I would consider myself a pretty hard person to shop for. I’m not as bad as Rachel Green from Friends, who has a long history of returning nearly every gift she is given, but generally speaking, I’m up there in the tough-to-buy-for category.

For Christmas this year, my sisters surprised me with a Polaroid Snap Instant Digital Camera. I was shocked!—and elated as I’d always wanted a Polaroid Camera, but never would have bought one for myself. Now that I’ve been able to use it for several months, I thought I’d do a quick post on it in case you’re in the market for a Polaroid yourself. It’s currently retailing for under $100, so would be a great treat-yourself purchase ahead of any summer vacations!

Let me start by saying having a Polaroid on-hand at holidays, on special trips, and just on routine wine nights is so much fun. While I love snapping photos on my iPhone and DSLR, I had forgotten there is a lot of joy in having the physical photo. (Remember the days when you’d take your film to the store to get developed?!) You do have to purchase the ZINK photo paper separately and it works out to be about $0.50 per photo. What’s super cool is that the photo paper has a sticky back, so you can easily make any photo you take into a sticker.

(As an aside, if you want to obtain the Polaroid effect but want to have the luxury of choosing which photos you print, definitely check out this Fujifilm Instax Smart Phone Printer. My best friend Molly has one, and together we basically run our own dark room when we’re together!)

One thing that I really appreciate about the Polaroid Snap Instant Digital Camera as compared to other instant cameras on the market is that it looks really chic. It’s design is simple and because of its clean lines, it doesn’t look like a toy. It’s also super lightweight and easily fits into any bag, including my crossbody bags. It’s easy to charge, and it holds for a long time.

The lens cap is magnetized and stays on really well, so I’ve never been worried about it popping off and the lens being scratched in transit. It’s also smart enough that it won’t let you take a photo when the lens cap is still on—something that has saved me many times!

The camera allows you to take photos in three color modes—black and white, color, or sepia—and you can choose whether or not the photo has a border on it. I love the flexibility that these settings offer because you can really customize the printed photo to fit whatever subject you’re aiming to capture. I typically print my photos in color, with a border, and then I write in a Sharpie on the back a date/caption.

Perhaps the best feature of this Polaroid Camera is that it has a space for a MicroSD Memory Card on the side so that you also have a digital copy of any photo you print. I love this because that means I can easily give out a physical copy of a photo to a friend while knowing I also have a copy. This also makes it easy to share photos via email or on social media.

All in all, I’ve loved having a Polaroid Camera these last few months to play with, and would definitely recommend getting one if you’re thinking about it! I’m happy to answer any questions about the one I have—feel free to shoot me an email: katie@atouchofteal.com.