Photo Print Fun: Make Your Own Jar of Smiles

“The past year has certainly been mentally challenging for us all – especially for the children! With schools and nurseries closed across the country, both Alfie and Hudson have been through all kinds of emotions, every single day. Looking back, the first lockdown was pretty novel – it felt like a holiday in parts, with the sun shining and all the time in the world to hang out as a family, from exploring woodlands to playing in paddling pools and having plenty of fun in the garden.

Alfie and Hudson are both very active, sociable, fun children. They usually spend a lot of time with grandparents every week and enjoy playdates with their friends. My partner and I actively take them out on adventures every weekend, wanting to do as much as we can with them whilst they are young. This is why the unfolding lockdowns across the winter months felt very different as we weren’t able to explore the outdoors like we did in the summer.

Last summer, the boys did amazingly well and enjoyed being together in our little family bubble. But then it sunk in when they had to do it all over again… They started to become more aware of the limitations and began to ask every five minutes why it was happening and when things would change.

Whilst spending more time together as a family than ever before, our bonds deepened; we laughed, and we cried. As expected, it came with many challenges, but we wanted to make sure that we look back on this unusual time in a positive way. We started to document this unprecedented event they’re living through, bringing together the memories we created to look back on in future and share with friends and family when we are reunited again.

And so the Jar of Smiles was born. We filled their jars with all sorts of things that were important to them, right at that moment. There were countless times when the boys would ask me whether they could visit people they missed or to go out on adventures – the jar was a wonderful way to channel these questions, writing them down on a small slip of paper that will give us plenty of ideas and things to do when lockdown ends! It was a place for them to add their hopes and dreams, all the things to look forward to that would make them happy, as well as to remember the happy times of the past year.

The boys added pictures they drew, paintings they did to thank the NHS, along with some of their favourite small toys. One afternoon, we sat down and painted some rocks they found on a woodland walk, writing words and feelings that make us smile – the perfect addition to our Jars of Smiles.

My favourite part was adding a selection of photos, especially of the family and friends they miss. As a lifestyle photographer, I love capturing the most authentic emotion and actions possible, which made a great addition to their jars. I ordered a range of Photo Prints and Mini Prints with Boots Photo, from pictures of them bonding together as siblings, to stepping out for daily walks as a family. They also wanted to store all the things they wanted to do after lockdown, so I printed photos of past holiday memories, playdates with best friends, theatre visits and family they miss.

The Jar of Smiles is a great way for the children to pick out what they're most looking forward to when everything gets back to normal again, as well as appreciate the little things and moments they got up to during lockdown. In future, they’ll be able to look back over this unusual time and see what they got up to!”

Create Your Own Jars of Happiness

You don’t have to be a professional photographer or have children to get involved in this fun activity. Whether you celebrated a milestone moment, birthday or occasion, or simply want to remember the happy moments from across the year, print your special memories with Boots Photo and create your own Jar of Happiness. Any meaningful moment that made you smile, regardless of how big or small it was, will make a great addition to your lockdown jar that you will love to look back through in future.

If you’d like to find about more about Lucy and her lifestyle photography, head on over to lucyewarner.com or give her a follow on Instagram at @lucyewarnerphotography.