Holidays and events can yield lots and lots of photos, which means it can be challenging to figure out how to organize those photos.
One option is to make holiday collection pages that show both the constants and the changes over the years.
Our team shows you their holiday collection pages here.
Lynnette Wilkins says, “Every Christmas Eve, we get new pajamas and document it with a photo in front of the tree. This started when we had kids, beginning in 2005 and has continued until now. The most recent photo is from 2017.”
“I tried to choose the single best photo from each Christmas Eve. This was tricky–especially as we had more kids–trying to get them all looking and smiling together! One year I didn’t get a photo of them all together, so I chose two photos in order to show all of them in their new jammies. They work well together because of the common theme, and because I placed them in chronological order to create a timeline of sorts, and you can easily see the growth of the family and of each child year to year.”
“Although it’s been a steady tradition, the thing that changes is the people. The kids grow, and the family grows as the years go by – although we are pretty sure we’re not adding any more siblings at this point! It’s so fun to see them change over time.”
Mistletoe & Holly: Elements, Mistletoe & Holly: Patterns and Backgrounds by Allison Pennington; Memory Pockets Monthly: Wonder collection by Allison Pennington, Paislee Press, Sahlin Studio, Mommyish, Sara Gleason, and Valorie Wibbens
Marie-Pierre Capistran says, “This is the story of our elf on the shelf who’s been visiting us since 2014.”
“The pictures I’ve chosen are from 2014-15-16 and 2018. They highlight some of her special visits, like when the girls and her were getting to know each other when she just arrived, and when she came in replacement of the Tooth Fairy or when she visited us for the first time on Halloween. I’ve chosen pictures showing the girls reactions and facial expressions and showing the relationship being built between the girls and their elf.”
“It was very important for me to record that story this way because although I have told the story in snippets here and there over the years in my December Daily albums, to see all the pictures together on one page make it clear that our elf is not just an elf. She’s a very important part of our family tradition and our story!”
Elf on the shelf by Marie-Pierre Capistran | Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Die cuts: Simple Stories, Recollections, Heidi Swapp; Stickers: Pretty Little Studio, Crate Paper, American Crafts; Acrylic Shapes: Florilege Design, Stamps: Florilege Design; Flair Button: Pretty Little Studio; Enamel Dot: Florilege Design; Embossing folder: Florilege Design; Embossing Powder: Hero Arts; Others: Silhouette Cameo.
Karen Poirier-Brode says, This holiday story is about how we use mostly the same decor each Christmas, but like life, changes happen.”
“The photos above the ribbon bows are from 2015, but could easily be from earlier years, these photos were the simplest to find. The lower pictures are from this year. After more than 20 years the glass ornaments on the wreaths are broken or damaged, so new elements were added. Using a wreath design helps emphasize the story of the modifications to the wreaths. The angel Barbie collection has grown, so the addition of scrapbook storage in the dining room creates a new venue for these.”
“I chose the photos because they showed the same items from the past to present and I wanted to emphasize the idea that place and even people may change but the holiday celebration is a strong tradition and an anchor for our family.”
A Little Tweak to Tradition by Karen Poirier-Brode | Supplies: onelittlebird_lifeinpieces; lgrieveson_hester – flower; lgrieveson_fresh-festive – kit; Club Scrap – inked edges; lgrieveson_light_me_home – bird flair, paper strip; lgrieveson_mistral – twig, metal flower; OLB_Origin – blue button; DDE_Backyard_Splash – Brad_Green_GinaCabrera
Megan Blethen says, “I am a photographer as a side career and one of the things I love doing every year is a new family photo. We usually take it in November or December and then send out Christmas cards to extended family and friends. I always keep at least one of each card to put in our scrapbook albums.”
“I decided making a layout with the last 15 years of cards on it would be a great way to show off all of the cards. The years span 2004-2018. I haven’t included them in our scrapbooks like I had wanted to. This is also a fun way to see the change in all of us throughout the years. Because there are so many photos, I chose to highlight only one family photo on the page and then made a pocket sticking out of the top to put the other photos in. This way makes sure that the layout doesn’t become too crowded and busy.”
“My oldest turned 14 this year and has surpassed me in height by about 3 inches so it is fun, and also a little bittersweet, to look through all our family Christmas cards over the years and see how much all of our kids have changed and grown. Printing photos has always been important to me. I also love receiving Christmas cards so I definitely want to send them out for others. I want these photos to be in our scrapbooks for other generations to see them and know how important it is to take and share family photos. We are in an age where a lot of people don’t print pictures and just post them on social media. I think we will be sad about this later on down the road.”
Family Christmas Cards by Megan Blethen | Supplies: Patterned Papers ; Simple Stories Freezin’ Season ‘Snuggle Up’ & ‘Snowed In’, Crate Paper Merry Days ‘Frosty Days’ & ‘Greetings’ Vellum, Close to my Heart White Daisy cardstock; Embellishments; Off White Shipping tag, Merry Days Ephemera, Merry Days Puffy Stickers, Merry Days Chipboard, Merry Days Black Puffy Alphabet ‘Holly’, Spiegelmom Scraps Sequin Mix Snowy Fields
Debbie Hodge says “With ‘When in December’ I wanted to create a collage of the things we did year after year when my boys were still here at home and going to school. I settled on four categories: eat, give, gather and sing.”
“Each column shows shots of the particular category and the photos are taken from a wide range of years. I made this page almost five years ago. Now that my sons are older and my Dad has passed, I love looking back at how things were, and remembering all the good times. It encourages me to appreciate the moment I’m in and more more good times.”
When In December by Debbie Hodge | Supplies: Pretty Planks by Amy Wolff; Glitter Styles by Just Jaimee; Woodlets, Pocket Fillers 3 by Valerie Wibbens; Blitzen Bits by Lynne-Marie; Santa Claus is Coming by Little Butterfly WIngs; Hello December, Vintage Christmas by Laurie Ann; Stitched by Anna Brown by Anna Aspnes; Anna Clara, Raleway fonts
Debbie Hodge says, “This is a compilation of photos from 8 different Thanksgiving celebrations spanning 10 years. Since we don’t live near family, we’ve celebrated at different spots over the years. We’ve hosted, we’ve often gone to the home of dear friends, and we’ve traveled to upstate New York.”
“I grabbed two or three photos each from several Thanksgivings and grouped them in clusters along with glitter alphas spelling out the year each cluster shows. Most of the groupings are a series of three landscape-oriented photos–but then two of the groupings are just a little different for variety. The title starts at upper left and finishes at bottom right of the second page to help guide the eye.”
Thanksgiving is a Moveable Feast by Debbie Hodge | Supplies: Grateful Edition by Little Butterfly Wings; Scissored Scalloped Mask, Thankful Heart by Anna Aspnes; Family Almanac by Sara Gleason; Woodgrain and Glitter Styles by Just Jaimee; Chunk Five, Bohemian Typewriter, Pastiche Brush fonts.
