Personalized Christmas gift ideas for kids: a book they will keep
By January, most of what is under the tree has been forgotten. A book with the child's name in it is one of the few presents that comes back out every December.
Pick by age
A first Christmas (0 to 2). A baby does not need a plot. My First Christmas is a first-Christmas book with the baby's real face: the star on the tree has gone missing, and a knitted penguin, a few steps in the snow and a big warm hug find it.
Ages 3 to 8. My Christmas with the Little Reindeer has a tiny reindeer fall off the sleigh with the town's bag of presents on Christmas Eve, and the child helps catch up with Santa. Their face is on every page. For a child who does not need to see their face, The Missing Gift is a ready-drawn Christmas Eve story with their name inside: one package is left under the tree with no label, and it is empty.
With their face, or with their name
A book with their face means you send one clear photo, you see the cover and the first pages free, and you approve the whole book before it prints. A book with their name means no photo and no wait: you read the whole story on screen before you order. If the gift is a surprise from far away, the name-only book is the easier one to order in a single sitting.
How much time to leave
Plan on about three weeks. The preview takes a few minutes, you review the pages, then printing and delivery take 8 to 12 business days on average within the USA. That is an estimate and not a guaranteed date, and the last days before Christmas are busy for every carrier. For a last-minute gift, the face books come as a PDF ($19.99) that arrives by email as soon as you approve it, so a gift can still be ready on the day.
Making it from you
For the illustrated stories you can write a dedication that is printed on page one. It is a good place for the year and a few words, and the part of the gift that gains value as the child grows up.