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Make photo books for holiday gifts

What's more fun than a book of photos, especially photos of your family, friends, travels, occasions and celebrations? Photo books make wonderful holiday gifts, and thanks to easy technology, anyone can make a book -- softcover or hardcover -- from photos on your phone or computer. I've done at least a dozen books over the past few years: my grandson's fifth birthday adventure in pizza-making at our local pizzeria; our log house in the Rhode Island woods, indoors and outside; a day of fun and rides at the local county fair; a collection of photo greetings for my husband's 75th birthday. My favorite app is Motif, which works seamlessly and easily with Apple products. Others I've researched, but haven't tried, include Chatbooks, which works with your phone; Shutterfly, which has many style options along with designer help; and Mixbook, which features lots of layouts. You can add text and photo captions to your book, which makes each creation one of a kind. The perfect holiday gift, don't you think? (I posted about this in the Spring, but now seems like a good time to get going on a new project!)

A perfect graduation, or birthday, or anniversary present

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a book of pictures could be worth, well, millions. With Motif, a free app for Macs, iPhones or tablets, you can design books (hardcover or softcover) or calendars that feature your favorite photos of your favorite graduate, or birthday celebrant, or anniversary couple. No experience necessary; the app does all the work and provides prompts when it needs you to upload photos or, if you wish, add captions or other text. I've used Motif to make books for one of Ted's "big" birthdays and our grandson's adventure in pizza making when he turned 5 (he's 20 now), a charitable event and a day at the regional fair, and to celebrate our log house in the wilds of Rhode Island. Print one copy, or ten, or as many as you'd like. Save the file on your computer, and reorder when you need more. 

Giant jigsaws for little fingers

If you happen to have a 3-year-old grandchild (or one a few years older) who loves construction vehicles, this Jiggy Junior Construction Alphabet is the perfect jigsaw puzzle for the two of you to work on together. Designed by Lisa Perry, a British artist living in the south of England, this 100-piece puzzle features the cute, fun, quirky, colorful designs she loves. Each puzzle comes in a reusable cardboard tube and includes adhesive sheets to preserve the masterpiece when your little one has completed it. $29.00, and worth every penny. 

We see (Ouisi)

By now, if you're more organized that I am, you've been making your holiday gift list, and checking it twice. If you've still got a few holes on your list, it's hard to imagine any family or friends of any age who won't like the card game Ouisi ("we see"). Mix, match, create and illustrate stories: the possibilities are endless. Ouisi comes in two variations, the original card set and a nature set; each comes with an instruction book to get you started. We've just sent Ouisi to friends in Japan for a December gift.

Potholders for grownups

For as long as it took me to go online and order one of these loopy potholder frames, I was smitten with the idea of returning to my childhood and weaving giant potholders. By the time the package arrived, complete with frame, tools and a starter supply of loops, I'd lost interest. Fortunately, my husband Ted dove in and began making potholders to match our plates, and potholders in different color combinations and patterns, and potholders for gifts. There's even a Hudson's Bay blanket potholder in our kitchen drawer now! When he's done with this, the loom and loops will get passed along to one of our crafty granddaughters. If you try this and get into it, there are Facebook groups where people share photos and graphed patterns, lots of Youtube tutorials, and a couple of good books to get you started. When your fingers are twitchy, making potholders is fast and easy therapy.