A Simple Photo Tradition that Made our Holiday Unforgettable
A New Thanksgiving Tradition: Sharing a Year in Photos
Thanksgiving has always been the holiday I look forward to most. Not just for the food (though I’ll always save room for apple pie), but because it’s the one long weekend when all my kids and my mother are in one place. In the middle of busy schedules and scattered time zones, that uninterrupted time together feels priceless. This year, I decided to try something new, something meaningful, memory-filled, and surprisingly simple.
Collecting a Year’s Worth of Moments
A few weeks before Thanksgiving, I sent out a request to everyone:
“Please send me one to four photos from each month of 2025, the moments that mattered most to you.”
They didn’t have to be perfect photos. In fact, I encouraged the real ones:
a quiet walk, a pet’s funny face, a trip they loved, a personal achievement, or something small but meaningful.
Collecting Photos
Little by little, the photos started pouring in. As they did, I felt like I was getting small windows into each person’s year; moments I might never have seen otherwise.
Turning the Photos Into a Slideshow
Once we had everyone’s contributions, I created a slideshow using Apple Photos. It couldn’t have been easier, select the album, choose a theme, pick a song you love, and Apple does the rest. (Google Photos works just as well if that’s your platform.)
In just minutes, the memories from January through November transformed into a beautiful, music-filled story of our year. A highlight reel we didn’t even know we needed.
Watching Together on Thanksgiving
After the dishes were washed and everyone was happily settled in the living room, we dimmed the lights and pressed play. And what happened next was magical.
We laughed at the silly photos.
We paused to talk about the big moments.
We teared up at the emotional ones.
We celebrated the travels, the milestones, the new beginnings and even the challenges.
It was like experiencing the year all over again, but together.
This simple slideshow helped us slow down and appreciate how much life we each lived this year. I already know we’ll make this a yearly tradition.
A Holiday Gift Idea Worth Sharing
As we head into the holiday season, this experience reminded me that the most meaningful gifts aren’t “things”, they’re the memories we preserve and the stories we share.
If you’re looking for an unforgettable gift that helps someone protect and organize the moments that matter most, take a look at DIG YOUR PHOTOS!™. It’s an amazing tool for helping families save their story for generations to come.
