Social media posts can be a great way to express spontaneous gratitude and celebrate the things we're thankful for. But, these posts and memories often fade and get lost in your social media feed. This is why many Mixbookers have created gratitude photo books to help capture and share their gratitude.

With Mixbook’s innovative storytelling technology, it’s easy and intuitive to turn your most inspiring social media images into something tangible – a gratitude photo book you can hold in your hands which are 100% customizable, easy to create, and rewarding to receive.

The importance of a gratitude photo book

Counting your blessings has been prescribed by grandmothers since time immemorial, and is a great way to cheer yourself up when you’re feeling down. But gratitude is much more powerful than just a folk remedy for grumpiness. It’s one of the most powerful and positive of all emotions.

Gratitude feels good

Feeling gratitude benefits mental health as it can lower stress and amplify positive thinking. Psychology Today defines gratitude as follows: “Spontaneously generated from within, it is an affirmation of goodness and warmth.” Just a few ways to generate that feeling include:

Quickly list five things you’re grateful for, big or small.
Send a short text expressing gratitude to a loved one.
Try to remember the last compliment you received…
And then give a compliment to somebody else.
Look through some favorite, gratitude-inspired photos, whether it's on your phone or in a physical album.

Doesn’t that feel good?

Preserve your social media memories

There’s a reason more than 150 million Instagram posts feature #blessed – social media posts are another wonderful way to express and feel gratitude. However, the nature of social media posts means they catch the attention for just a few moments before we scroll on. Even the most meaningful posts can be quickly forgotten.

Turning your most special social media memories into a gratitude photo book preserves them indefinitely. A physical photo book will never disappear into the depths of your social feeds. Plus, it’s shareable in real life. You can give a book as a gift, browse it together with someone you hold dear (without squinting at a small screen), and treasure it for a lifetime.

Step-by-step guide to creating your gratitude photo book

With the comprehensive suite of tools in the Mixbook Studio, it’s never been easier to create a gratitude photo book. The studio also offers a seamless way to source photos directly from your social media posts.

Step 1: Choose and upload images from your favorite social media posts

Scroll through your social media accounts and decide which posts feature images that are ideal for a gratitude-themed photo book. If only your best, most meaningful photos make the cut for your posts, you’re already one step ahead. Fans of the photo dump might need a little more time.

Here are a few tips to make this process easier:

Search your feed for tags you use in posts expressing gratitude.
Find images that capture special moments, and memories — for example, the smiling faces of our loved ones, the serene beauty of a sunset, or just sweet, silly moments from your day-to-day life.
Search for tagged friends or family members who you want to feature in your book.
Scroll to dates around milestone events that will feature in your gratitude book, such as graduations, birthday parties, holidays, and anniversaries.

Sort and upload your chosen images

There are two easy ways to sort and upload social media images for your gratitude photo book:

Create a “gratitude” folder on your desktop or mobile device. Download the chosen images directly from social media into the folder. Upload the entire folder to “My Photos” in your Mixbook account.
Upload photos directly into Mixbook from social media. Navigate to “My Photos” in your Mixbook account, look for the “import from other services” header, and click on the Facebook or Instagram icon. Sign into your social media account and click to give permissions for Mixbook to connect. Select photos to upload directly into Mixbook.

Tip: Social media posts are often automatically compressed, and often cropped or filtered. If you want to avoid those alterations, find the original photo file to upload instead of the social media version.

Step 2: Plan the layout of your gratitude photo book

Along with the overall theme of gratitude, your photo book should tell an emotional story in a way that makes sense. Achieve this by paying attention to the sequence and structure of the book.

A few ways to approach this include:

For a year in review book with a gratitude theme, arrange photos in chronological order.
Organize spreads around particular people, places, events, or things you are grateful for. For example, spreads to each of your children, your spouse, and pets.
Use the Auto-Create feature in the Mixbook Studio, which generates ideal layouts using AI.

A good layout also offers an eye-pleasing balance between pictures, text, and white space. Keep this in mind as you browse themes, layouts, and other design options.

Step 3: Write captions or notes of gratitude

Make good use of the option to add text to your gratitude photo book. This can be for captions, quotes, meaningful phrases, and any other details that give context to the images. You might want to include places, names, and any memories associated with each photo or collection of images.

A big benefit of transforming social media posts into a gratitude photo book is that the posts already include original text. You can copy over any Instagram captions or the text from Facebook posts. Or, just use the original posts to help you recall details such as the exact date and location.

Think: What, specifically, are you grateful for that is represented in each image – at the time, today, and while imagining the future? What emotions does the image evoke? Write it down, and edit the sentiment down to something short and sweet.

Need more inspiration? Check out 55 Great Quotes to Help Say Thank You and Articulate Your Gratitude.

Step 4: Personalize your photo book With Mixbook

Personal photos and captions make every Mixbook creation unique, but you can go so much further with personalization. Use all the tools in Mixbook’s photo book editor to customize every detail, either starting with a Blank Canvas or a theme.

There are hundreds of photo book themes available on Mixbook, with options in varied categories to suit every aesthetic. Just a few themes that are perfect for a gratitude book include:

Use Mixbook's customization tools to enhance each photo. For example, you can:

Flip, rotate, resize and reposition photos
Layer photos and design elements over each other
Adjust colors
Add effects e.g. filters, borders, and shadows

Step 5: Review and order your gratitude photo book

It’s important to proofread and double-check every page of your book, which is easy with the PREVIEW button in the Mixbook Studio. You can also share the book with others and get their feedback by clicking the SHARE button.

When you’re ready to order your gratitude photo book, click ORDER. You can then select:

Book type (softcover, hardcover, lay flat)
Book size (XS, S, M, L)
Paper finish (everyday semi-gloss, signature matte, premium lustre)
Cover finish (glossy, matte)

Enter your shipping and payment details, and in no time you’ll be holding your beautiful gratitude photo book in your hands.

Other Unique Ideas for a Gratitude Photo Book

Take inspiration from other Mixbookers for your gratitude photo book. For example, this Mixbooker dedicated the month of November to thankfulness and created a photo book with one spread for each day.

Others have created gratitude books for special occasions such as birthdays, graduations, and vacations. Year in Review Photo Books with a focus on gratitude are popular, as are personalized gifts that show gratitude to the recipient.

Ready to Make Your Own Gratitude Photo Book?

Social media and custom Mixbook memorabilia both use the power of pictures and creative storytelling to evoke the most powerful of emotions. Bring them together by creating your own gratitude photo book at www.mixbook.com.