A Simple Way to Document the Holidays

Don’t Let Your Holiday Memories Disappear Into Your Camera Roll

How many photos did you take last Christmas? You probably captured dozens of little moments — decorating the tree, baking cookies, gathering with family and all those everyday bits that make the season special. But how many of those photos have you actually looked at since? It’s so easy to take hundreds of pictures, let them pile up on our phones and move on to the next thing. Before we know it, another Christmas has come and gone, and those memories are tucked away in a camera roll we rarely revisit.

This year, I’d love to encourage you to do something a little different. Let’s bring those memories into our creative lives! You don’t need to create an elaborate scrapbook or spend hours putting together a perfectly coordinated album.

A Simple Way to Document Your Holiday Memories

For this project, I wanted to show just how easy it can be to create a little space for your favourite holiday memories using things you might already have in your craft room.

I started with three simple supplies:

• An upcycled greeting card
• Two envelopes
• A piece of patterned paper

That’s it! A few basic supplies, a little creativity and you have the beginnings of a fun little memory-keeping project.

I love finding ways to give old cards and leftover supplies a new purpose. An upcycled, purchased or thrifted card makes a wonderful starting point, especially if it has a design you love or a special message you’d like to preserve. Add a couple of envelopes for pockets and places to tuck things away, along with some patterned paper to tie everything together, and you’ve got a simple way to collect your memories.

You could use this little project to hold favourite Christmas photos, handwritten notes, journaling about a special family tradition or even small pieces of memorabilia from the season. Think gift tags, snippets of wrapping paper, a favourite recipe, a shopping list or a note about something funny that happened. These are the little details that help tell the story of your Christmas long after the decorations have been packed away.

Watch How It Comes Together

I’ve put together a video showing you how I turn these simple supplies into a little holiday memory-keeping project. I’ll also share a couple of samples to give you ideas for different ways to use this technique and make it your own.

As you watch, think about what you already have in your stash that could work for a project like this.  A pretty greeting card, a couple of envelopes from your desk and a piece of patterned paper is all you need to get started.

You Don’t Have to Document Everything

One of the biggest reasons we put off memory keeping is that we think we need to document everything. But you don’t! Instead, try choosing just a handful of favourite photos from the season. Pair them with a few handwritten words about what made those moments special. Add a little piece of memorabilia if you have one, and call it done.

You might document a family gathering, your favourite Christmas baking day, a special outing or simply a quiet afternoon spent decorating the tree.The goal isn’t perfection. It’s creating something you can pull out years from now and enjoy all over again.

My suggestion? Start small. Choose five favourite photos from last Christmas. Write down one memory you don’t want to forget, and make something with them. You might be surprised at how satisfying it feels to get those memories out of your camera roll and into your hands.

Want to Create Something a Little Bigger?

If you enjoy this simple project and would like to explore more ways to combine photos, journaling and pretty patterned papers, I also have an Interactive Christmas Mini Album To-Go Class available! The finished album is a wonderful way to document your Christmas celebrations, preserve favourite traditions and tuck away little bits of memorabilia.

You can find all the details on this project here.

Let’s Make Our Memories Tangible

Whether you create a little envelope project from supplies in your stash. Or spend an afternoon putting together a mini album. I hope you’ll find a way to preserve some of your favourite holiday memories this year.

You don’t need fancy supplies, hours of free time or a perfectly planned scrapbook. You just need a few photos, a little creativity and the desire to remember. Because years from now, you probably won’t remember every gift you opened or every dish you served. But you’ll be glad you took the time to preserve the little moments that made Christmas yours.