Halloween 2023

10 Ways to Get Ready for Halloween: A Spooktacular Guide

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Are you ready to embrace the spooky spirit of Halloween? As the leaves change and the air turns crisp, it’s time to prepare for one of the most thrilling holidays of the year. In this guide, we’ll explore ten fun and creative ways to get ready for Halloween. From decorating your home to picking the perfect costume, we’ve got you covered.

1. Halloween Home Decor

Transform your home into a haunted haven with eerie decorations. There are tons of DIY Halloween decor ideas that would make for a great craft night with friends or family. Plus, there’s nothing like a spooky home craft night to increase the creepy ambiance and get you ready for the spooky season.
Don’t forget to take pictures of your craft night and display them in your digital frame. Plus, if you’re feeling extra creative, you can even use your frame as part of your Halloween decor. Just make a Halloween-themed playlist and let it play for all of October.

2. Pumpkin Carving Ideas

Unleash your inner artist by carving the perfect jack-o’-lantern. Not sure where to start? There are plenty of great guides that will make you a pumpkin carving pro in no time. If you need a little inspiration, here are some great pumpkin carving ideas to choose from. You can even get pumpkin carving stencils from your local craft store or online to make your pumpkin really pop. 

Be sure to take pictures as you carve and of your finished product so you can enjoy your pumpkins digitally long after their freshness wears off.

3. DIY Halloween Costumes

Crafting your costume can be a blast. There are tons of DIY Halloween costumes that will make you stand out at every Halloween party this season. Homemade costume ideas are everywhere, and making a unique ensemble truly yours is a great way to get in the spooky mood. 

DIY Halloween costumes also come in clutch if you wait until the last minute and need something quick! Whether you cut some holes in an old sheet to become a ghost or put together all your pinkest clothes to go as Barbie, your homemade Halloween costume is sure to make for some great photo ops. So don’t forget to take plenty of pictures!

4. Halloween Makeup Tutorials

Elevate your costume with stunning makeup. Dive into the Halloween makeup tutorials or special effects makeup to take your costume to the next level with professional-looking results. Whether it’s to compliment a DIY Halloween costume or the perfect online costume find, learning to do your own Halloween makeup is a gift that will keep on giving. 

Plus, you’ll walk away from every Halloween party with phenomenal pictures to treasure for years to come.

5. Costume and Decoration Shopping

If you’re not a huge DIY fan, there are plenty of shopping options to get your home and yourself ready for Halloween. Check out your local craft or Halloween store or an online Halloween shop for all your decor and costume needs. Just don’t wait until it’s too late for shipping!

6. Spooky Movie Marathon

Set the mood with a spooky movie night. Watch classics like “Hocus Pocus” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas” or new releases to really get into the spirit of the season. Embrace scary movies with friends to keep you company or stick to the lighthearted classics for solo movie nights. 

Whichever movies you choose, having a spooky movie marathon is bound to get you ready for October 31st.

7. Haunted House Visits

Explore local haunted attractions to really embrace the Halloween spirit. Search for haunted house tours in your area or “spooky attractions near me” and get ready for a night full of fright! If you have young ones who may not be into the super scary haunted house visits, look into something more tame, like a corn maze or pumpkin patch.

Get photos of your friends and family’s best-scared reactions and make them into a playlist for your digital frame!

8. Halloween Party Planning

Plan a memorable Halloween bash. Invite friends to dress up in their best Halloween costumes and celebrate the spooky season. Complete the planning with creepy cocktails, a Monster Mash Halloween playlist, and Halloween-themed treats. 

You could even set up a photo booth to preserve the memories from this hauntingly fun night.

9. Trick-or-Treat Safety Tips

Safety is a top priority, especially for families. One crucial way to prepare for Halloween night is by taking a quick minute to refresh your trick-or-treat safety tips. There are lots of Halloween safety guidelines each year online (and from local news outlets) to ensure a fun and secure experience for the whole family. 

Hopefully, the scariest thing you encounter this Halloween is your neighbor’s haunted house, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared!

10. Spooky Recipes

Prepare delicious recipes for Halloween-themed treats and drinks. Even if you don’t throw a Halloween party, you can still enjoy Halloween recipes and tons of spooky snacks! Cooking creepy treats is a great way to get into the Halloween spirit and makes for a great October activity. 

Invite friends and family over for a baking night or take on a recipe solo, but don’t forget to take pictures of the process and the final product!

In conclusion, getting ready for Halloween is a thrilling experience filled with creativity and fun. Whether you’re decorating your home, planning a party, or perfecting your costume, these ten ideas will ensure you have a spooktacular Halloween. And don’t forget to take tons of pictures for your Nixplay Halloween playlist so you can display them in your digital frame through the spooky season and beyond! Happy haunting!

Grandparenting from a Distance

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How to Stay Connected When Grandparenting From a Distance

Kimberlee Kiehl, Director of Operations, The Photo Managers

Next to the birth of your children, the birth of your grandbabies is one of the best moments in life. These little humans who share your genetics, remind you of your own children when they were little, and bring you so much joy are truly a gift. When they live far away it can be tough not to get to see them, hold them, and watch them grow in person. Three of my four grandchildren, my daughter’s children, live 10 hours away and have lived far away since they were each born, sometimes living all the way across the country. But we have managed to develop close relationships, and I feel like I am getting to watch them grow, thanks to a variety of technology. Notably, photos have played a huge part in building these relationships.

As a certified photo manager and a long-time scrapbook maker, I very much value photos. I believe they tell a story and that each of us has our own memories when we look at those photos. This love of photos has passed down to my daughter, and now to my grandchildren as well. One of our favorite “together” activities is to look through the scrapbooks I have made for them and share the stories that go with the pages. But when we are apart, we must find other ways to stay connected. Facetime, “snail mail” and our Nixplay frames play a huge role in helping us build and keep these connections.

Video calls are great for all generations

My 6-year-old granddaughter knows how to Facetime me on her mom’s phone and will often take the phone to her room for some “girl talk” or to read a book to me. My 4-year-old grandson wants to show me his latest Lego build. Even my 6-month-old granddaughter knows who I am on Facetime and gives me her huge smile when we chat! They also Facetime with my mom, their great grandma, on her iPad which allows her to feel connected to them too.

Printed gifts for special memories

I will often print photos and mail them to my grandkids after I have visited their house or they have visited mine. After a recent trip to Disneyland, where I surprised them by joining the trip, I sent each of them (even the 6-month-old) a small plastic 3×4 box with their name and embellishments on the outside and 3×4 printed photos of their individual experiences at Disney inside their boxes — including some photos with me in them. They can pull them out anytime and remember our experience together and the fun we had.

Nixplay frames for a daily connection

On a day-to-day basis it is the Nixplay frame that I have in my kitchen that provides me with the most consistent and updated photos of their lives. Both my daughter and I have one (mine was a gift for Christmas from my daughter!) and that frame is the first thing I see when I walk into the kitchen to get my morning coffee and the last thing I see when I turn the lights off to head to bed. Throughout the day, I see photos from years ago intermixed with ones from yesterday. And even better, I can watch short videos of my grandchildren as well! The three of them on the beach, the first day my newest granddaughter sat up, first grade concerts and preschool graduations. I can send them photos of what I am doing as well. These shared photos build connections between us and allow us to share life stories, even when far apart. These are the true joys of life.

Kim is the Director of Operations for The Photo Managers and the owner of Stories of a Life, LLC, a photo and story organizing business in Columbus, Ohio. For more information on managing your photo collection join The Photo Managers for Save Your Photos Month in September 2023 at https://thephotomanagers.com/save-your-photos-month/

How Connecting With Grandparents Can Build Strong Families

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Marie Kondo, the author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and “Spark Joy”, talks of how the process of sorting photos with her family was the project that brought her the most joy. She highly recommends viewing photos together as a family to encourage storytelling. Even the expert of decluttering realizes how important our personal photo collections are!

Research in psychology repeatedly shows that investing in making and sharing happy memories with family has a positive return on investment. A series of studies conducted by researchers Marshall Duke and Robyn Fivush at Emory University found that children who knew more of their family’s history had a stronger sense of control over their lives and higher self-esteem than children who did not know these stories. Further, the children with the most self-confidence had what the researchers call a strong “intergenerational self.” In other words, these children felt part of something bigger than themselves.

Children, even grown-up children, can draw on a bank of positive memories and family stories to help cope with more stressful or turbulent times. When families revisit memories with loved ones through photographs, bonds are strengthened, relationships deepen, and memory improves. It is also just plain fun to look back at the way things used to be, as time was passing before you realized it, as the children grew overnight, and as traditions were practiced over the years.

Here are 4 ways Grandparents can connect with their grandchildren:

1. Create Photo Albums: Printed photo books, scrapbooks, and photo albums don’t require technology to be enjoyed. You don’t need an internet connection, and you won’t need to migrate them to a new format to view them fifty years from now. When you combine images and words into a documentary-like narrative, you are creating a historical record for future generations with stories that you can celebrate and enjoy today.

2. Video Slide Shows: When you combine photos, videos, oral narratives, and music into a slideshow or montage, you create a living album filled with emotion and fun. Try adding music, oral narratives, or both, and the result is a living album filled with movement and sound that triggers your senses. Slideshows are a great option for family gatherings, special events, and celebrations. They can also be a fun option to enjoy on family movie night. Popcorn, PJs, and precious family memories—can it get any better than that?

3. Wall Galleries:  Are you looking for instant gratification while you work on that family archive or photo album? Decorate your home with the people you love! While you organize photos, you’ll come across pictures too good to keep hidden. Look for frame-worthy images that you can display on walls or turn into photo gifts for others.

4. Digital Photo Frames: This is an excellent choice for technology-challenged family members. This way of displaying image slideshows is perfect for people who want a quick, easy way to showcase their memories. It’s also really easy to regularly send photos and videos to your frame, adding to your family story as you go, especially with Nixplay’s easy to use digital frames.

Organizing, telling, and retelling the stories of your family’s good times as well as the stories of bouncing back from the difficult times, can result in more confident children and happier families. And nobody can do that better than Grandparents.

Cathi Nelson is the founder and CEO of The Photo Managers, but most importantly, she’s passionate about helping people organize their photos so they can share their photo legacy. If you need help or more ideas, check out Cathi’s best-selling book “Photo Organizing Made Easy: Going from Overwhelmed to Overjoyed

International Friendship Day: Different Types of Adult Friendships

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Friendships play an important role throughout our lives. They’re a constant and valuable part of our community that offer essential companionship and support. In honor of International Friendship Day, we wanted to talk about the different types of friendships many of us have and how they evolve in adulthood. As we mature and our lives change, it’s natural to have friends that fit different roles or for those roles to change over time. The most important thing is that friends continue to show up for each other in a way only they know how. 

Childhood Friends: The First of Many Friendships

Childhood friends are special for all of us. Whether you met as neighbors, in grade school, or at summer camp, these friendships have strong foundations in shared memories and experiencing some of life’s first milestones together. Childhood friends know us in a way many others never will, and they provide a sense of familiarity and unwavering support. Distance, adult responsibilities, and busy schedules may mean we don’t see these friends as much or that we aren’t fully up-to-date on the latest happenings in each other’s lives, but it doesn’t lessen that foundational bond. Time apart just makes reconnecting with childhood friends that much more rewarding and nostalgic. 

Shared Hobby Friends: The Friendships With Overlapping Passions 

As adults, one of the most cherished types of friends we can have is one with whom we share a hobby. A friend you make via shared interests not only understands that passion, but also actively participates in it with you. Whether it’s spending time outside, playing sports, making music, or any other variety of interesting hobbies, this friend fuels your enthusiasm and is creating memories right alongside you. When you share a bond over a mutual love for an activity, it becomes a powerful connection that deepens your friendship and creates a foundation for a long lasting relationship. Having a friend who loves what you do, makes the things you enjoy that much more meaningful. 

Ride or Die Friends: The Best Friendships

If you’re lucky, you have a best friend that is there for you through thick and thin. In adulthood, weeks can pass without catching up, but as soon as you do it’s like you never skipped a beat. The ride or die friends are the type that would drop everything to support us, and probably have at some point or another. They know you better than anyone and have the power to bring joy, comfort and a sense of belonging. They’re who you go to when you need advice or when you just need to vent — and they know the difference between the two. 

For many adults, friendships take on different forms and serve different roles. There are many more types of friends than what we can list here, and they’re all essential to forming a well rounded support system. While we might not have the same consistency that we did in the past, it’s now easier than ever to stay in touch. The internet allows us to check in with friends near and far in many different ways. We now have the ability to e-mail friends on different continents or reconnect with ones we haven’t seen in years through social media. Nixplay even offers digital frames that can be updated via shared playlists. So you can gift frames to friends and share photos via the frames that you’ll see everyday. It’s a great way to stay connected and see what everyone is up to, and it might even prompt an extra phone call or text message from time to time. However you choose to keep in touch, we hope you check in with your friends for International Friendship Day.

Capture the Magic of Summer: Photography Tips and Tricks

The arrival of summer brings an explosion of colors, warmth, and joy. It’s the perfect time to create beautiful memories and freeze them in time through the art of photography. Whether you’re lounging on a sandy beach, exploring breathtaking landscapes, or simply enjoying quality time with loved ones, capturing the essence of summer can be a delightful and easy experience. In this blog, we’ll explore some expert tips and tricks to help you take amazing summer photos that will make your memories last a lifetime.

Embrace Natural Light:

One of the key elements that set summer apart is the abundance of natural light. To make the most of it, try shooting during the “golden hour” – the hour after sunrise or before sunset – when the light is softer and creates a warm, flattering glow. If your summer activities necessitate taking photos in the middle of the day, seek out shaded areas to soften harsh shadows and create a more balanced exposure.

Compose with Care:

When framing your summer shots, pay attention to composition. Utilize the “rule of thirds” by mentally dividing your frame into a grid of nine equal parts and placing key elements along the intersecting lines. In beach or landscape shots, incorporate leading lines, such as a shoreline or a road, to guide the viewer’s eye toward the main subject. Experiment with different angles, perspectives, and points of view to add intrigue to your summer photographs.

Tell a story:

Your summer photos should do more than just capture a moment; they should tell a story. Look beyond posed shots and aim to capture candid moments. Whether it’s a niece or nephew building a sandcastle, friends laughing on a picnic blanket, or relatives sharing a meal at a family reunion, these authentic moments are special and sentimental to look back on for years to come. Be observant and ready to capture those fleeting, magical instances that define summer.

Preserve and Share Your Memories:

Now that you’ve preserved precious memories and created an extraordinary visual collection of the season’s magic, it’s time to showcase the beautiful photos you’ve captured. Nixplay digital frames allow you to display entire playlists of photos so you aren’t forced to choose just one. Plus, you can share playlists with friends and family to stay up-to-date on each other’s summer activities. They can even add their own photos to collaborative playlists, making shared memories a treasured part of your summer.

Capturing Memories: Why Digital Photo Frames Make the Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

Mother’s Day is fast approaching and the yearly quest for the perfect gift is underway. Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate many different types of mothers — from multi-generational mothers, to brand new mothers, to foster mothers — encompassing all the nurturing mother figures in our lives. While we can get many lovely gifts to honor our mother figures, digital photo frames are one of the best. Digital photo frames will remind our mothers of our love well beyond Mother’s Day and serve as a beacon of our love year round. In this blog, we’ll explore how digital photo frames make an exceptional gift for the mother, grandmother, aunt, neighbor, and all motherly figures in your life.  

Digital photo frames are a modern twist on motherly tradition.

One of the primary reasons digital photo frames are an ideal Mother’s Day gift is that they provide a modern twist on the traditional photo album. The motherly figures in your life likely spent hours curating scrapbooks and photos to commemorate your early milestones. A digital photo frame from Nixplay is a perfect way to give the gift of memories back to the mothers in our lives. Digital photo frames allow us to digitize our memories and preserve them for years. They also create a stunning display of cherished moments so our mothers can enjoy a rotating slideshow of family photos.

Digital photo frames offer effortless personalization.

Digital photo frames offer a level of personalization that traditional frames simply can’t match. While you can personalize a traditional frame with one photo, digital photo frames allow you to add hundreds. Nixplay’s content preload feature will enable you to add curated playlists to your digital photo frame before it even leaves the box. This way, the person you are celebrating this Mother’s Day can open a pre-personalized digital photo frame loaded with your memories together. 

Once it’s gifted, the mother figure you give the digital photo frame to can curate collections that span generations with up to five different shared albums (and unlimited shared albums if they join Nixplay Plus).

Whether it’s capturing the first steps of their grandchild, or collecting all the photos and videos from their favorite family vacation, the digital photo frame will become a gallery of your family’s shared memories. 

Digital photo frames are perfect for sibling collaboration.

If you are one of several siblings, you may be familiar with the typical, last-minute search for the perfect Mother’s Day gift that you can all contribute to. This year, a digital photo frame can be your easy but thoughtful answer. With a Nixplay frame, not only can you add preloaded photos for mom to enjoy when she opens her digital photo frame, but you can also use collaborative shared albums all year long. 

Collaborative albums make a digital photo frame from Nixplay a thoughtful gift that can keep mom in the loop on her kids’ daily lives for Mother’s Day and beyond. 

Stay connected from afar with digital photo frames. 

Digital photo frames help keep families close, even when physically apart. Through images and videos, we can share experiences enjoyed together or separately. Daily uploads serve as a way to stay in touch between visits and phone calls. Digital photo frames serve as a virtual family album that can be updated in real time, so families can stay in touch no matter where they are.  

Digital photo frames offer dynamic displays.

Unlike static photo frames, digital frames offer dynamic displays that breathe life into memories. 

Videos and special text additions add an extra layer of communication. This aspect of Nixplay digital photo frames turns the act of viewing family photos into an immersive and emotional experience, making every glance at the frame a journey through the beautiful tapestry of shared moments. 

Nixplay digital photo frames have user-friendly interfaces.

Nixplay digital photo frames are designed with a user-friendly interface, making them accessible to mothers of all technological abilities. The simplicity of uploading and organizing photos ensures that the focus remains on cherished memories rather than struggling with complicated technology. No matter the age or technological confidence of the mother you are honoring this year, a digital photo frame is a thoughtful, easy-to-use gift. 

Digital photo frames are versatile gifts for all kinds of mother figures.

Digital photo frames are a versatile gift suitable for all mother figures. Whether it’s a first-time mom, a seasoned grandmother, a beloved aunt, or a cherished friend who has taken on a motherly role, the universal appeal of capturing and reliving memories transcends generational gaps. The frame becomes a timeless keepsake that can be passed down through the family, creating a lasting legacy of love.

This Mother’s Day, consider stepping away from the predictable gifts and embracing digital photo frames. Digital photo frames offer a unique opportunity to celebrate the remarkable women in our lives who have played a pivotal role in our upbringing. Through their ability to blend technology and sentiment, digital photo frames are more than just another gadget, they are a holder of precious memories. Give the gift of timeless and continuous love through a digital photo frame. Make this Mother’s Day unforgettable. 

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