How do you preserve your family’s memories? I genuinely want to know. As the year turned, I found myself thinking about how quickly time passes and realizing I hadn’t updated Arlo’s baby book even once. That made me look for a simpler, more consistent way to document our life.
My sister-in-law used to make a photo book every year for her kids. She documented the year, printed extra copies, and sent them to grandparents. It’s a timeless gift: grandparents love sharing photos of their grandchildren, and a curated book makes it easy for them to show off those memories.
I decided to try Chatbooks to follow her example. What sold me was how effortless it is: you connect your Instagram or Facebook account and your photos appear automatically. No digging through folders or hunting for uploads—everything shows up with a click. For busy parents, that convenience is everything.
I made two Chatbooks this year and plan to do this annually. The first was an “Arlo Book” that I ordered for our parents, my grandma, and my great aunt. I connected my Instagram, filtered by our #minimindells hashtag, and selected the photos I wanted. Then I invited Jeff to collaborate—he connected his account and added photos I didn’t have. The app arranged them chronologically, and I used Arlo’s monthly pictures as markers to divide the book by month.
Now my grandma has a full book of photos she can flip through and share. We live far apart, she doesn’t use a computer, and Arlo has only met her once, so I love that she’ll have a lasting keepsake of his first year that’s easy for her to enjoy and show to friends.
The second book was for Jeff and me. We both connected our Instagram accounts, and I included other meaningful moments from 2017: a few shots Jeff took, times with friends, and of course lots of Arlo photos. I surprised Jeff with the finished book and he was thrilled to see our year presented in a tangible, curated format. Seeing memories assembled in print feels different—more permanent and special—than scrolling through a feed.
I’m excited to keep this as an annual habit for our family. I’ve spent hours looking through my grandparents’ old photo albums and those memories feel invaluable; I hope Arlo will treasure his books the same way someday.
How do you preserve your family memories? Do you make photo books, collages, scrapbooks, or videos? I’m curious to hear how others document and keep their stories alive.
Thank you Chatbooks for partnering on this post.