With Father’s Day around the corner, many of us are challenged with finding gifts for the dad who has everything. Last year I helped my son and daughter create personalized books for dad.
Why Create Personalized Books for Dad?
Having one of a kind book from a spouse, child, grandchild, etc., is something every dad is sure to treasure for years to come. It’s so much more special than a tie, tool, or grill set. Sometimes, a print on the wall just isn’t enough. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but for life’s greatest memories, “one thousand words” isn’t always enough. Few things can tell a story the way a photo book can.
There are so many online tools available online that can help you make personalized books for dad without breaking the bank. It can be overwhelming for many people to create photo books, especially if you only have basic knowledge of design and formatting book interiors. No need to fear, we got you covered.
Note: photo books are more expensive as you add pages longer than provided templates.
Homemade and Online Personalized Photo Books for Dad
Scrapbook
You may think that a DIY scrapbook is the most economical choice, but scrapbooking materials can add up quickly.
If you are looking to create a simple photo album without decorations, this is a good way to go. Visit your local craft store for all of the items you’ll need to create this type of personalized book for dad.
Related: 15 Beautiful Children’s Books about Gardening
Personalized Storybooks
Storybooks are a wonderful choice for personalized books for Dad.
Wonderbly
This service provides lovely storybooks for kids through adults. You select the qualities of the person the book is for and Wonderbly does the rest. There are adorable choices for books from kids to Dads.
Pros:
- They are well-made and very high quality.
- They are very reasonably priced
- In almost any book you can see what the pages will look like
- Well-written, incredibly illustrated
Cons:
- Long shipping times – plan on 11-14 days
Wonderbly Personalized Book Pricing
Start at $36
LoveBook
Telling someone why they are special has never been this easy and fun! Each LoveBook® is a custom-made list of all those little reasons why you love or appreciate someone. Customize your book as much or as little as you’d like.
LoveBook.com
Pros:
- Personalize the “LoveMoji” characters to look like the people in your story.
- Choose from hundreds of book covers to fit any occasion.
- Personalize the title, font style and size to make it unique.
- Edit each page by adding illustrations, text and position the LoveMojis® to make a custom, one-of-a-kind gift they will love!
Cons:
- Some customer complaints about poor customer service
- Orders take a long time to ship
LoveBook Pricing
Approximately $50 per book
Related: 11 Best Bedtime stories for Kids
Photo Books
Mixbook
After trying many services for different photo books, Mixbook is my absolute favorite. It has great software, reasonable prices, and produced a lovely book. Last fall, the New York Times also chose Mixbook as the photo book service.
Pros
- Versatile, flexible, creative software
- Easy to use
- Attractive fully editable templates
- Generous searchable libraries of great backgrounds, templates, layouts and clip art
Cons
No drop shadow for text
Mixbook Fees
- $29.99 for an 8.5 x 8.5-inch hardcover book with a glossy cover.
- 8.5 x 11 (from $39.99)
- 12 x 12 (from $69.99)
- 14 x 11 inches (from $79.99).
- Softcover 8 x 6 for $15.99
- Layflat books start at $79 for an 8.5 x 8.5-inch book.
Walmart Photo
Walmart Photo offers a great value if you’re looking to create basic photo books. With some of the best editing tools available, the site makes it easy to design and customize an album.
Pros
- Budget-friendly
- Easy to use
- Excellent editing tools
Cons
- Photos can look dull and muted
- The cover is lower quality
- Pages are thin
Walmart Pricing – starting from
- $9.96 for 5×7 softcover
- $19.96 for 8×11 hardcover
- $21.96 for 8×8 hardcover
- $16.96 for 5×7 hardcover
- $16.96 for 8×11 softcover
Canva
Creating a personalized book for dad is fun and easy with Canva. I have used the free version of the program for years to do everyday design work. Canva offers a wide range of features for free and has a paid upgrade with additional features. If you are strictly talking about creating a photo book, using the free version is the best option.
Pros
- A wide variety of photo book templates
- Free version is very powerful and can do most tasks
- Fun text ideas and effects
- Relatively inexpensive
- Design on your photo via the Canva App
Cons
- Photo editing features are basic
- Special effects don’t work very well
Not many photo book templates specifically for fathers
Canva Pricing starts from
- $20 for 8×6 softcover $25 hardcover
- $30 for 8.5×11 softcover $35 hardcover
- $50 14×10.5 hardcover only
Shutterfly
Shutterfly is probably the most well-known photo printing company. They offer the ability for even beginners to make a professional-looking book. You can choose from dozens of different design templates to get the right style for your specific book theme. Short on Time? Shutterfly has added a free option for their designers to create your photo book for you? How cool is that?
Pros
- Excellent customer support
- Fast shipping
- Huge variety of templates
- Great specials around holidays – e.g., unlimited free additional pages
- Free “Make my Book” option
Cons
- Without special offers, $2.49 per additional page can quickly add up.
Snapfish
Snapfish was the second service I tried after Shutterfly. The service makes it easy to choose your design with prices clearly listed next to each option. The step-by-step guide is especially useful for beginners. With over 100 templates, Snapfish leads over many of its competitors. For those looking for a simple photo book, these templates will be a major benefit.
Pros
- Lots of customization options
- Prices listed under each book size
Cons
- Lower quality than some services
- Fewer delivery options
- Expensive
Snapfish Pricing – ranging from:
- $19.99 is the cheapest option for a 8×8, which is the only softcover option
- $109 for the premium lay-flat hardcover
- A variety of sizes and pricing between these options
With many of the online services, it’s easy to design and print your own personalized photo album in a few simple steps. Just choose the right size and design and upload your pictures from your computer. Some services allow you to upload from Facebook, Flickr and Instagram too. Choose an option and have fun creating a personalized book for dad!