Many years ago, while Daddy was still here with us, we planned a Big Thanksgiving at my daughter's house. Somewhere, I had seen an idea for making an "I'm Thankful For..." album and thought to do the same.
It did not take a lot of prep-work (a plus, since time is always tight right before a Big Holiday Dinner). All I did ahead of time was cut a lot of cardstock all the same size and put it, and a dozen pens, into a ziplock bag to keep them safe and together. On the actual day, once we were all gathered together, some in the kitchen, some visiting, some watching the inevitable football game, I got everyone's attention and explained that I wanted each person, large and small, to take a piece of cardstock and a pen and write down something they were thankful for. During the course of the afternoon, I took candid shots of each person. This proved more challenging than you might think...especially keeping track of who I still had not gotten a photo of. I had to prompt a few people, but in the end, I got lovely notes of thanks from everybody. Once we sat down at the table and before we started dinner, I read them one by one. It was very touching and memorable.
After the Holiday Season, I printed out the photos. Then I cut out 6"x 6" cardstock, glued 2 pieces together for each page ( this makes the pages sturdier) and punched 2 holes in the same place on page. I made a lovely front and back page and decorated them. For each inside layout, I matted and glued a photo of the person on one page and on the facing page, I matted and glued their Statement of Thankfulness. This was especially rewarding and allowed me to relive the whole day, all over again.
Over the years, I have made several of these
albums for other people. When we go
through them, they remind us not only of
pleasant times gone by, but also of how
what we appreciate in our lives evolves.
I love my thankful photo book!