In today’s post: A personalized DIY photo calendar makes a gorgeous gift! Download the free 2020 calendar page printables and add your own photos for an easy gift that only costs a few bucks.
Hi all! I know we barely got kids back in school and the leaves haven’t even started falling yet, but some of you guys are already planning for holiday gifts. Well, for all you plan-ahead-ers, today is your lucky day. (And for the procrastinators – like me! – here’s a chance to knock out some of your gifts early!)
If you’re a long-time reader of the blog, you’ve seen this calendar every year since 2015! I don’t usually make the same thing multiple times, but the printables for this DIY photo calendar have been popular enough that people ask for them every year. Thanks!
For even more fun photo ideas, visit this post: 40 DIY photo craft ideas
DIY personalized 2020 calendar
All you have to do make your own personalized calendar is to print the pages I provide on cardstock, cut out the photo window, tape a 4×6 photo behind the window, and stack all the pages together on a clipboard or in a document frame. You have a gorgeous personalized handmade gift that only cost two bucks and took under 15 minutes to put together.
Note: Don’t worry that some of these photos show 2019 pages. I have the printable 2020 templates for you all ready to download at the end of the post! And if you prefer the mini version of the photo calendar, just click that link to get the 2020 version now.
Use pics of your own kids to make a calendar for your spouse, or old family photos to make a calendar for your mom, or even pretty scenic pictures you can find free on the web (and I’ll tell you where) to make a calendar for coworkers, teachers, or anyone else.
How to make a DIY photo calendar
To make a 2020 DIY photo calendar, you’ll need to download the free printables by clicking here. Print them onto sturdy cardstock at 100% or full size.
Use an exacto knife and ruler to cut out the box on each page of the calendar, then attach a 4×6 photo behind it.
Cutting a window out of each calendar page looks cool because the calendar page now “frames” the photo, but if you want to make things really easy you can skip cutting out the box and trim a photo to just larger than 4.5 inches wide and 2.75 inches tall and adhere it over the box instead.
Here’s a quick video that shows the process:
Once all the pages are complete, slide them into a clipboard and you’re ready to give your handmade photo calendar away!
If you want to give the calendar pages in a frame, either purchase an 8.5×11 document frame, or trim 1/2 inch off the top and bottom of each page and 1/4 inch off each side so they’ll fit an 8×10 frame.
Either way, this personalized calendar makes a very pretty DIY gift. Just imagine how much fun Grandma will have looking at a new picture of her grandkids each month, or how excited Dad will be to show off pictures of his family at work.
If you’d like to use beautiful, free stock photos in these calendars instead of family photos, check out Stock Snap. It has a searchable collection of beautiful photos that are absolutely free to use. This way you can make a more generic photo calendar to give to friends and coworkers.
FREE Personalized Calendar Downloads
Download the 2020 Photo Calendar Pages by clicking here.
And if you like the calendar, but are looking for something smaller, check out my Mini 2020 Photo Calendar instead!
Looking for more handmade gifts? Visit these posts!
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25 DIY gifts you can make in 15 minutes
Karen Chace says
Hi, have you created the 2019 Mini calendar template?
Vicky Evans says
Thank you so much for doing this again. I am retired so money is tight & this has become my go to Christmas gift for all my friends & family members using their own photos gleaned from social media posts. You are A.W.E.S.O.M.E. for doing this every year far enough before christmas that I can use it. Best wishes to you for a great holiday season this year.
rami says
much LOVE !! thank you for this calendar i’ve been looking for it !
it’s a great add-on Christmas gifts and new year gifts!
I’ve done one for mom with my nieces and nephews ( and dogs ) pictures
and one for a close friend with his recent euro-trip and turned out amazing !
Blessings !
Julie says
Hi there, this tutorial is exactly what I’ve been looking for for Christmas this year!! Thank you, thank you!! I bought some wooden cutting boards I’m going to convert into clipboards, and I’m wondering what the sizes are for the actual final card stock month-pages (mini and regular)….are regular sized pages 8×10? Thanks again 🙂
Anne-Marie eleniak says
Thank you so much for sharing this again this year. This is my favorite calendar. It makes wonderful gifts.