A couple years ago for Christmas, I put together a photo book for my Mom as a gift. And it was one of the most excited I have ever seen her get on Christmas morning! And since I know some of you still might want a great gift, or you might just want to use the awesome photobook discounts for your own family that happen this time of year, I thought I would let you know what our family just used. 😉
I recently tested out Mixbook and their sister company, Montage and put all of our Disneyland, Disney World and Disney Cruise trips in an album for our family to have as memories. As nice as it is to have all of those pictures on a memory card or on your phone, I wanted a place where my kids had access to all of those pictures and could look at them over and over again.
With Mixbook, there were a lot of options when it came to choosing what kind of layout design I wanted. So I REALLY liked that. I chose the super fun “Weekend Getaway” Travel layout pictured shown below.
For those of you who like to spend time choosing exactly where each picture goes, you have a template. But you also have free-range to do whatever you want with your pictures and place them where you want too! And if you would rather save time, you can choose their auto-feature to add in all of the pictures you want. Then all you have to do is tweak it a little.
On the other hand, the Montage Books are wrapped in leather and you are able to choose your favorite pictures for the front cover. They also have a higher quality silver halide printing option if you want it. And I absolutely LOVED their auto-magic book design feature. I’m not a very creative person and I’m not a very patient person. So going page-by-page wondering if what I am doing even looks good stresses me out! But having that auto-magic feature act as my own personal designer took the stress right out of my hands. My entire book was done in 5 minutes flat and it was so nice to not have to really mess with anything!
But my MOST FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT BOTH BOOKS?? The Montage Photobooks and Mixbook Photobooks are kid-proof! The pages lay absolutely flat and their pages are super thick. What does that mean when your kids are looking at it? Pages can’t get be ripped, torn, bent, wrinkled…. I think you get the idea.
With other photobooks I have made, I have been worried about letting them look at them on their own. (I mean they fight over who gets to hold the book and how long each person gets to hold the book…. things start ripping, bending…Moms, you feel me??!) But not with these! I am ok leaving these out on the coffee table for them to look at over and over again!
If any of you are hoping to score a great deal on a photobook, here are the current deals on these guys:
Mixbook: Right now you can get up to 35%- 55% off your Mixbook Photobook with code MRYMS. (Expires Dec 21st) The amount discounted will depend on the size listed over here. But you should be able to get some pretty hefty discounts with it! **Just so you know, their regular shipping cutoff date is tomorrow, Dec 18th at 5pm PST if you want it delivered before Christmas! (Express Shipping Cutoff is Dec 21st–when this coupon code ends)
If you are grabbing a 10×10 book, use code MIXDEALS and it will score you a 50% off discount!
Montage: Right now, they are automatically taking off 25% on all books. No code needed. **Their regular shipping cutoff date is also tomorrow, Dec 18th at 5pm PST if you want it delivered before Christmas!
Since the concept of an auto-magic design is pretty new, they actually let you test it out over here so you can see what fun layouts and different colored themes they have.
There you have it! Hopefully this helps you guys cross off another gift off your Christmas List! Don’t forget to slate some time in your schedule to get your books done by TOMORROW at 5pm PST so you don’t have to pay for upgraded shipping costs. 😉
Emma Cherry
These look amazing!!! Thank you!
Laynie Billman
They look like great quality products, I’ll have to check them out. Thanks!
Mandi Heaps
These look awesome! Thanks!
Robyn
I love photo books! These make great gifts!
Nicole
These would be great gifts for grandparents!
Courtney
Thank you for the ideas! I have been using the groovebook app an love it, but they are more like flip books, and getting on shutterfly and designing a book is soo stressful and time consuming!! I’m going to try this out! Thanks again!
Julie Stephens
The auto magic sounds really cool, and I like that they are pretty kid-proof!
Alison J
My kids love getting photo books. I do one everyone that highlights things we did that year.
Melissa R
This is adorable! What a great gift idea! I’d love one for myself too!
Carli
What a great grandparent present idea! Thank you!
Kristina Ivey
I’ve been looking for a great deal on photo books! Thanks!
Amy M
Thanks good idea! I actually can’t think on what to get my mother in law. So this could be perfect.
Whitney
This is a go to Christmas gift for the grandparents who already have it all!
Shantelle
These make the best gifts for grandparents. I do one every year. Thanks for the tip!
Darci Clement
These look so easy to put together.
Karis
Kid proof?!? This will be my new go to company for sure!
Tiffani
I love mixbook! Now I have to try Montage…Thanks!!
Lisa Olsen
This is always a favorite gift for my Mother in law. We are doing it again this year. Love having all those memories at our finger tips.
Tia
What’s the average price range for one of these books?
Thanks!
Karen M
As a grandmother I can tell you we always love pictures of our families. Especially the grandkids.
nick hughes
Good deal
Mary
so much easier than “scrapbooking”! wonderful idea!
Melinda Brunnette McGraw
Photo books are so good to have for memories, thanks!
Jamie
Photo books are always a fun gift to give and get thank you
Amelia
The calendar templates are gorgeous!
Being a new customer, when I entered in my name and email address to begin an order, it sent me an email with a 50% off discount code for my first order. Even if the item you choose is less than 50% off, you should be able to score the deal if you’re a first time customer. Sweet!
Linzee
Was that for Mixbook or Montage?
Lauren
How cute! What a great idea!
Tawni
These are by far my favorite photo books! AND the program used to create them is very user friendly.
Also, another tip. I usually order two, and keep one upstairs in a bookshelf, and then one out on the coffee table for people to look through. My thought is when the kids are older, they can flip through one and really USE it, and then I get to keep one nice one for myself.
Megan
Awesome! I always make the photobooks for my kids, but then I don’t want them to touch them:)
Melisa
these are great for pics. I love that they have thick pages
Megan Wells
Thank you. Standard shipping costs based on what you get, but for example a 10×10 hardcover is $39.99 + 40% off and 13.99 shipping. 40% off is more than the cost of shipping though!
Nicole Q
I’ll have to go play with them. Sounds like the perfect gift for my grandparents! Thanks!
Rachael Rowland
I still have time to order before Christmas!!! This is awesome, you always share great ideas at the perfect time. Thank you for sharing!! 🙂
Nanette
Fantastic idea to make the pages kid proof. Will have to check this site out.
Cat
Love giving photo books as gifts!!
Jenny pedersen
Is this something only done on the computer or can it be done directly from your phone?
Rachael
Yay!
Sheena
Perfect gift
Julie Jensen
I love photo books!
Mary K.
Great – thanks!
Amy
IMO these are the best kinds of gifts!
Holly
These look nice
Carrie
Thanks
Bree Peterson
This looks like my kind of photo album!! Few words, but many pictures! Coming up with something to say on every picture can be so stressful! Thanks FB2D!
Sara Moody
I have made over 20 books with Mixbook and their quality is GREAT and their shipped within a week every time. I love working with this company.
Amber Lingard
Love Photobooks if only I had more time to work on them.
Emiline
I love the kidproof part of these books! Thanks for sharing.
Amanda
I love making photo books for the grandparents, but have never used this company before. I love how fast you were able to complete one book. I look forward to trying them!
Becky c
I love that these are kid proof!!!
Ashley
I will have to take a look at these!
Sharon
I love their various layouts. I want to do one of these for our vacation Pics!!
Kaylee
I haven’t heard of either of these companies. It’s great to hear that you’ve tested them out and had a positive experience. Thanks for sharing!
Chalese
I love the thick pages!!!
Edith
I love trying out new photo books! this is one I have not tried yet so thanks
Kristi
I like the thick pages!
Laurie
How many pictures do you try to stuff in a book?? That’s where I have a hard time…. I really need to condense and get some books done
Holly
Do you like this better than shutterfly?
Jamie Niederer
That looks great!
Sherry
I’ve never tried a photobook service before, looks like a fun way to use photos from trips.
Wendy Tuley
I love making pcture books
Cristal
Love to try new photo books!
Laurie
These look amazing!!
julie
What a fun idea!
katie
great gifts for grandparents or for your own family collection
Janae
These are a great “personal” gift idea that means a little more! Thanks!
Jessica Degn Rampton
I am the most uncrafty, scrapbook scared woman I know! These look cute and I love the KID PROOF feature.
Jessie
I love love love photo books!! I can’t wait to try this company out!
Amber
I absolutely love photo books! I wish I made them every year as scrapbooks but am always trying to catch up! We also make a book or calendar for my grandma each year from all the great grandkids!
Julie
Thank you!
Breanne
This is such a great idea for a grandparents gift!!
Jenn
I usually use Picaboo, but will have to try out these two new companies!
Amanda Gibbs
I was just getting on the computer to print pictures for Christmas gifts and saw this! Such an easier idea than trying to fill albumns.
Rachel
I am so excited that they make these kid proof! My kids have ripped pages in two of my photo books so far and I just keep taping them back together.
Angela McAllister
I make a blog book every year and a photo book for each of my kids after their birthdays. Love that these are kid proof! We’ve already had so many ripped pages!!
Lindsay Konold
Great gift for the Grandparents!
Stephanie P.
I used to scrapbook but now this is the way to go. Easy and super cute.
Faith P
Cute idea. A great way to preserve memories.
Catherine
Auto fill is great thing. I always stress out about doing photo gifts. This makes it so much easier.
Tearsa Coombs
Mixbook is new to me, I’ll have to check it out!
Sarah Nuttall
Yes! Been wanting to make a book of our recent Disneyland trip!
Corina R
Perfect grandparent gift!
Chella Palmer
Love it!
Angie Van Leeuwen
Personalized gifts are the best and most meaningful.
Emily Anderson
I’ve never tried these sort of photo books. Anything kid proof is a must try!
Adam Anderson
These will be great to put my pictures in from the Disney trip I am about to win! 😉
Amber Whatcott
LOVE those thick pages! I have been wanting to do yearbooks for our family… maybe this will motivate me to get er done 🙂 Also always love doing books for grandparents!
Stephanie H.
This is amazing, I don’t have the patience to put photos in a cute order
Theresa
Going to do this for my mom of our Thanksgiving vacation to San Francisco.
Donell Jensen
photo books are my favorite
Hy
Love this idea! Thank you so much
Chelsea
Thank you Melea! This is the PERFECT gift idea!,
Danelle
This is what we give our parents every year for Christmas
Cassie Hale
This is one of the best gifts I’ve ever received! I love my photo book. Great deal!
Tiffany Quinney
I love love LOVE mixbook! By far my favorite photo book site out of all the one’s I’ve used! I love that I can customize anything and use any kind of layout I want! i never knew about the thick no rip pages though! It must be new since I’ve used it I can’t wait to check it out for my next book!
Corianne Kourbelas
Yay! Photo books are the best! So cool!
Kim
I’ll give them a try. Love digital books
Lindsay Campbell
Haven’t tried this yet, looks like good quality!
Tj
I love photo books and so do my kids. It’s fun for them to see pictures of themselves in books. We’ve tried snap doah and liked it. We may have to fry this company out too!
Amy H
I’ve never used either of these company’s before but I like the idea of auto fill. These are great gifts for anyone on your list.
Cammie S
I needed this!!! Thank you for posting this!!!
Carly
I love photo books!!!
sami p
Every year I make a book for my kids. They love looking through them but are not genital on them. I had no idea they made kid poor pages! Defiantly something to look in to.
Shawnee Burt
Very cool! I’ll have to give them a try!
Jennifer C
I need to do these for my family. Great idea.
Emily
Priceless gifts
Kimmy
Photobooks are awesome gifts.
Jessica
I need to look into this more, I have normally done shutterfly but have had some issues that they aren’t willing to resolve and having hidden charges. Definitely will look into other options, especially if there are deals along the way.
Misty
I love photobooks! Thank you!
Katie
Those look nice. I will have to give them a try. Thanks!
Tasha P
Do chatbooks have sales often? I really want to print my IG photos!
Mandy RoNi
Great gift idea and something new to try. Thank you! 🙂
Chani
I love Mixbooks! I put together several books and have access to them online whenever I want, then I just order when I am ready. It is so nice!
Heather D
Awesome! I need to print a book this week. perfect!!
Holly C.
I’ve heard so many good things about mixbook but have yet to try them. Here is my excuse, I guess!!!!
Bryton morse
wonder if they convert blogs to books? I’ve been using Blurb/Booksmart for that. Maybe something to look into. Thanks!
chandra
I love that they have thick pages that my kids can look at without ruining!
Morgan
Wow, I’ve never heard of this brand. I was actually looking to make a book of pictures from my daughter’s baptism. This will be perfect. Thanks!
Linzee
Wahoo, I have been meaning to start (yes start) my book for the year, and I think you just solved my dilemma of “no time”
Kathryn Diez
I have tried scrapbooking and it is just not my thing. This might be a better way to go for someone like me. Really cute! Thanks!
Donna Vest
Thank You!
Felicia
I love when my kids look at our picture books. Wish some of mine in the past had been kid proof.
Rachael
Photo books make such great personal gifts. Thanks for sharing!
Alexa
I usually use shutterfly but I liked all the good things you said about this too!
Emilee K.
My kids love to look at photo books
Ashley Waldram
I’m going to have to try the auto-magic design!
Tara
Wow those are beautiful!
Jessica
I’m going to check these out! They look amazing!
tabetha
I’ve never heard of this company before, but I will have to check them out – I love the thick pages!
Jamie
Ooh, those books look awesome! I want to make me one! Thank you!
Alecia
I love that they are “kid” proof, I need to try both!
Celeste
I’m an adoptive mom and these are great as a gift for our little girls birth mom.
Tiffany
These memory filled books make the best gifts. Thx
Brittany
Very cool! I want to try this out for my son.
Sarah
kid-proof is amazing!
Becca
These are awesome!
Kara
I’ve tried making books before but it takes so much time. I think I’d like this magic auto fill thing, my kind of scrap booking 😉
cammie
I love making photo books
Rajathi Noel
I am so excited about this deal because I need to put so many pictures in books instead of leaving them on my computer
Serene Hardy
I’ve never seen these specific photo books. They will definitely be added to my list of memory preservation ideas.
Rajathi Noel
I am so excited about this offer, thank you
Camille Shosted
I love the thick pages- genius!!
Debbie Lee
Love these memory books
Kylee
I love these
Stephanie D
I usually stick to Shitterfly, but I love the idea of a more kid-friendly option! I’ll have to check them out.
Nikki
Photo books are the best gifts ever!
Brittany Sanderson
I need a kid proof book! Thank you!
Holli
I love photobooks! Thanks for the great deal! I’ll have to check it out
Shauna
These look great and love that your kids can enjoy them without worry of ruining them.
Angela Karsten
these make great grandparent gifts!
Marion
I love photo books
Pamela Raymond
Awesome Christmas present!
Julie schmidt
I need one of these, thanks!
Lezlee
Ahhh! This is great! Ive been wanting to do a photo book.
Cindy
I’m so excited to do this for my kids!
Parisa Campbell
I have been looking for a new company to use, thanks!
Micki
So cool! I would love to have a million of these!
MarciP
We LOVE photo books! And thanks for sharing this awesome kid-proof product!!!!!!
Tanya Fisher
I can’t find pricing. I’m sure it depends on cover options, etc but a ‘standard 10×10 book’ price would be helpful to know before starting the project.
Jamie
I am going to have to check these guys out.
Anna
Cute books! I love the auto fill option for when you are in a hurry. Thanks!
Alyson
I can’t get over the kid-proof aspect! I need this in my life 🙂
Julie Drake
These make great meaningful and sentimental gifts. My mom loves these!
Rochelle
This could be helpful this Christmas! Thanks!
Kristie
That’s awesome that they are kidproof!! They look great! Good job! we usually use Shutterfly but I’ll check these companies out! Thanks for posting! kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com Thank you. Merry Christmas!
Lindsey Hardy
Thank you!
Heidi
This looks awesome to try!
Callie
I’m always looking for discounts on photobooks since I’m counting it as doing Family History in this season of life. Can’t wait to try out these books. Thank you.
Angeana
I’ve done a lot of photobooks & absolutely love how easy they are to make! I’ve never used this company, but I’m super excited about the pages being kid-proof!! So. Awesome!!! I’ve found photobooks in general to be a great way to store photos in an organized and useable fashion. I don’t have to deal with piles of printed photos that are so difficult to manage!
Jenicia Beckstrand
Great motivation to get my photo’s organized
Lindsay Robbins
I’m going to have to try these companies!!
Brittney Peterson
I do a photo book every December to review what happened that year. I’ve never tried these companies. Thanks for the info!