occasion can be hard to come by, so if you’d like to think outside the gift card/money box, something meaningful and lasting is just what you need. In my experience, a personalized book is absolutely perfect.

Some of these occasions are once-in-a-lifetime, so I love pairing them with an absolutely unique gift that literally nobody else will be giving.

What to Include

Before I show you some ideas for special occasion DIY books, let’s touch on some ideas for what to include in your book.

• memories of the past and wishes for the future
• things you have learned from the person or things you appreciate about them
• words to songs
• a theme: 10 things I love About You, or Top Ten Favorites, or Things I Hope You’ll Remember
• inspiring quotes
• pictures plus! Yes, use photos, but remember you can get creative–think about items you can scan (maybe a graduation certificate) or things you can take a photo of (wedding rings).
• items unique to the person–favorite recipes, a special accomplishment, etc.
• notes from other people who love them (This can be very powerful and very special!)

This is a photo of the 40 Things We Love About You that I made (with my kids) for my husband’s 40th birthday. He loved it so much! (Even more than the grill his parents bought him!) We are 54 now, and this book still stands up in our closet, open to a different page every few weeks.

A Personalized Book for a Personalized Occasion

When we attended my niece’s baptism several years ago, we took a lot of pictures. It was a very special (once-in-a-lifetime) day for her and for her parents, so I wanted to preserve some of the sweet things that happened, testimonies shared, and pictures from the family dinner afterwards so that my niece can look back on that day for years to come.

That sparkly design was just the thing for a sparkly girl, and I loved that I could add testimonies from her parents and also the words of a beautiful, inspiring song we sang. Templates come and go as they trend, of course, so now I’d probably use the Loving These Moments template (below). You can choose individual pages to fit your needs (4 photos, a photo with text, 5 photos, etc.).

I’ve said it before, and it’s worth a repeat: One of the main reasons I use this particular company is the stunning quality of the books, but the fact that my photos in the site are private and never at risk of removal (neither is my completed book) is just the icing on the cake.

Here’s one more quick example of a personalized book for a special occasion. A gift like this is a wonderful opportunity to tell someone you’re proud of them, be excited with them, and congratulate them in a truly personal way with your own words. (I didn’t use a template for this one–I designed it myself with a digital scrapbooking software program. It was fun to use school colors.)

Again, this is just a great opportunity to TELL SOMEONE how proud you are of them and how much they mean to you, while you SHOW THEM. It’s something that becomes a treasure for years and years to come. If you aren’t up for designing your own like I did, this is a great (free) template, Graduate’s Time Capsule, but there are a host of others here for different topics.

Even a birthday can be a milestone to celebrate with a special, personalized book, like the Milestone Memories template below.

Looking Ahead to Special Occasions

What graduations, retirements, baptisms, anniversaries, milestone birthdays, bar/bat mitzvahs, or reunions are on the horizon for you? Get ready to create a gift that will beat out gift cards, flowers, and ties–something meaningful and lasting.

And I even have a gift for YOU! If you haven’t tried my favorite photo book print company yet, here’s a $20 coupon for you! There’s nothing like gifting a quality, gorgeous, personalized book from a secure website where you’ll always have a digital backup of your work, too!