Party Panorama

Party Panorama is a birthday accordion: eight tall panels that unfold across the table so everyone can see the party at once, then fold up to stand in the child's room. It is for the party the morning after, and for the guest of honour who wants their friends on the shelf. The kids style gives cream panels, coral accents, Josefin Sans and rounded photo corners. The cover panel holds a photo with the name and the age. Then a full-bleed photo, three stacked, a photo with a caption and date, two stacked, three stacked again, another full-bleed and the back panel with a small photo and a sign-off. The stacks hold six small square-ish photos each, which is where the guests go: one face per slot so nobody is lost in a crowd.

The full-bleed panels are for the birthday person, in portrait, blowing out the candles and opening the big present. The caption panel takes the group photo with the date. Single-sided printing means a bright glossy inkjet photo paper is perfect here, and the colours of a party look best on it. Use 160 to 200 gsm so the strip stands, score before folding, and tape the two A4 strips together at the back. It is a good project to do with the child: they choose the photos on the phone, you press print, they fold. Thirteen photos fill it; the four-panel version with six photos takes five minutes.

Printing this accordion is forgiving because it prints on one side only, so the glossy or satin photo paper home inkjets do best on is exactly right; nothing has to line up on the back. Each A4 or Letter sheet gives four tall panels (A3 gives four bigger ones), and an 8-panel album is 2 strips joined with a strip of tape on the reverse. Use 160 to 200 gsm so it stands on a shelf, and score before folding on anything heavier or the ink cracks at the crease. Fold zig-zag, mountain then valley, using a ruler for the first crease. Print at 100%, not Fit to page, with borderless mode on if the printer offers it. The template uses 13 photos across 8 panels.