Key takeaways:
- The Heirloom video book is an intimate way to share captured memories for maximum impact.
- For givers/creators, the builder enables easy combining of photos, videos, music and audio.
- Heirloom is a small business whose customer service will hold your hand throughout.
While the Gift Givers HQ team works on putting the finishing touches on our beaucoup holiday gift guides (subscribe to make sure you don’t miss them), I’ll jump out ahead to describe the best gift I’ve ever given to my family.
If the below idea interests you for the holidays, now would be a good time to start thinking about it.
As the family photographer, I’ve made it my tradition to mark the Christmas holiday with photo remembrances that include our loved ones no longer with us.
I have custody of all the photographs, all the home movies originally created by my father and now in various media forms, all the recordings. But there’s never enough time for us to delve into the treasure trove all together.
So, every year I dip in and extract some of the photographic assets to package up—with mixed results, if I’m being honest. That year I distributed some photos on a USB drive? Yeah, that didn’t quite land.
But last year’s gift was a smashing success, thanks to my discovery of the Heirloom memories video book.
The “book”is basically a heavy-duty cardboard frame for a video player of whatever videos, photos and music you select.
The gift, each shipped in a perfectly sized cardbook box, opens and immediately starts to play. There’s no need to download an enabling app, try to connect to wifi, or even plug in. It operates on a rechargeable battery.
As soon as the video plays, your intended will be carried away—whether it’s by decade-old sentimental photos, recent wedding, graduation or new baby photos or even company milestones. Prepare for impact, everyone will love this!
What you need to do
Having worked on technology-based photo gifts over the years, I’ve suffered through previous products’ limitations and ultimate disappointments. Combining images and videos, for example, isn’t as easy, definitely not as seamless, as some would assume. And the more files you add, you run the risk of the interface grinding to a halt. At which point, you find yourself wondering if you should just buy everyone slippers instead.
The happy surprise is that this small business has overcome most of the issues that would deter the techie and non-techie among us. You place the order and are given access to an easy-to-use builder on the Heirloom website. To start, my recommendation would be to get the gist of it by first uploading just a few images and videos and hit preview. You’ll see how simple it is and where to go from there.
My challenge is always that I have too many assets, the files are ginormous, and I want to do too much with them. When I learned about this product’s capabilities, I was skeptical but I wanted to believe. Before I was going to let myself go too far into the work, I emailed several questions to Heirloom support and each response gave me reason to be optimistic.
Here were my questions and the responses I received from Randee Bloom, who is the mother of owners sister and brother Ashley Kenny (nee Bloom) and Zack Bloom. ChatGPT or one of the other AI searches might be able to answer these today, but she and I had such a nice interaction last year that gave me further confidence in the overall project.
You could order the book to play for 10 minutes, 20 minutes and one hour.
Q. What is the file limit size for the 30-minute and hour-long videos?
- 10 min book – A combination of videos, up to 10 minutes OR 150 photos or any combination
- 20 min book – A combination of videos, up to 20 minutes OR 300 photos or any combination
- 1 hour book – A combination of videos, up to 60 minutes OR 900 photos or any combination
Q. What would be better for the final result: to upload multiple clips or to compile multiple clips outside of Heirloom and upload a single file?
A. Either way works! Many people like to use individual clips so they can have more control individually in the design phase. For example, move a video around, remove a video, or even clip a video’s length.
This response surprised and pleased me. It’s one thing to know the video you want to use but often when you see it in context with everything else you realize that it should be shorter or used in a different way. To be able to edit the video in place saves the time of having to do it outside the builder and then bring it back in.
Q. Is there a limit on the number of multiple files to be uploaded?
A. No limit, just based on the size of the book purchased.
In the 10-minute video I created I used 70 files altogether and one audio clip. My family hated to see it end, but for our group I think 60 minutes of clips would be alot—not to mention pricey for six books.
Q. Do you make the compiled video available? I’m just thinking about the older eyes of some of my recipients, think they might appreciate being able to watch on their big ole TVs.
A. Yes, for sure, we provide a sharable link.
Great response! This meant that my compilation wasn’t going to be available only in a proprietary system or via the small player. I immediately went to the link and downloaded the .mp4 to my photos archive.
Note, though: Although I told my family it was available, no one has asked for it yet. There’s something so intimate about holding and watching the player.
The only option last year was a 5-inch HD screen in a square 6.5-inch by 6.5 inch book. Heirloom now also offers a book with a 7-inch screen.
Focus!
Understanding the Heirloom interface and its capabilities was just the first step. The next step was to organize the assets and establish a focus.
My family showed characteristic resilience in what was a difficult 2024. That led me to settle on the theme of “Smile,”with photos and videos of my smiley family through the years accompanied by a rendition of the Charlie Chaplin song (“Smile though your heart is breaking…”). Cue the Kleenex!
Once I identified the images and videos I was going to work with, I was in and out of the interface, adding things around for the better part of a week. I previewed and then placed the order. Easy, straightforward, no system meltdowns. There was nothing intimidating about this.
I’ve been emphasizing the need for you to get going in time for the holidays but not because of a long production time on Heirloom’s part. They say the construction process takes 2-3 days and orders are shipped the same day they are completed. Video books with custom covers require an additional 5-7 business days for production. My order arrived before I started looking for it.
A few more notes
- Included in the book is a charger. The books arrive charged but you’re going to want to confirm all are good to go before you present. The impact starts when the book is opened and the photos/videos/music start to play. It can play for at least an hour without a charge, according to Heirloom.
- Controls on the side enable you to increase and decrease the volume, reverse and fast forward, pause and play. I wish the player included a progress bar that would enable you to go right to a specific time stamp.
- You have your choice of 16 covers appropriate for a variety of occasions. For an additional $20 you can design your own cover. A custom gift box is available too.
- You choose a vertical or horizontal orientation for the book, one or the other throughout.
- There’s an option to include a text message on a sticker that’s glued to the inside cover.
- If you don’t want to upload your media on the Heirloom system, you can order a blank book, which comes with instructions on how to create it yourself.
This is a superb gift for those you want to both surprise and honor with the time you invest in creating it. So many videos and photos are taken nowadays that the images they capture tend to be fleeting. We love the idea of returning to the best files you have on your phone, computer or elsewhere, and memorializing them in a modern-day album for your loved ones to have and return to.