DIY mini 2021 photo calendar {free printable templates}

In today’s post: Make a personalized DIY 2021 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!).

For tons of easy DIY gift ideas, 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.

DIY Photo Calendar

I made this calendar 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 I also included a front cover which says 2021, and a back cover which says “made with love by” so you can add your signature.

2021 Photo Calendar Downloads

To make your own 2020 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).

How to Make a DIY Photo Calendar

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:

Personalized mini photo calendar bound at the top like a flip book

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.