How to Make a Holiday Memory Book

Anyone will be thrilled by the gift of a one-of-a-kind holiday memory book.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Envelopes
• Scrapbooks
• 8 1/2-by-11 Stationery
• Photo Albums
• Postage Stamps

1. Buy or print out 8 1/2-by-11-inch stationery sheets with a decorative holiday border.

2. Send blank sheets to all the friends and family members of the person for whom you are making the memory book.

3. Enclose a letter explaining that you are making a memory book. Ask people to write down a specific holiday memory of the recipient on the sheet of stationery enclosed and to mail it back to you by a specific date. Also ask for any pictures that relate to this memory.

4. Remind people that the finished book will be a surprise, so nothing should be mentioned to the recipient.

5. Buy a photo album with blank, loose pages that will accommodate a page the size of the stationery.

6. Place each memory sheet on a page, and include any pictures that accompany it.

7. Decorate the cover of the photo album.

Tips & Warnings

• If you would rather have the sheets bound, send out plain sheets of stationery and then have the sheets copied onto high-quality paper and tape-bound.
• If you want the book to be a complete surprise, you may need to come up with sneaky ways of getting addresses of the recipient's friends and relatives. Leave yourself time for a little research and enlist the help of relatives you know.
• Don't forget to fill out a sheet yourself.
• Give yourself enough time to complete this project; ask for the sheets to be returned at least two weeks before the special occasion.

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on 11/22/2005 Make color photocopies of the pages (or just some of them) and keep them in a folder, just in case the original book is lost or damaged. You'll also be able to show "the book" to family who couldn't get to see the original, for whatever reason.

on 11/22/2005 If you're giving it as a gift at a party or event, put some blank pages in at the end to hold photos of the party, and provide those photos to the recipient.

on 11/22/2005 You can use different types of pages for your book: scrapbook pages, photo-sleeve pages and one-pocket page protectors for full-page items. You can move pages around easily, too. Laminating sheets (4x6) are great for sealing items onto scrapbook pages.

on 11/22/2005 Make a scrapbook to stand the test of time for everyone to look at and enjoy. For Father's day, take pictures of dad and kid(s) from the past year and make a mini-book with all the memories written in it.

on 11/22/2005 Create cute book covers (front and back) either by hand or on the computer. Have a thick lamination placed over them and have the whole thing bound with a spiral binding. This way the book is cute, protected and the pages don't get bent when opened.