Michele Cardello, director of marketing and creative for Life Imprints, a creative scrapbooking supplies company also offering contemporary picture frames, in Cleveland, Ohio, has worked in the photo packaging industry for 10 years. Cardello helps customers find creative ways to preserve and appreciate a lifetime of memories.
How can you give a gift that will go on giving long after it is unwrapped, lauded and put away? If you are considering making a personal scrapbook for some of the special people on your list, check out some of these Christmas scrapbooking ideas listed below. (You may have to concentrate on a few people if you are pressed for time. Next year, you can do the people you missed this time around.) It’s no small job, and will require planning on your part, but when you are finished, your Christmas scrapbooking idea is sure to be the talk of all the family this holiday season.
Think of yourself as the FBI and that maniac, J. Edgar Hoover. Keep secret files (photos, etc.) just like he did on everyone who is the subject of your Christmas scrapbook idea. Only work when inspired. It will show otherwise. Gather photos and ephemera enthusiastically. Use only those items that make you laugh, cry or seriously reflect on that person, or you with that person, or something along those lines. Sort the wheat from the chaff (but not necessarily in that order). If you are ambivalent about including pieces in your Christmas scrapbooking ideas, they probably don’t belong.
Decide on the type of scrapbook you want to make. Here are some thoughts on that.
• If you want a recipe album, concentrate on a few recipes that are especially meaningful to the subject of your Christmas scrapbooking idea. Follow the course of history for the particular family member as connected to that recipe or recipes (photos eating, making, transporting, enjoying, etc). Considering the levity of the occasion, focus on desserts for your Christmas scrapbooking ideas, if you can.
• Christmas scrapbooking ideas for young children
ABC scrapbooks are the perfect Christmas scrapbooking ideas for kids and they are very easy to make. Devote each page of your Christmas scrapbook idea to one letter of the alphabet. Use photos and other ephemera to illustrate each letter in a personal way. For example, A is for Aunt Betty, etc.
• Teachers appreciate homemade gifts from students. For your Christmas scrapbooking idea, consider helping your child make an album for a special teacher on your gift list. If you really are organized and start early enough in developing your Christmas scrapbook idea, you might even be able to coordinate a “group gift” by sending each child in the class a page to make for your Christmas scrapbooking idea.
•Teenagers and pre-teens are a more difficult group per se, as their ideas are constantly changing with the different fads and trends. Two weeks from now an adored rock star may well be a thing of the past, and thus, developing Christmas scrapbooking ideas for this age group can be a challenging venture. Consider a “friends” scrapbook for your Christmas scrapbooking idea with pre-made pages for photos, addresses, phone numbers, email (and MySpace) addresses for each special friend.
• One simple Christmas scrapbooking idea for grandparents should involve photos. Try to get everyone in the family involved. For different grandparents, you can duplicate pages to make multiple scrapbooks.
• Special, unexpected touches to your Christmas scrapbooking ideas can include the kind of trappings you use to decorate your unique Christmas scrapbooks. Save pieces of wrapping paper to use for the picture backgrounds of your Christmas scrapbooking ideas. Use the ribbons from your Christmas gifts for decoration by tying bits and pieces along the spine of your Christmas scrapbooking ideas. Have the children write letters to Santa and save, scan or reduce them for use as embellishments for your holiday pages.
• If you are really strapped for time like so many of us are but are determined to execute your homemade Christmas scrapbooking idea nonetheless, consider purchasing some of the many bound hard cover digital photo books that are available on photo Websites. You can still be the captain of the desired design with your own digital photos, albeit online. This Christmas scrapbooking idea can be very cost-effective and you can order multiple copies for several people on your Christmas scrapbooking idea list.
• Finishing touches for your Christmas scrapbooking idea can include a last section that includes your thoughts, feelings, plans and hopes for the years to come.
Start working on your Christmas scrapbooking ideas now while there’s still a bit of time. A rush job always shows and if you organize yourself, you can get these Christmas scrapbooking ideas completed in plenty of time for Christmas. Celebrate your memories and give them a way to live again and again. They are the gifts that last.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Thankfulness and Thanksgiving Scrapbook Page Ideas
- Thanksgiving Scrapbook Page Ideas: Let Mother Nature be your Guide
- 10 Themes for Scrapbooking
- Scrapbooking Ideas for Thanksgiving: Creating a “why I’m Thankful” Album
- Scrapbooking Ideas for Thanksgiving: Timeless Traditions
- Christmas Scrapbooking: the Mini-album
- Christmas Scrapbooking Ideas and Tradition
- Creating a Family Recipe Scrapbook
Good Jewelry Tools Make A Difference When Beading
By: Jacques Habra | 06/07/2009When working with bead jewelry, so many things determine the outcome. The quality of the materials and the strength of the design are important, but the jewelry tools used are a huge part of the end result.
Case knives or W.R. Case & Son Cutlery Co Started in 1889
By: James Huff | 06/07/2009Case knives or W.R. Case & Son Cutlery Co Started in 1889.. The company's founder was named William Russell Case. Case knives was started be he and this Brother. Back then the company's name was the Case Brothers Cutlery Company. It was first started in Little Valley, New York.. This is where his son Russ Case worked as a salesman for this modest knife manufacturer before starting the company that we know today W.R. Case & Son.
Organizing Your Scrapbook Stuff
By: Robin Huber | 04/07/2009Scrapbooking is one of the most popular ways of keeping keepsakes intact and fun to look at. Coined from the root word "scrap", scrapbooking involves the use of a lot of materials and supplies such as photos, papers and cardstocks, journaling tools such as pens of various tips and colors, adhesives of all
Documenting your Memories
By: Robin Huber | 04/07/2009Photographs and preserving them in a photo album is a novel way of keeping memories fresh in one's mind. Every time one gets to view a photo album, reminiscences and the feelings associated with the memories brought by the snapshots come up and are brought back to life. Pictures as they say, speak a
The Basics of Scrapbooking
By: Robin Huber | 04/07/2009Scrapbooking has become quite a sensation, not only in America but all across the world. This is brought partly by the prevalence of craft shows on TV and with cable channels, other parts of the globe especially the Asian regions have begun to acquire the habit too. Magazines on the subject have also begun to
Magazine Scrapbooking
By: Robin Huber | 04/07/2009Through the years, more and more styles and themes have emerged when it comes to scrapbooking. Since the craft doesn't require formality, anything goes as long as the person enjoys the outcome of the product.
Starting a Quilt
By: Robin Huber | 04/07/2009When you start your quilt, you will need patterns, such as rectangles, squares, cut strips, and so on. Once you gather your patterns, you will need cutting tips to complete your quilt.
Making Wall Hangers with Ease
By: Robin Huber | 04/07/2009Wall hangers make nice gifts. In addition, wall hangers make a nice decoration for your home. The flowerpots, which are pieced by hand, make fancy decorations or gifts as well. In view of the fact, we can start designing a wall hanger together.
Baby Scrapbook Theme Albums From a to Z
By: Michele Cardello | 19/04/2008 | BabiesWhether you are a novice or expert or just need a new idea, baby scrapbook theme albums are a creative way to treasure all your baby's moments. Decorating around a theme such as an alphabet, counting or animals for a baby scrapbook is both creative and fun.
Baby Scrapbooking Kits and Ideas for Every Occasion
By: Michele Cardello | 19/04/2008 | BabiesBaby scrapbook kits are your way to get started savoring all your baby's memorable moments, which include every one of them. Scrapbook kits range from colorful pastels for a boy or a girl to vibrant themes for all occasions, milestones, day of fun and play, and holidays.
Thankfulness and Thanksgiving Scrapbook Page Ideas
By: Michele Cardello | 10/12/2007 | HobbiesOne of the best Thanksgiving scrapbook page ideas involves thankfulness, and an excellent time for the scrapper to show what he or she is most thankful for. It is no surprise that there are several forms of Thanksgiving scrapbook page ideas just for this one theme.
Scrapbooking Ideas for Thanksgiving: Timeless Traditions
By: Michele Cardello | 10/12/2007 | HobbiesWhenever most think of scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving, most think of a painting from Norman Rockwell called Freedom From Want, which depicts a motherly figure bringing out turkey to a large family.
Holiday Scrapbooking Ideas
By: Michele Cardello | 10/12/2007 | HobbiesHolidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa are obvious choices for holiday scrapbooking ideas, but difficult to begin. However, with a little creativity, a scrapper can have some very unique holiday scrapbooking ideas.
Christmas Scrapbooking Ideas and Tradition
By: Michele Cardello | 10/12/2007 | HobbiesMost Christmas scrapbooking ideas involve some sort of observance of tradition, so it is important for the scrapper to rediscover the traditions of his or her own family and create the page from there.
Scrapbooking your Holiday Traditions
By: Michele Cardello | 10/12/2007 | HobbiesHoliday traditions are followed in every culture around the world. What better way to chronicle them than to saver the memories in a holiday scrapbook that can easily be passed down from one generation to the next.