Every family has its special holiday traditions from when they put up the Christmas tree to where they put the Minorah. Traditions are part of what make the holidays special and memorable.

Cookies & Trees

Since they first had teeth, my daughters each get a 99 cent Advent calendar with the waxy chocolate on the evening of November 30^th. They enjoy the daily candy and I enjoy it helps countdown the days until Christmas instead of being asked each day. Come to think of it, my mom did the same for me and my sister. And, while we generally skip seeing Santa at the mall, we do have breakfast with him every year. Another tradition is my father reading ‘Twas the Night before Christmas by Clement C. Moore on Christmas Eve to all of the grandkids complete with voices and sound effects. Partnered with that, is the “you get to open one gift on Christmas Eve and it’s going to be holiday pajamas” tradition. A good friend of mine has his children decorate the tree without adult interference and they spend a Saturday in the kitchen making all sorts of good treats to give to the church, neighbors and family. What special holiday traditions does your family have?

Santa Visit

From the first snow, St. Nicholas Day, breakfast with Santa, and the first night of Hanukah to the First day of winter, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and exterior illumination, December is full of photo ops. Capture your special traditions in a Holiday Traditions photo book and smile the whole year through.

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The lights, the music, the holiday cheer and the big guy in the red suit – something about the Christmas season seems to bring out the child in all of us. And while you may not look as young as you feel, you can relive the days when you did with Inkubook vintage Christmas photo books.

This year, while you’re up in the attic getting down the decorations, look around for some boxes of old photos. You’re bound to find stacks of forgotten pictures that will rekindle the memories of Christmases and haircuts past. Once you’ve collected enough pictures, simply scan them to a computer and upload them directly into an Inkubook. Vintage Christmas photo books make great presents, especially for those in the difficult-to-buy-for category.

But photo books aren’t your only option. Instead of hassling with getting the entire family together for a picture, use one of the classics for this year’s holiday greeting card. It’s sure to be one of the most unique cards anyone receives, and it’s much less embarrassing than the matching holiday sweaters families usually wear in the pictures.

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You asked for the ability to place text anywhere on the page. And now you can. You can add and remove text boxes. You can make them bigger or smaller. You can even run text boxes over images.

When you get to the editor you’ll see text boxes now have “adorners” or little circles around the perimeter. Grab the adorner and adjust the box to the location and size and shape you want it to be.

When you’re ready to type, click once, the box will turn orange and zoom in for you to enter your text.

If you want to add a text box, you’ll see new buttons in your tool bar which is either located above your book or to the left of your book. If you’re tool bars aren’t set up the way you like them, you can switch side for top or top for side, by clicking the icon next to the 1, 2 and 3 icons just below the BUY button.

Give it a try and tell us what you think.

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It’s a magical time of year for sports fans. Football season is in full swing, basketball has just tipped off, and whether you prefer the hardwood, the hockey rink or the gridiron, everyone, players and fans alike, will love Inkubook team sports books.

If your season has just begun, start taking a camera to games, practices and pep rallies to capture every aspect of your favorite sports. Collect newspaper articles and box scores to include in your book so you won’t miss a stat. If this year’s season is already in the record books or about to wrap up, make a photo book to tide you over in the offseason, or as a gift to an athlete or coach on the team.

You can include interviews with players, coaches and even referees to cover every angle of the game. Also, Inkubook has a variety of sports-themed backgrounds and art to decorate each page and help you show your team spirit.

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Your wedding day is one of the happiest days of your life. All of your friends, family and loved ones are gathered to celebrate your transition into the next phase of life. After months and months of countless hours of planning, the day itself will go by faster than you can say, “I do.”

And with all the activity and excitement it can be easy to miss out on special little moments. So, to capture everyone and every event from your reception create an unofficial wedding photo book with Inkubook.

All you need to do is place a disposable camera on each table and let your guests be the photographers. Afterwards, collect the cameras or invite others to upload their own pictures with Inkubook’s photo sharing feature. You could also include cards on the table to allow friends and family to write well wishes to the newlyweds to include in your book. While the majority of the pictures probably won’t make the cut for your official album, together they can create a fun flipbook to help you relive the more casual side of your special day.

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Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to kick off the season. It is the calm before the shopping storm that allows us to drop everything we are doing for one day to relax with family and enjoy a feast of homemade food. If your family is anything like mine you know the yearly schedule all too well; eat, watch football, eat, nap and then eat some more.

This year, sometime between seconds and thirds, or at halftime of the football game, add a new tradition into the routine. Have everyone write down what they are thankful for and begin compiling a Thanksgiving Inkubook. Include pictures from Thanksgiving dinner or find pictures of what each person is thankful for. Your book will become a cornucopia of thanks and help give some perspective heading into the craziness of the holidays.

Once you have your pictures and “thankful” pages uploaded, simply pick the dimensions of your book and the number of pages and, if you get started soon enough, come Christmas everyone will be thanking you for putting together such a creative and thoughtful photo book.

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More so than any other time of year, the holidays are about spending time with family. This is the season when everyone, whether immediate or distant relatives, clears their schedules and comes together in one place. But now, with Inkubook, you can keep the entire family in one place year-round with family tree photo books.

It seems that from Thanksgiving until New Year’s we are surrounded by family and loved ones. And in the midst of traditions, stories and family recipes, wouldn’t it be fun to take a look back to see just how you and your family came to be where you are today?

Hundreds of websites, such as Ancestry.com, exist to help you trace back your lineage. But exploring your family history can be as easy as gathering stories and pictures from other family members. Either way you will be creating a beautiful photo book that celebrates your history. And with Inkubook, shipping photo books within 7-10 business days of purchase, you could be ready to share your book by the end of the year.

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Let grandma and grandpa know they are loved with each passing month by creating a calendar of messages from your little ones. Have your children write messages and draw pictures saying things like happy birthday, Happy Valentines’ Day or simple messages like “Hi”, “I love you” and “I can’t wait to see you this summer”. If your kids are very young, you can write the messages and have them color them in. When you have 12 messages complete, take a picture of your child holding up each one. Consider changing outfits to match the season or switching locations. Then, upload the photos and build a calendar.

When you use Inkubook you can choose seasonal and holiday backgrounds to correspond with the months or you can choose all white or black for a sleek look and allow the images to stand on their own. Have the kids help with the calendar design and make it a gift from everyone.

Grandma and grandpa will smile and feel loved each time they flip the page of their very special gift.

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Veterans Day is a reminder of all the service members, past and present, who have given so much to our country. What better day to start working on a gift that can show how grateful you are?

When you can’t be there in person to say “thank you,” an Inkubook goes for you. So, honor a veteran in your family, or show your deployed service member that they’re in your thoughts by creating a beautiful keepsake with the help of Inkubook.

Gather up photos that tell the story of what’s been happening while they’ve been overseas — your town’s Veterans Day parade would make a great photo op –  but be sure to also include older photos that will remind them of some of their own favorite moments from back home.  And you can get friends and family involved by inviting them to add photos and messages to your book.

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Use the text tool to write messages or share favorite memories. Scan children’s drawings, cards and handwritten letters so that your loved one will have all these special mementos in one place where they can’t get lost, torn or faded.

Get started on your project now so that you can add an Inkubook to your holiday care package.

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Have you made an 11×11 hardcover book for you and love it so much you want to give a copy as a gift, but it might be slightly beyond your holiday budget to do so? Try our “Copy Book” feature. It allows you to copy from one size and cover to another. Copying doesn’t go just one way. You can copy from small to big and from softcover to hard as well.

Copying a project is one feature that makes it even easier to personalize your photo books while saving yourself the time and trouble of creating an entirely new project.

Sign in, select the project that you want to duplicate and click “Copy Book.” If the option is available, select hardcover or softcover format and click “Copy.”

It’s as easy as that! You can now swap in other photos, backgrounds – personalize it however you like. Just be sure to check each page to make sure photos are still positioned the way you wanted them and text is still the where you placed it.

Ideas for Using the “Copy Book” Feature

1. Family Reunions

As much as you love your uncle and cousins, you might want to make a book of memories that’s personalized for your immediate family. Copying a project lets you select the photos you want and leave out the ones you don’t. Sorry, Uncle Gary.

2. Team Players

Swap in a few pics of your star player for a memento that captures all the season’s highlights – from opening day to the trophy presentation, and all the grass stains in between.

3. Gifts

With a simple text switch (such as “For Grandma” instead of “For Aunt Kay”) and a few visual changes, you can create a unique book for all the members of your family in a matter of minutes. Bonus: It’ll look like you spent hours.

Tell us about the cool ways that you use the “Copy Book” feature by leaving a comment.

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