Holiday Mini-Album

Several years ago, a friend of mine sent me a gorgeous little handmade Christmas album as a gift. Inside the 5" x 7" book, there were blank pages for photos and lined pages for journaling. At the top of each journaling page, the years 2000 through 2010 were printed.

I got the feeling my friend was trying to tell me that I should keep track of the holidays as the years go by, and she was right! Even though I faithfully scrapbook every event (and non-event) in our lives for my regular albums, having a separate mini-album that compares one consistent event throughout the years is such a neat way to see how your family has changed.

In the five years since I started keeping this album, my husband and I have celebrated Christmas in three different states and four different houses, and had three different kinds of Christmas trees (and sometimes no tree at all)-all of which have been documented in my little Christmas book.

For my album, I include a photo of my husband and me in front of the Christmas tree each year. Sometimes it's our Christmas tree, and sometimes it's the tree at his parent's house if we've spent the holiday there that year. Look for photos that represent the year and have a story to go with them, such as:

• Everyone at the dinner table for the large family get-together.
  
  
• The newest ornament added to your collection, and the story behind why it was special this year.
  
  
• Adding the star to the top of tree. In the Steed family we take turns each year, so having photographic documentation is a good way to ensure that we all get our chance!

When you journal about the holiday, include information that tends to change throughout the years and tell a story about why that year was different. As you look back, you'll be thankful that you wrote those things down, because the years can quickly start to blend together and it's easy to forget just what happened each year.

• Where did you spend the holiday?
• Did you get a tree? What kind was it?
• Who was there?
• What was going on in your life at the time?
• Was it a white Christmas?

Every year, at the end of the holiday season, before I put away all of my decorations, I add one more photo to the book and journal about how we spent the holiday. Then I put the album away with the rest of the decorations. When I pull them out at the beginning of the next holiday season, it's a fun reminder of where we've been for Christmases past. Maybe in 2010 I'll be able to convince my friend to send me another book to cover the next 10 years!

Special thanks to Maegan Hall for making and sending me this little album that has become a special holiday memory-keeper for our family.