Dates
Christmas photo book deadlines: when to order by
Every year the same thing happens: on about the fifteenth of December a lot of people decide to make a photo book. Printers are at full stretch, couriers are slower than their estimates, and some of those books arrive on the twenty-seventh.
These dates are our suggestion for each country. They take the printer's slowest delivery estimate and add nine days to allow for December.
| Delivered to | Usual delivery | Order by |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 5 to 10 days | Sunday 6 December |
| Austria | 6 to 10 days | Sunday 6 December |
| Belgium | 6 to 7 days | Wednesday 9 December |
| Canada | 5 to 6 days | Thursday 10 December |
| Croatia | 7 to 12 days | Friday 4 December |
| Czechia | 5 to 7 days | Wednesday 9 December |
| Denmark | 5 to 6 days | Thursday 10 December |
| Estonia | 6 to 11 days | Saturday 5 December |
| Finland | 11 to 13 days | Thursday 3 December |
| France | 5 to 7 days | Wednesday 9 December |
| Germany | 5 days | Friday 11 December |
| Greece | 10 to 14 days | Wednesday 2 December |
| Hong Kong | 9 to 11 days | Saturday 5 December |
| Hungary | 6 to 10 days | Sunday 6 December |
| Ireland | 7 to 12 days | Friday 4 December |
| Italy | 5 to 6 days | Thursday 10 December |
| Luxembourg | 6 to 7 days | Wednesday 9 December |
| Mexico | 11 to 20 days | Thursday 26 November |
| Netherlands | 6 to 10 days | Sunday 6 December |
| New Zealand | 4 to 6 days | Thursday 10 December |
| Norway | 6 to 11 days | Saturday 5 December |
| Philippines | 10 to 13 days | Thursday 3 December |
| Poland | 4 to 5 days | Friday 11 December |
| Portugal | 5 days | Friday 11 December |
| Romania | 7 to 11 days | Saturday 5 December |
| Singapore | 5 to 9 days | Monday 7 December |
| Slovakia | 5 to 7 days | Wednesday 9 December |
| South Africa | 11 to 17 days | Sunday 29 November |
| South Korea | 10 to 13 days | Thursday 3 December |
| Spain | 7 to 10 days | Sunday 6 December |
| Sweden | 7 to 12 days | Friday 4 December |
| Switzerland | 6 to 7 days | Wednesday 9 December |
| United Arab Emirates | 5 to 6 days | Thursday 10 December |
| United Kingdom | 5 days | Friday 11 December |
| United States | 6 to 7 days | Wednesday 9 December |
Work backwards
- Order-by date: from the table.
- Family's due date: three days before that, so you have time to tidy the book.
- Start date: ten days before the due date. That's mid to late November for most countries.
What to ask the family for
"Your ten best photos of the year, with a line under each." One from each season if they can manage it. See a Christmas photo book for grandparents for ideas on structure.
If you've missed the date
- Order anyway. The order screen shows the real estimate for your address; it may still make it.
- Choose softcover, which is quicker than hardcover.
- Or make it a New Year book, add the photos from Christmas Day itself, and order on Boxing Day. It arrives in the quiet week of January when nothing else does.
Where Christmas presents are opened on the evening of the 24th, as in Germany, Poland and the Nordic countries, bring everything forward a day.