Why give a poster for Christmas? A keepsake that stays and brightens a wall
By St Stephen’s Day the wrapping paper is in the recycling bin and half the presents are already put away. A poster goes on the wall. You see it every day, and every time you think of the person who gave it. Here is why it makes such a good Christmas present, and which one to pick.
Giving a poster at Christmas means giving a keepsake people see every day: it decorates a wall and tells a story that belongs to them, a date, a place, a face, a family. You build it online, you see it before you pay, and it is printed to order in our workshop in Aveyron. To arrive in Ireland before Christmas, order by 15 December; after that, there is the printable file.
What is left of a Christmas present by February?
Think of the presents you got three Christmases ago. Not many are left. The jumper has been through the wash, the candle has burned down, the box of treats was gone in a week. That is fine: lots of gifts are made to be used, and that is how it should be.
But when you want a gift that really counts, you look for the opposite. Something that does not wear out, does not sit in a drawer, and has a real place in the person’s home. A wall is that place. A poster stays there for years, and you walk past it every day without thinking.
A memory you see every day
A photo on a phone is something you scroll past. A poster in the sitting room is something you glance at with your coffee, until one morning you stop in front of it. That is the difference between a memory that is put away and one that is right there in front of you.
A personalised poster is perfect for this, because it holds what matters to the person: a date, a place, a name, a face. Take the star map. It shows the stars above one exact spot, on the date and at the time you choose: the night you met, the night a baby was born, the day of a wedding. Nobody thinks to look up that night. On the poster, you get that sky back.
The city map does the same with a street: the one from your first date, your first flat, the neighbourhood you grew up in. You put the marker on the exact spot, pick a short title and write one line underneath. And at Christmas the poster keeps one more memory: the moment it was opened.
A decoration that means something
Almost everyone has a bare wall somewhere. You hesitate for a long time, then hang a picture you quite like, and that is that. A personalised poster changes this: it is not a nice picture from a shop, it is theirs. Guests stop in front of it, ask a question, and the conversation starts.
Choosing a size is easy. The A4 and the 30 × 40 come with a wooden frame in black, white or natural, so there is nothing more to buy: you just hang it. The bigger sizes, up to 70 × 100 for a sitting room, are sent rolled up, and the person puts them in a standard frame of their choice.
What really moves people: seeing their own story
The posters that move people are not the prettiest ones. They are the ones where the person recognises themselves. They tear the paper, look for a date, see their own name or their children’s, and there is a small silence. Then they smile, sometimes with tears in their eyes. They understand that you took the time to think about them.
It is also the right answer to “don’t get me anything” and “I already have everything”. You are not giving one more thing. You are giving something they have already lived, which they can finally look at. And it is often the people who say they want nothing who are moved the most.
Which poster for which person?
Here are some ideas, from the simplest to the most personal. All of them are made online, and you see the result before you pay.
- For your partner: the sky from the night you met, or the map of the city where it all began.
- For a couple, at the end of the year: the year-in-review poster, five moments from their year, four figures of their own and a word of the year.
- For new parents: the first Christmas poster, with the baby’s photo in an oval, a name on a little label and a red-nosed reindeer.
- For grandparents: the family photo painted in watercolour, with the family name underneath. The family pet can be in it, if it is in the photo.
- For a whole family: the word FAMILY, where each letter is cut out of a photo: from one to twelve photos, in the order you choose.
How to give it on Christmas Day
The best way is to see the poster before you order it. On the site you type a name, a date or a place, and the poster draws itself in front of you. What you see on screen is what will be printed, so there are no nasty surprises on Christmas morning.
To make it ready to open, choose the framed A4 or 30 × 40 and tick the gift-wrap option. The poster arrives wrapped in its paper, and there is nothing left to do except put it under the tree.
And to keep it a surprise, you do not need to ask the person anything. You probably already know the date or the place. If a photo is needed, a message to a relative is enough: “Do you have a nice photo of the family?” Nobody suspects a thing.
Until when can you order for Christmas?
A poster is printed to order, in our workshop in Aveyron. Allow four to five days to receive it in France, and six to seven in the rest of the European Union, Ireland included. The table gives the last day to order. It leaves two or three days of slack, so nobody has to rush at the last minute.
And if the date has passed? There is still the printable file. The link arrives straight after payment, and you can print it at a photo shop or at home. You lose the wooden frame, not the gift.
| Country | When presents are opened | Order by |
|---|---|---|
| France | under the tree, on 25 December | 18 December |
| Germany | Bescherung, on the evening of the 24th | 14 December |
| Spain | the Three Kings, on 6 January | 27 December |
| Other EU countries, including Ireland | on 25 December | 15 December |
| Printable file | no workshop delay | a link the same day |
Scenes and people generated by AI.
Frequently asked questions
Why give a poster for Christmas?
Because it stays. It goes on the wall, you see it every day, and it reminds you of the person who gave it. Personalised with a date, a place, a name or a photo, it tells the story of the person who receives it: it is a keepsake and a decoration in one.
Which poster should I give someone who already has everything?
A poster about them, not one more object: the sky of the night they were born or you met, the map of the city where it all began, or the family photo painted in watercolour. None of this is in the shops, because what it is made of is their own story.
Can I see the poster before I order?
Yes. The poster is built online and draws itself as you type, so you see what will be printed before you pay. For the watercolour portrait, the preview takes about thirty seconds and carries a watermark, and you can try again up to three times with the same photo.
Do I need a frame?
Not necessarily. The A4 and the 30 × 40 come with a wooden frame in black, white or natural, ready to hang. The other three sizes are sent rolled and go into a standard frame. For a gift opened on Christmas Day, the frame saves the person a trip round the shops.
Until when can I order for Christmas?
In France, by 18 December. In Germany, where presents are opened on the evening of the 24th, by the 14th. In Spain, for the Three Kings, by the 27th. In the other EU countries, Ireland included, by the 15th. After that, there is the printable file, sent by link the same day.
Can I give a poster and keep it a surprise?
Yes, everything is done on your side. A date, a place or a name is enough, and you almost always have one. For posters with a photo, ask a relative for one without saying why. The photo is deleted thirty days after the parcel is sent.