The holiday season comes and goes each year, and we spend much time and effort preparing for this special season. Be sure to treasure your memories by creating scrapbooks about your family’s celebration of the holidays.

1. Record your Christmas Tree hunt from start to finish. This will include picking the perfect tree, bringing it home, getting it in the stand and of course decorating it. Take photos of new ornaments that adorn your tree this year.
2. Save one of the Christmas cards that you send out, complete with your family letter and photo. Be sure to sign this card as you do all the others – your handwriting (along with any other’s on the card) will be valued in years to come.
3. Take photos of your baking, starting with all the ingredients to the completed baked goods. Be sure to capture the mess along the way! Include the recipes for each item you’ve made.
4. Keep your shopping lists to show how organized (or unorganized) your shopping plans are. Include a timeline of when you started shopping and when you wrapped the last present. Take a photo of the items in the bags and then as wrapped presents under the tree. Finish it off with a picture of the person opening the gift and their reaction.
5. Ask older members of your family (grandparents, aunts & uncles, friends) to share some of their special memories of Christmas past. Take a photo of each person and write his or her memory down. This history will be so valuable to remember as years go by.
6. Snap photos of your decorated house inside and out. Zoom in on special decorations or displays and journal why these are important.
7. Be sure to record cherished Christmas Eve and Christmas morning traditions with photos and words. Include special foods, services attended, when gifts are opened, visits from Santa and games played.
8. Save gift tags and create a scrapbook layout with these tags. Take a photo of the person opening the gift.
9. Keep your camera on hand to record the planned and candid photo. After the photos are taken, be sure to then develop the images. Printed photos provide such wonderful memories – but only when they are actually in print form.
10. The final and most important tip in preserving your holiday memories is to take time to do it. Don’t let the creative design of the scrapbook page overwhelm you; just sit down and begin remembering and recording.