This Mini Photo Printer Is So Cute and Great for Gifting

Finding the right gift for someone can be fun or frustrating, depending on your gift-giving skills and the person you’re getting a present for. Are you looking for something that’ll impress everyone at your white elephant party or be nice to receive as a secret snowflake gift? Or are you on the hunt for an exciting item that’ll satisfy even the pickiest recipient? Lucky for you, I may have just found the cutest, most crowd-pleasing gift for people of all ages. Say hello to the Canon IVY 2 Mini Photo Printer.

This mini device works by connecting to your smartphone device with Bluetooth technology (compatible with both Android and Apple devices) through the Canon Mini Print app to allow you to print and customize photos — add stickers, text, or even collages — from the palm of your hands. The IVY 2 Mini Photo Printer uses ZINK (zero ink) technology, which features colorful dye-based crystals embedded inside each photo paper.

The printer comes with a pack of 10 peel-and-stick photo papers, but you can purchase packs of 20, 50, 100, or even these really adorable mini circle sticker photo papers.

The Canon IVY 2 Mini Photo Printer might just be the “it” gift of the year because it is such a crowd-pleaser. It’s compact, personal, and extremely fun to use. I know that my nieces, ages 7 (soon to be 8) and 10, would love this as a gift, so I’m sending them one this holiday season (shh, don’t tell them!). I can already imagine all the photos they’ll be printing, decorating, and posting around their home and sending to me via mail, as we live in different states.

What I love about the Canon IVY 2 Mini Photo Printer is that it reminds me of my middle and high school days when my friends and I used to use purikura (print club) machines and go to photo booths. We’d take a ton of photos, customize the images, and make sure everyone would leave with their own photo print (or two).

This mini printer made me feel instantly nostalgic and excited to bring it around with me in the coming months, when I’ll be seeing a lot of friends and loved ones over the holiday season. I’ll be able to re-create the feeling of taking photos and customizing them right away, so that everyone will be able to walk away with a physical memento of the event (which is pretty sweet, if you ask me). 

Because the device is so compact, it’s really easy to carry around in a bag or clutch. The peel-and-stick photos also make it easy to add them to a scrapbook, photo album, or print that you hang up in your home. It’s all about having some instant fun, capturing memories in the moment, and sharing it with your loved ones — instead of having your photos languish in your camera roll or waiting for a high-quality print to get developed and blown up later.

So if you’re looking to be the best gift-giver of the season, you’ll want to grab one (or two) of these mini photo printers, stat. Want more gift ideas? Check out our Gift Therapy guide.

Buy: Canon IVY 2 Mini Photo Printer, $109.99