So who took lots of photos this holiday season? I know I did. The first thing that I plan to do with my photos is to of course post my favorites to my Facebook profile. Then a must is compile a video of the pictures for my family to watch. I want to add music and special effects to it and give it to them on a DVD that they can just pop into their DVD players and watch the fun on their own television (or computer).

A great online site that I use to create videos is Animoto. Animoto allows you to create a 30 second video for free! What could be better. You simply upload your pictures using a very easy interface. Pick some music to go along with it and voila! You’re done!

So lets see what is involved in creating this gift of the holiday season. All you need to create this fun video is some photos on your computer and about 15 minutes.

Go to the Animoto web site. You must first create an account but don’t worry it is free. There are however upgrade options to use other features such as creating a full length video. The free video is 30 seconds long.

Create your account

Click on the sign up link at the top of the page. Enter in the requested information and click the sign up button at the end.

Create a free video

Once you have created your account, click on the create video link on the top left side of the page. You will be walked through a 3 step process. 1) Get your images, 2) Select music, 3) Create video. In step 1 you can upload pictures from your computer or get pictures that you may already have online from flickr, facebook, SmugMug, Picasa, or photobucket.

After all your selected pictures are chosen, click continue to go to the next step. Here you can browse through the musical categories and selections. You can also upload music from your computer. Once you find a musical selection, click the save and continue button. And then its on to step 3.

Step 3 is where you will provide some information about your video. This information is shown at the end of the video, just like credits for a movie. Click the Create Video button and let it process. You will be alerted when it is complete.

Click below to view my holiday video.

Once you are happy with your video, you have the option of posting it to many different online venues, such as your blog, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, email to your friends, or simply download it to your computer and burn it onto a DVD.

Creating this video took only about 15 minutes. It is simple to use. Go create one today and email it to your family and friends as a reminder of the holiday season. Once you have yours created, why not share it with us here!