Instead of scouring the mall for gifts this holiday season why not consider using your cherished photos to create a unique personalized gift for family and friends?

There are so many ways now, made easy with online sites and programs, to create unique personal gifts using your digital photos. Photo Books offer a way of creating a high quality photo album, book bound with text and artwork options. Calendars are always a perfect little gift or stocking stuffer, what Grandmother would not love a calendar of her precious grandchildren? Online sites offer easy ways of editing pictures as well, change to black and white, sepia, antique, add frames, create post cards, stickers, blur edges, so many ways to spruce up your photos and have a little fun in the process! Place your photos on mugs, Mouse Pads, aprons, magnets, coasters, tote bags, and tee shirts. Create personalized Holiday greeting cards as well.

Another unique idea is to have a collage of your photos created. Collages are perfect unique gift ideas for anyone. Photos are blended together for a seamless look. Themes include; weddings, babies, children, parties, trips, family reunions, or anything you can think of. Collages can then be framed for display or used on Mouse Pads, calendar pages, or any other photo gift.

A calendar for the grandparents, using pictures from throughout the year and a few themed collages. New baby in the family? A baby collage printed on a Mouse Pad for the new mother or father to have for their office. A collage of wedding photos for a newlywed couple, matted and framed and tied with a red ribbon makes a lovely gift!

So this year, forget the bath salts and take the plunge into the digital era and give unique gifts that your family and friends will cherish forever!

Barbara Ryan operates Cherish Collages, a business dedicated to creating unique personal photo collage keepsakes from digital or scanned photos. http://www.cherishcollages.com, email: info@cherishcollages.com