Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year / Spring Festival) is the most important family occasion celebrated across East Asia and Chinese communities worldwide. Relatives who normally live apart come together, families gather around the reunion dinner, children receive red envelopes (hongbao), and the new year is celebrated with lion dances and firecrackers.
Plenty of photos are taken during this special time. However, collecting everyone's photos in one place is surprisingly difficult. In this article, we'll show you how to smoothly share family photos during Lunar New Year.
Challenges of Lunar New Year Photo Sharing
Lunar New Year gatherings come with unique photo-sharing challenges.
- Many distant relatives: Lunar New Year is a time for homecoming, but some relatives live overseas or can't return due to work. You still want to share photos with them
- Digital divide between generations: Younger family members are comfortable with social media and cloud services, but grandparents and elderly relatives may struggle with smartphone operations
- Different messaging apps: Within the same family, some may use WeChat, others WhatsApp, and others LINE or iMessage
- Photos end up scattered: Photos are spread across each family member's phone, and asking "please send me that photo" becomes a chore
One URL for All Relatives to Access
With PicTomo, you just share a single album URL and every family member can access the same album.
- Works from WeChat, WhatsApp, LINE, or any app: Just send the URL as a message — it doesn't matter which app your family uses
- No app installation required: Tapping the URL opens the browser, so there's no need to download a new app
- No registration required: No account creation hassle, so elderly family members can access it immediately
- QR codes work too: Print a QR code and place it at the gathering spot — a quick scan opens the album
Just send the URL to the family group chat with a message like "Upload this year's Lunar New Year photos here!" and you're all set.
Scenes You'll Want to Capture
There are so many moments worth photographing during Lunar New Year. Have the whole family snap photos and add them to the album.
- Reunion dinner: The most important moment when the whole family gathers around the table. Food photos, toasting moments, and smiling table shots
- Red envelopes (hongbao): Children's delighted expressions as they receive red envelopes. Photos of small hands holding the red packets become a beautiful growth record when taken year after year
- Lion and dragon dances: Colorful lion and dragon dance performances. Capture the movement with PicTomo's 6-second animation feature for extra atmosphere
- Decorations: Spring couplets, red lanterns, "fu" characters, plum blossoms — the beautiful decorations unique to Lunar New Year
- Family group photos: Three- or four-generation group photos that are hard to get at other times. Don't miss this rare opportunity when everyone is together
- Fireworks and firecrackers: The moment of celebration at midnight. Hold your phone steady for night photography to avoid blur
Why It's Easy for Elderly Family Members
The most important thing about Lunar New Year photo sharing is that everyone across all generations can participate. Here's why PicTomo is easy to use for elderly relatives.
- Browser-only: No app downloads or updates needed. Just open the URL to view photos
- No account creation: No need to enter email addresses or set passwords
- Tap to enlarge: The interface is simple and intuitive, even for those unfamiliar with smartphones
- Multilingual support: Available in 10 languages including Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), English, Korean, and more, so family members can use it in their preferred language
Having a younger family member create the album first and briefly show others how it works ensures a smooth experience.
Creating an Annual Photo Tradition
Lunar New Year comes every year. Creating an album and collecting photos each year builds a growing family history over time.
- Year-by-year albums: Create albums like "Lunar New Year 2026" and "Lunar New Year 2027." Children's growth and family changes get documented in photos
- Save via ZIP bulk download: PicTomo albums have an expiration period, so use the ZIP bulk download to save all photos in high quality before they expire
- Create photo books: Use downloaded photos to make a photo book at the end of each year. A collection that grows by one volume every year becomes a family treasure
Summary
Lunar New Year is a precious family occasion. Don't let family photos stay scattered across individual phones — use PicTomo's shared album. Just share a single URL, and distant relatives and elderly family members alike can view and upload photos with no app and no registration.
This Lunar New Year, why not collect everyone's photos in one place and reminisce together?