How To Create A Photo Book As A 30th Birthday Gift
If you type “how to celebrate a 21st birthday” into Google, you’ll find results such as:
- Hire A Party Bus
- Go Skydiving
- Host A Boozy Sleepover
The 30th birthday suggestions, on the other hand, are a little more understated:
- Watch A Movie
- Tour A Brewery
- Get A Haircut
It’s quite miserable that, in the nine years between our 21st birthday and 30th birthday, we’ve apparently aged so drastically that getting a haircut is on par with jumping out of a plane at 10,000 feet.
If you have a friend who is turning 30, you’ll know this isn’t true. This is a landmark birthday; a time to celebrate their life so far and look forward to the adventures of the future.
We’re not saying your friend should be jumping out of a plane at the nearest opportunity, but you should definitely make sure that their birthday is celebrated with more than a bob cut.
A photo book, for instance, is the perfect place to start.
No spoilers, but it’s quite likely that your friend is going to be rather upset. Turning 30 can, after all, be a bit crisis-inducing. They’ll probably spend a great deal of it contemplating how they have let their youth slip from their hands so willingly.
But that’s complete nonsense, of course, and it’s your job to show them that not one second of those 30 years has been wasted.
Even just a cute, square photo book can document all of their best moments, showing them exactly how much fun the last 30 years have been. Far more exciting than a brewery tour; far less horrifying than a skydive. A photo book is the perfect gift that can really get a smile back on their face.
But how exactly do you make it? Well, that’s what we’re here for. Below, you’ll find seven things you should include in a 30th birthday photo book, ensuring that your friend’s tears are happy tears.
Begin With The Big One
As a photo book maker, we’re all about creating a linear, coherent story in a photo book. But this time, we’re going to ask you to do something a little different. Don’t start at the beginning. Choose something big and wonderful that your friend has done, and use it as a showstopper.
The time they opened up their own coffee shop, the time they jumped out of a plane for their 21st birthday. Whatever it is, use it right at the beginning to grab their attention and make them lower those handkerchiefs by a few inches.
Go Back In Time
After you’ve shown off the showstopper, it’s time to take things back a bit. Think about those old 80s movies that suddenly freeze frame, with a narrator saying: you’re probably wondering how I got in this situation…
You’re going straight from their biggest moment to where it all began. Show off their cutest baby pictures, the toddler years, their school years, and so on.
Record Their Achievements
After this is done, make sure to showcase their achievements. As we mentioned before, your friend will likely spend half the day stating that they’ve wasted their youth. But your job is to show them they have done anything but.
Document all of their most impressive, inspiring moments. Their first job, their second job, that time they baked a cake without sticking it to the pan. Anything that they have achieved counts, small or big, so get as much as you can into the photo book and bring a little smile to their face.
Highlight Their Friendships
Your friend, obviously, is very lucky to have you. In fact, they’ve probably been blessed with a number of friends, so make sure you gather all the photographs that show your best moments together.
Of course, this might include a number of nights out, but we’re going to suggest that you save these for a little later. For now, work out how to make a photo book about friends without those messy nights out. Good luck with that…
Celebrate Their True Love
If your friend has also been lucky enough to meet someone and even get married, then this is the time to document it. Try to show the blossoming moments of the romance, the growth of the relationship and then the wedding that it was celebrated with.
If your friend has children, get them involved too. If they don’t have a true love or children, however, then it’s not the end of the world. Whatever you do, don’t panic and blow the photo book with photos of their ex. Just ignore this little section and move on quickly to…
Getting Messy
That’s right, we told you to save the night’s out until later. Nearly every 30th birthday is celebrated with a night on the town and a few drinks to drown the sorrows.
In this way, it’s a great idea to showcase some of your friend’s “best of” moments when they were on a night out. Don’t be afraid to get a bit messy here. When it comes to a 30th birthday party, nothing is off limits, so try to get those cheeks red and include all the moments that make you laugh.
Show Them It’s Not Over Yet!
Lastly, make sure to finish with a look towards their days yet to come. There are loads of reasons not to freak out about a 30th birthday, but that doesn’t stop them getting to us. 29th birthdays are fine. And by our 31st birthday, we’ve got used to the fact they’re a little older. But 30th birthdays, for whatever reason, are always hard to swallow.
Make sure, then, that you turn your friend’s frown upside down by giving them something to look forward to. This can be a photograph of a recent ultrasound or some plans for a future holiday. Just show them anything that indicates they have a future, for goodness sake!
Once this is done, your friend will be left with a beautiful photo book that shows them how special it is that they are turning 30…
And if that doesn’t work, it’s time for plan B: break out the champagne!
