February may be the shortest month of the year, but it’s long on holidays. Whether it’s a common celebration or a bizarre observance, there are plenty of reasons to take some pictures this month and enough occasions to fill a photo book.

You know there’s Valentine’s Day and President’s Day and you likely remember Groundhog’s Day and Mardi Gras, but did you know February also holds these observances:

American Heart Month

Library Lovers Month

Black History Month

Hot Breakfast Month

Relationship Wellness Month

Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

World Nutella Day

Read in the Bathtub Day

and Tooth Fairy Day?

I can think of a photo or two to take for each of the above and this is only a fraction of the observances. What will you celebrate and snap a pic of this month?

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Whether you’re in high school, engaged or have been married 25 years, you likely have a box (or two) of love notes, movie stubs, pressed flowers, photo booth photos, greeting cards, pictures of you together at parties or on vacation and other keepsakes. Consider taking those sweet nothings that your SO may not even know you’ve kept, scan them and make a photo book of all of the small things that have added up to big, lasting love.

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Don’t fret if you missed the chance to get your holiday cards out in December. Buck tradition and surprise friends and family with a “Happy New Year” card.

We say a new year is plenty reason to say “hey” to all those people on your mailing list. But if you want more incentive, here’s why the Inkubook team is in favor of the New Year’s greeting card:

• Unique: Inkubookers like to stand out. Most people send out greeting cards in December, so your card will be a sweet surprise to ring in the new year.
• Versatile: “Happy New Year” is the new “Season’s Greetings.” No matter what religious holidays your friends and family celebrate, a new year’s card sends just the right message.
• Fun: Since you’re not tied to a specific holiday, you can get creative with your card. Inkubook has loads of backgrounds to choose from, no matter what sort of feel you’re going for:

Don’t drop the ball! Be one of the first to welcome your auld (and new) acquaintances into 2012 by making your photo greeting cards today (and check out Facebook and Twitter for our latest promotions so you can save when you send).

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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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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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Before too long, countdowns to Christmas will be everywhere you look. This year, keep track of the December days with something more true to the Christmas tradition by making an advent calendar photo book.

While it might not have daily candy treats (let’s face it, who needs more candy around the holidays anyways?), it will have something even better, a favorite memory on every page.

Fill each spread with photos from the year that’s nearly gone or from Christmases past. Or you can keep it classic by using each day to tell a piece of the Nativity story, or your family’s favorite Christmas tale or song.

No matter how you choose to adorn your pages, the important thing is choosing a theme that’s special to you and your family. So give it a shot. You might just make a new Christmas tradition.

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Now that the pumpkins are no longer glowing brightly and the empty candy wrappers have settled, we can scroll through the festive photos of friends and family on Facebook, the blogs you follow and the emails sent by your less social media savvy peeps.  From smiles (candy, candy, candy) to toddler tears (they think they want to wear costumes, but they usually don’t like to), from off-the-rack to creative customized costumes, and from trick-or-treating to the overly-decorated house down the street, Halloween brings out the kid in us, the creative side of us, but mostly the desire to share our designs, our recipes, our kids and our fun.

Share the lead up – forcing the kids to eat dinner, getting ready, lighting the pumpkins. Share the actual event – parties, trick-or-treating or handing out the candy. Share the aftermath – a table covered in candy, sibling trades, the tears resulting from the removal of face paint. But don’t stop there. Don’t just share the holidays. Share the little moments too.  You never know whose heart you’ll warm, whose smile you’ll widen, whose creativity you’ll spark, or whose day you’ll make by posting that photo.

Share. Share often.

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