There are so many great ways to show mom some Mother’s Day love. You could get her a puppy, but then again, dogs are messy. You could take her out to eat, but appetites aren’t forever. You could get her jewelry, but that can get pricey.
Or, you could make her a Mother’s Day slideshow and hit her in all the feels. It’s mess free, lasts forever and is totally affordable. Basically, it’s the perfect way to say, “Mom, I love you and thank you.”
So, what goes into the perfect Mother’s Day slideshow? We thought you’d never ask!
How to make a Mother’s Day slideshow
For starters, no slideshow is created equal, but we’ll try to give you some tips and tricks to make yours feel personal while pressing all the right emotional buttons. So start thinking of unique themes and music (preferably her favorite tunes) and let’s get this slideshow rolling.
Step 1: Determine the length
A good place to start on figuring out the length of your slideshow most likely revolves around how many photos you have. A good rule of thumb for duration is around the 3-5 minute mark. It’s a slideshow after all, not a movie. That means you should aim for about 20 or so photos per minute for a grand photo total of between 60-100 photos.
Step 2: Choose your photos
If you have digital photos already, then you’re good to start making your selects. If you don’t have digital photos and feel the need to raid (and dust off) the ol’ family photo album, then you’ve got a little extra digitizing leg work yet to do. But that’s okay, we can easily help you with all your digitizing needs!
Step 3: Select your software
When it comes to producing your slideshow, there are tons of different picture slideshow software to choose from, including various video editing software (if you want to get a little more creative with it). Programs like Movavi Slideshow Maker are pretty easy to use and straightforward and PhotoStage Slideshow is also a great budget conscious option that’s also user friendly. Just to name a couple.
Step 4: Picking some tunes
What’s your mom’s favorite song or artist? That’s always a safe place to start when figuring out which music you want to layer underneath your show. Or, maybe there’s a song that’s themed around mothers in general? Just don’t think you need to be limited to only one track. Certain sections of the slideshow may evoke a more upbeat track, whereas other sections may be a little more sincere. If it were my mom, I know I couldn’t go wrong with a little Beatles.
Step 5: Get the kids involved
A heartfelt “I love you mom” message from her children should definitely make the final slideshow cut. After all, it’s why she’s celebrating this day in the first place. So, get the kids involved with some fun interviews where they get to explain why they love mom and what she means to them. Just a warning: you might have to bust out some tissues.
Step 6: Add some heartfelt quotes
Whether they’re coming directly from you or you found them online, it doesn’t really matter. If pictures are worth 1,000 words then a sincere quote has to be worth something close. I mean, what mom wouldn’t love to hear “A mother’s hug lasts long after she lets go”? Give her some loving words she’s sure to remember!
Step 7: Get creative with your fonts & colors
It’s a personalized slideshow for mom, so get creative with what you put in it. If her favorite color is teal, use some teal. If she just loves comic sans (I don’t know why she would but if she does) then use some comic sans. Add your own dash of personality to the slideshow that shows mom you thought about every little detail.
Digitize your other memories of mom
I already mentioned that you can lean on Legacybox to digitize any of your old photographs so you can add them to the slideshow, but that’s not all they do. You may have a box of old home videotapes with a bunch of vacation footage, holiday clips – maybe even your birth or her wedding day. If you do, send them in to us and we’ll professionally preserve them for you, along with any of those photographs, cassette tapes, film reels and more.
All you have to do is send off your old analog that you want digitized and our certified team will get to personally hand digitizing them for you. When they’re done, you’ll get all your old media back along with a shiny new thumb drive, DVD and/or cloud download. So make it a Mother’s Day she won’t forget.
And again, make sure if you do go the Mother’s Day slideshow route that you also get her that box of tissues. She’s going to need them.
