by Debbie Hodge
NOTE: sketches with free layered templates are available for several of the layouts shown here. Click for Seder Moments template. Click here for template for the “Grateful For . . .” templates.
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Know your holiday rhythms and scrapbook events well
Every holiday has its own rhythm—and each of those holiday rhythms vary by family. Understanding your holiday rhythms is a big help when you’re beginning to decide how to scrapbook your photos and whether to to organize them on one or multiple pages. Here are some scrapbook page ideas that take into account personal holiday rhythms.
The cleaning and cooking preparations for Passover usually consume several days for our family. This page shows my oldest son cutting vegetables and my younger son practicing "Let My People Go" on his sax.
Consider Halloween. Because my children are young and love this holiday, for the last few years this holiday has had the same a multi-part rhythm in our home. I imagine this will change, but right now, I photograph: pumpkin carving, 2 school parties, 1 adult party; and trick-or-treat night. What’s your rhythm for this holiday? Do you even celebrate it? Do you have other fall celebrations? Perhaps and Oktoberfest?
By keeping holiday rhythms this in mind, I already have an idea of categories for sorting through the photos and organizing them logically–which is key to making several pages efficiently.
What is your rhythm for the upcoming spring holidays? Do you celebrate Easter? Passover? Let this understanding guide the photos you take, the memorabilia you save, the pages you decide to make, and the space you’ll allot in your albums.
many holidays call for multiple scrapbook pages
Holidays that take place over more than one day — or that have a lot going on — may merit multiple pages. Look for logical ways to organize these pages and the photos on them. Even if you are able to get many photos onto one spread and show an overview of the holiday at once, consider doing at least one more page that highlights one or two great photos and gives you space to journal about the essence of that particular celebration.
Here's a layout from the same Passover in the "anticipation" layout above. This is from the table and the journaling records the news we were sharing with each other this night.
holiday “collection” pages show constants and changes
Gather similar photos taken over several years from the same holiday to show traditions that endure as well as the changes that inevitably occur. The shot of the family under the Christmas tree is a classic one that many of us take year after year. In addition to collecting photos over several years, you can gather photos that are related subject-wise and span one holiday season. For example each of the jack-o’-lanterns you encountered one year, or one shot from each of the holiday parties you went to. I’m working on a series of Thanksgiving scrapbook pages that show different aspects of the holiday covering several years. Layouts follow!
So what is your rhythm for the upcoming spring holidays?
I'm working on an album of Thanksgiving pages that look at the various aspects of Thanksgiving over several years. This page takes a look at decorations and traditional images around the holiday as incorporated into the celebrations by my family.
Here's another page from the series about food! The photos span several years. Other pages in the series are "Grateful for Play," and "Grateful for Family."
