(KRT) – Vacation season wanes and the kids are back in school. But those memories will keep us warm when the temperature drops. We put our shoppers on the block to find the best ways to preserve and share summer fun.

The steal: $10 limit

Put your photos to work

• Get your photos out of the album and into your life. Many digital photo services will turn prints into greetings cards, calendars, even coffee mugs. Imagine grandma’s thrill at having a different family moment decorating each month. (Calendars at FedEx Kinko’s start at $8.99.) FedExKinkos.com.

• Forgo the Christmas letter. Let the relatives see what you did on summer vacation. Greeting cards (8″ x 5.25″, also from FedEx Kinko’s) can feature your personalized image. A box of cards with a family portrait is great for kids going away to college. (Box of 25, $29.99, as little at $1.20 each).

-Jodi Leese

The sensible: $50 limit

Print from digital

• Cherish those summertime moments captured by a digital camera with the Digital Photo Album, which makes it easy to get pixelated pics off the computer and into a more traditional format. Remove pages from the album, print your favorite images on them with any inkjet printer, and reassemble. The album, available at www.uncommongoods.com for $45, includes 20 acid-free pages. Covers come in either pear or a white daisy pattern. Refill pages are available for $18 (sold in sets of 10).

– Pam Harris

The splurge: $100 limit

The professional touch

• Now that you’ve snapped all those summer photos, it’s time to do something fun: turn them into a DVD. Professionals like Action Video Service in Richardson, Texas, will take your pictures, let you add up to four musical selections, and link them together to create a video montage. The Basic Photo Montage from Action Video Service costs $100. A title page, extra photos or music will cost more. So will a fancier presentation of the photographs.

Want extra copies for family and friends? They cost $10 or less, depending on the number.

-Linda Leavell