Preserve Your Family's Holiday Photos in a Scrapbook

by Carolyn Moir

Make the memories of this holiday season last with a scrapbook. Scrapbooking is a hobby that has become wildly popular in recent years. So much so, that the new word "scrapbooking" has been accepted into our everyday vocabulary. The term "scrapbooking" needed to be a verb, because this activity is very involved. It's a way to connect and add meaning to regular family photos.

Most families take lots and lots of holiday photos: kids opening presents, the spread at the table, a child lighting a Menorah candle, the Christmas tree decorated... but then what do you do with them all? Scrapbooking is a way for you and your children to infuse the pictures with the feelings and memories of those days.

It can be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be, but the idea is that the pictures do not stand alone, one right after the other, with no explanation and no emotion attached. Start out with supplies. You can buy holiday page kits at scrapbooking websites or stores. You can also just buy the acid-free papers in color themes, such as blue, white, and silver, or maroon, green, and gold, etc. Then sort your pictures by event, or chronologically, or in any way that you want to.

Look at the first picture and remember exactly what was going on in that moment. Think about how you felt and how you feel now, looking at it. What other things were going on in the background of the picture or off to the sides? Who is the person in the picture and what is your relationship to him or her? Use these thoughts to put in a small square of journaling, or for putting appropriate word stickers.

Another way to make your scrapbook meaningful is to interview members of your family and add their stories to the pages. Ask your grandmother about how she spent holidays when she was young, or even ask your sister what she felt during the holidays while you were growing up.

This album can become a great family tradition. Do a new one every year, or get a big one and do one or two pages every year. Get your children to tell you what each picture means to them, or give them their own pages within the family album. It will help them to connect with their past and to see new value in the gathering of family.