In today’s post: Make a personalized mini 2019 photo calendar in about half an hour.
I’ve been making these little photo calendars for the past few years, and they’re one of my favorite handmade Christmas gift ideas. All you need to make one is 6 sheets of cardstock and 12 of your favorite photos, making it both very easy and very inexpensive (cheap DIY gift for the win!).
To make a full size 2019 photo calendar, click here.
You can add any sort of photos you like: pictures of the kids for a calendar for the grandparents, pics of you and your hubby for an anniversary gift, or scenic photos for an easy holiday gift for friends or coworkers.
And I made it even better this year by getting it bound and adding a little DIY stand so the calendar can sit on your desk or your counter or wherever and you can look at your favorite photos all year long. The stand is made from a strip of white posterboard and my local copy shop did the binding for a buck fifty.
Oh, and this year I also included a front cover which says 2019, and a back cover which says “made with love by” so you can add your signature.
To make your own 2019 mini photo calendar, just download the free printables here. Print them out at full size or 100% on cardstock or other heavyweight paper. Trim along the lines to cut out each page (they will be 4×6 inches).
Next, gather 12 photos. I started with 4×6 photos, and then trimmed them each to 4 inches wide and 3.5 inches tall. I used a tape runner to adhere the photos to the calendar cards. You can use any sturdy adhesive, but I’d steer clear of glue or gluestick, because both will cause the calendars to ripple over time.
Here’s a video that shows the process:
To make the stand, cut a strip of posterboard that’s 4 inches wide and about 16 inches long. This video describes how to make the stand:
Now, if you don’t want to worry about getting the calendar bound, you don’t need to. Just tie up the pages with a cute bow, and add a mini easel for displaying one month at a time.
It’s the perfect easy, cheap DIY Christmas gift for just about anyone!
Looking for more DIY gift ideas? Visit some of these posts:
DIY Christmas gifts you can make in 15 minutes
How to make a personalized photo candle
25 cheap handmade Christmas gifts
Thank you Autumn! This was such a hit last year at Christmas – as all of our family is out of province (and about two provinces over on each side to be exact). I can’t wait to get started on these fr this year!
I am definitely making this, thanks a lot!
Thank you so much! I will be making gifts with this idea!
Thank you so much! I am so going to try this!
Your are sooo kind to provide not only the idea but the FREE printables! There’s an invisible halo over your head!
oops! Auto text — correct that to “You are soooo kind!
Such a great idea. I love to make photo calendars but I have a large family and they can be pricey. Including the directions and print-outs is awesome. Thanks!
Thank you for this! I think I’ll make one for my husband to put on his desk!
Oh my goodness. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this! I had one of your web pages bookmarked since forever and checked frequently but never saw the new 2017 calendar templates. So just a minute ago I decided to do a Google and found you again. Thank you Autumn for sharing this with us. I love the new ideas for the calendars. Thank you again!
P.S. I have your gift card template bookmarked too!
Love this! But will I be able to print this at 5×7?
Hi – March and April are different sizes compared to the rest. It’s slightly smaller. Is there a way this can be fixed?
All fixed now – thanks for letting me know!
Thank you so much for this post!!! It’s truly beautiful!
Thank you so much for this post!!! It’s truly awesome!
I was so excited to download the mini albums. It would make the perfect Christmas gift. But for some unknown reason I just couldnt seem to download it. I clicked on the links several times but nothing happened. Please can you send it to me by email?
Thank you! I found your mini-calendar last year and customized each month as individual 4×6 photos, had them printed, and gave the set to my sister who lives overseas. She absolutely loved it as it brings her a bit of home. I’m so glad to find your 2017 edition so that I can make next year’s mini-calendar for her 🙂
Thank you so much for these! I used your free printables last year and made some calendars (you can see them here if you’re interested). I was going to try to find something similar so I could just remove the panels and switch it over to this year (I didn’t want to do all that work again!!)…..I’m overjoyed that I can just use your design again for 2017. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Wish there was a way to edit it so that you could add your photos before printing to save time. Any way to do this now?
Thank you very much for the beautiful free printable calendar. I am making one for my g/f with pics of her only grandchild. I searched for quite awhile online for one, but yours is the best one! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!
Thank you, I am in the process of making 3 for family and friends. Love the size, simplicity and font choice.
thanks for the free printable! i made this last year and it looked so awesome… i’m doing it again this year! The dimensions seem a little off though and I had a hard time cutting the pictures to fit, but it just took a little extra time and measurement!
Such a great idea, I’m going to make calendars this year to send to family and friends overseas this Christmas (2017).
Can you let me know when the 2018 calendars will be available for downloading?
Hi, I cant thank you enough for this… exactly what I was looking for, beautifully made, wonderfully illustrated details. It’s so simple yet so impressive! I made a few for my friends and everyone loved it! Lots of love to you and happy new year to you and your family!
Thank you for sharing this tutorial, it is really appreciated
Thank you so much for this. made a few as Christmas presents and one for myself. Exactly what I have been looking for on a calendar :).
One quick note, the calendar for March is incorrect :O Other than that it is magnificent!
Happy Year!
Do you have 2018 yet!! I just found this and it is super cool!!! I would have snatched 2017 up!!
This looks like it would be a fabulous gift for me to make for my class – an individual calendar for each student. Will there be a 2018 version available? Thanks Sarah
I made a few for Christmas presents last year and getting requests to do it again for next. Is the 2018 version coming out soon? Thank you so much for creating such a single neat gift.
Yes! The 2018 version can be found here: https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/2017/08/22/photo-calendar-magnets-free-2018-templates.html
I think this idea is great, but I just found it…so it would be great if you could make a 2018 version!
Will you post a 2018 version of the mini calendar?
That is a great idea. Especially for families with children still at home. And…it’s good to know that someone else is already planning for Christmas…my family thinks I’m nuts to do so in October…or July, as it sometimes happens… 🙂
You guys have such wonderful smiles! It’s refreshing to see.
Thank you for sharing your idea and printables. I’m thinking how I can use the idea here, but mostly right now, I’m off to look at your t-shirt patterns to see how I can refurb the wardrobe for fall.
I love this idea. My daughter passed away a year ago and I would love to do this for her kids for Christmas, but the video cannot load. It has an error message. Is there another way to get it?
Hi there – I used your 2018 template last year and it was such a huge hit!
I also did the tutorial and even bought photoshop so I wouldn’t have to cut and paste. Would you mind sharing the photoshop files? I make 15 of these every year and doing it through photoshop is just easier.
Thank you SOOO MUCH for updating with all the current calendars!!
Yes – I’d also like the photoshop file!
Love this idea! The 2019 template is not downloading– is there another link? Thanks!!