The Anti-Gift Guide: Why the Best Gifts Aren't Things (And What to Give Instead)
Tired of $600 blow dryers and influencer gift guides? Here's why the best gifts aren't things at all—and what to give instead that people will actually keep, treasure, and pass down.
Posted 12/8/2025
Family
Let's talk about the $600 blow dryer.
And the influencer gift guides telling you what you "need." The premium workout gear you're just gonna sweat in anyway. The $150 toy for your toddler that every kid apparently “needs.” The $100 10-step skincare routine your teen is begging for.
The gifts. The things. Endless things. Endless money.
Look, we all like to indulge in a little treat here and there—that's totally okay. But somewhere around mid-November, it starts feeling like spending hundreds (or thousands) of dollars is just... what you do. The algorithm says so. The gift guides say so. Everyone on your feed says so.
But here's what nobody's saying: most of those things end up collecting dust.
The Thing About Things
You know what happens with most gifts?
You get excited. You use the thing. Maybe again. Possibly one more time. And then it sits under your sink for years, making you feel vaguely guilty every time you see it.
(I'm looking at you, expensive stand mixer from 2020. I really thought I was going to make homemade dough and things. Spoiler: I did not.)
Here's the uncomfortable truth about gift-giving: We've been influenced into thinking that love looks like expensive things. That thoughtfulness is measured in price tags. That the best gifts come from viral TikTok gift guides.
But, maybe we've got it backwards?
What the Holidays Are Actually About
At its core, the holidays are about celebrating togetherness. Looking at a room full of people and thinking, "Wow, I'm so lucky I get to spend my days with these humans."
So why are we giving gifts that have nothing to do with that?
Why not give gifts that actually speak to connection, to memories, to gratitude for the life you're building together—instead of things that might end up in a landfill one day?
This isn't about being anti-gift or anti-fun. It's about being intentional. About giving gifts that matter as much on January 15th as they did on December 25th.
De-Influencing You (Kind Of)
We're not here to tell you what not to buy. We're not here to judge, we promise! But we are here to ask: what if there was a different way?
What if instead of things that end up in landfills, you gave something that gets more valuable over time? Something that brings people together instead of just taking up space?
What if the best gifts weren't things at all—but memories made tangible?
Enter: Chatbooks, Gifts That Actually Mean Something
Here's why photo books, prints, and subscriptions are different from everything else on those gift guides:
They Get Better With Time
That blow dryer? Breaks eventually. Photo books? They become more precious every year. They're the gifts people grab when their house is on fire (after the people and pets, obviously).
They Create Moments of Connection
A gadget gets used alone. A photo book gets picked up, flipped through, laughed over. It creates gathering moments. "Remember this?" happens constantly. That's togetherness.
They Remind You What Matters
Every time someone sees that print on their wall or picks up that photo book, they're reminded: this is my life. These are my people. This is what I'm grateful for.
A kitchen appliance won’t really have the same effect.
They're Personal Without Being Presumptuous
Gift cards and subscriptions let people create exactly what they want, with their own photos, their own memories. You're not guessing their style or size—you're giving them a tool to celebrate their own life.
The Chatbooks Gift Guide: Gifts That Matter For People Who Matter
Gift Cards: Let Them Choose Their Memories
Starting at just $10
Sometimes the best gift is saying "I know you have photos you love—now turn them into something real."
Gift cards let them create exactly what they want:
- The vacation book they've been meaning to make
- Prints of their kids to send to grandparents
- A yearbook of their best moments
- Whatever speaks to them
Why it works: Personal without being presumptuous. Thoughtful without being prescriptive. And it arrives instantly via email—no shipping deadlines, no stress.
Photo Book Subscriptions: The Gift That Keeps Giving
Give 3, 6, or 12 months of Monthly Minis or Monthbooks
Here's what makes subscriptions different: every month, they get a new little gift to look forward to. Not just on December 25th—but in January, February, March...
How it works:
- Choose 3, 6, or 12 months
- Pick Monthly Minis or Monthbooks (softcover or hardcover)
- Text, email, or print a designed gift certificate
- They make books throughout the year, you just buy the subscription
Why it's genius: They'll think of you every single month when their book arrives. That's 12 months of "omg best gift ever" instead of one day of excitement followed by dust-collecting.
What they'll do with it: Capture their kid's first year. Document their travels. Print everyday moments. Whatever their life looks like, they get to hang on to it.
Classic Photo Books: For the Big Stuff
From $15 + free shipping
The vacation. The wedding. The year their kid turned one. The family photo shoot where everyone actually smiled.
Some moments deserve their own Classic Book.
Why people love them:
- Completely customizable (20-366 pages)
- Hundreds of designer cover options
- Add captions, dates, whatever tells the story
- Premium quality that lasts generations
The gift angle: Make one FOR someone (surprise!), or give them a gift card to create their own. Either way, you're giving something they'll keep forever.
Yearbooks: Their Whole Year in One Book
From $17 + free shipping
Help them wrap up their year in one gorgeous book. All 12 months, organized and ready to relive.
Why it matters: Years go by so fast. Having a physical book that captures the whole thing? That's the stuff. It becomes the book they pull out every New Year's Eve to remember what happened.
Perfect for: Parents who want to capture their kids' year, anyone who took a lot of photos and wants them organized, people who like closure and reflection.
Bonus: Your photos are filtered month-by-month which makes it SUPER easy to go through them all.
Extra Bonus: If you already have a subscription, you can combine all your books and turn them into a Yearbook with a tap. Easy as pie.
Photo Prints: Little Reminders Everywhere
$12 for 10 prints + free stand
Not your drugstore prints. These prints are thick, high-quality, made-to-last prints that actually look good.
Why prints matter: They put memories in your daily life. On the fridge. On the nightstand. On the desk. Little reminders of the people and moments that make life good.
The gift idea: Give someone a prints subscription (monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly). They get fresh photos delivered regularly to update their frames, send to grandparents, stick on the fridge—whatever keeps memories visible.
Gift Yourself Too (Because, why the heck not?!)
While you're gifting everyone else, don't forget: you also deserve to hold onto your memories.
Make yourself that photo book. Start that subscription. Print those photos that make you smile.
The stand mixer might not get used, but a book of your favorite memories? You'll flip through that for decades.
Why Memory Gifts Are Different
Memory gifts don't end up in landfills. They end up being passed down for generations.
Here's what actually happens with photo books and prints:
Month 1: Opened, flipped through, laughed over, cried over, all the feels
Month 3: On the coffee table, getting picked up regularly
Year 1: One of their favorite possessions
Year 10: Showing it to their kids
Year 30: It's a family heirloom
The proof is in the pudding.
The Science of Why This Works
This isn't just sentiment—research backs up why photo gifts are uniquely valuable:
Printed photos increase connection
Looking at physical photos together creates stronger emotional bonds than scrolling through digital ones. Families who regularly look at printed photos report feeling more connected.
They boost confidence and belonging
Especially for children. When kids see themselves in printed photos, they develop stronger self-esteem and sense of identity. It helps them understand their place in the family story.
They create mindfulness moments
Physical photos make you pause. You can't swipe past them. You have to look, remember, feel. That's mindfulness happening organically.
They preserve what matters
Digital photos get lost. Hard drives fail. Cloud storage gets forgotten. Physical books last. They get passed down, not deleted.
Breaking Free From Gift Guide Culture
You don't have to buy what everyone else is buying.
Those viral gift guides? They're not made for your specific people. They're made to sell products to the masses.
Your gifts can be different. Better. More meaningful.
They can be about connection instead of consumption. About memories instead of trends. About what actually lasts instead of what's popular right now.
Remember: thoughtful > expensive
The best gifts show you pay attention to someone's life. A photo book of their kid's year shows way more thought than an expensive gadget you saw on an influencer's list.
What We're Really Selling Here
Full transparency: yes, we make photo books and yes, we think they make amazing gifts.
But more than that, we want you to think differently about gift-giving.
We want you to look at that room full of people you're lucky to spend your days with and think: what gift honors that? What gift celebrates our actual relationship instead of just filling space?
The answer might be a photo book. Or prints. Or a subscription.
Or it might be something else entirely—a handwritten letter, a playlist of songs that remind you of them, a jar of homemade cookies.
The point isn't "buy our stuff instead of their stuff." The point is: give gifts that mean something beyond their price tag.
This Holiday Season, Give What Lasts
Life is pretty great. And a new toaster oven won't remind you of that every time you look at it.
But a photo book of your favorite year? Prints of your kids on the fridge? A subscription that brings you joy every month?
Those remind you. Constantly. That this life you're living—with these specific people, in these specific moments—is the whole point.
Give that. Not more stuff.
Ready to give gifts that actually matter?
- Send a Chatbooks gift card - From $10, delivered instantly
- Gift a photo book subscription - 3, 6, or 12 months available
- Make a Classic Photo Book - From $15 + free shipping
- Order photo prints - $12 for 10 prints + free stand
- Create a Yearbook - Capture their whole year
The Bottom Line
Things are temporary. Memories are forever.
The blow dryer will break. The trendy toy will be forgotten. The expensive gadget will be outdated.
But the photo book of their kid's first year? They'll show that to their grandkids.
That's the difference.
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