Sure, you’ve baked the turkey, served up some tasty side dishes, and even provided a pumpkin pie… but while you were busy in the kitchen, who was snapping the photos? What will you share with those friends and relatives who were unable to attend? Read on for fun ways to celebrate your holiday moments then share those memories with others.

Most of these ideas were thought of for Thanksgiving, but you could easily adapt them for whatever special meals or parties you have planned over the holidays: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, New Year’s or future family get togethers.

Share your Thanks

Have each one of your guests bring along a “totem” – a trinket, photo, or even a piece of clothing – that represents what they are most grateful for this year. You could change this according to the holiday you are celebrating, asking your guests to bring something that represents light or peace or their hopes for the New Year. Assemble all the tokens on a dark (or light) colored blanket, and take a photo. You could add a symbol of the holiday to the blanket, such as a turkey, so you remember what the totems represent. At dinner or dessert, have each guest tell what their totem means and why they brought it. You could record one or two (or all!) of these stories to accompany your photo.

Get the Kids Together

Sometimes it’s hard to capture the little ones on camera, if they are too busy running around, or don’t give natural smiles when posed. Try corralling them with a craft and take some action photos while they’re working. A popular craft for all ages is decorating ginger bread cookies. Most family magazines and many websites have recommendations and directions for simple holiday crafts this time of year, or just drop in to your local craft store for a recommendation. If you have a video camera, you could try asking each child what he or she is thankful for this year, and recording their answers.

Snap the Setting

Don’t forget to take photos of the tablescape, even before the food is laid out. Also considering prefacing the series of holiday photos in your album with an opening photo of one special, or a meaningful group of, decorations.

Greet your Guests

Try one of these ways to ensure you capture each guest on camera. Take a photo of each arriving family at the door or in the same spot, perhaps framed by a holiday decoration. Or take a picture of each dinner dish with the person or family who brought it. Don’t forget to snap an extra photo or two of the oldest and the youngest guests.

Capture the Action

Don’t forget to snap a few pictures in the kitchen of those preparing the meal. And those just sitting and watching television. If you place those photos side by side in your album, you might just see your couch potatoes in the kitchen next year.

Get Outside

Yes, it might be dark and cold, but a photo from the yard will add some variety to your holiday pics, remind people who hosted the event, and tell folks what weather your guests battled that day to arrive at your home. Try taking holiday lights, step back to take the whole house, or just the front door. To welcome your guests, decorate your entrance: put a welcoming plant next to the door, or hang a swag over the doorway.

Take Some Light

Candlelight makes an especially pretty picture for your album. Try creating a mini tablescape for your photo, by placing a candle next to one or two symbols of the holiday. Light the candle and slowdown to take your photo. This time of year, light represents hope, peace, and the warmth of your gathering.

Say Thanks Again

If there was an especially favorite dish, consider sending the recipe and photo of the dish in the thank you card (or email) that you send to your guests. You could also send this to those who couldn’t make it to your gathering.

Stay tuned…in our next blog we will provide tips on getting full use out of your digital camera. Remember, take our survey and you can save 20% on your order!

By Nicole Gallant

Creative Director

Photagio

www.photagio.com

Copyright © 2008 Awesome Memoirist and Photagio. All rights reserved.

Your photos record your family throughout the year. But often a typical album doesn’t capture your family’s stories. You’ll want to preserve all the memories for your children and grandchildren and yourself – so you can celebrate your own moments! Read on for seven fun ways to capture your family’s history.

Play Dress Up

Pick an outfit that has meaning to your family – a special dress, bathing suit, or hat, and photograph your child in the same outfit every year from 1 to 18! See your child grow into grandma’s wedding dress, or Dad’s favorite hat. I use the little Hawaiian slip dress I picked up on our honeymoon (and no longer fit into!). Take the photograph a few days before your child’s birthday, and write down a few notes about your child or your own feelings. For example – what new achievements did your child reach this year? What will he or she be doing to celebrate his or her birthday? Add the notes to your photo album along with the picture.

Create a Theme Album

Do you go to the same vacation spot every year? Enjoy the same traditions for a particular holiday? Consider picking one annual family event, and either copying or taking those photos from each year and putting them into one album. For example, you could have a Thanksgiving album or a Summer Holiday album. You can see your family grow from year to year. You could take this idea further and reorganize all your photo albums by season or holiday instead of year.

Cook Up a Family Feast

Do you have a favorite meal or heritage recipe? Snap some photos of your family preparing, enjoying or even cleaning up the meal. Then include the recipe in your album, along with those photos. Choose a favorite photo for a recipe design from Photagio (http://www.photagio.com/shop1700.htm), and you can give a Photagio wood mount to each of your children when the get their first apartment. They can hang it on the wall in their kitchen for memories of home – and they can cook up that favorite recipe whenever they feel nostalgic for home. Perhaps you’ll even get a phone call!

Jot Down your Favorite Things

Once a year, jot down your family’s favorite things – food, music, books, movies, and outings. How did your children feel about their school year, teacher, friends, or summer vacation? Did anyone take up a new sport or hobby? Change jobs or get a promotion? Snap a picture of each person or the whole family altogether. Then, give each person his or her own page in your photo album, to jot down his or her favorite things.

Capture a Favorite Family Story

How did Dad and Mum meet? Does Uncle Fred have a story about the fish that got away? Did the family dog encounter a skunk? Choose a story that’s fun and amusing to everyone. It’s best to choose a grown up’s story – be careful not to choose a story that a child could still find humiliating (such as when little Tommy got lost). Record the story and photograph your hero with a prop. For example, my husband likes to tell the story about how the very first time he went skiing; he accidentally launched himself off a snowboarding ramp. So I took a picture of him with his ski poles. You can put the picture into your album along with the story or choose a Photagio design (http://www.photagio.com/shop1900.htm) and hang your photo and story on the wall!

Celebrate your Child’s Achievements

If your child is trying a new sport or hobby for the first time, such as piano lessons or soccer, photograph your child before she leaves the house. Record her thoughts – is she excited? Nervous? Happy? Uncertain? Then later on in the year, try to get an action shot of your child. Finally at the end of the session, take another photo of your child – how does she feel about the activity now? Did she meet new friends there? What did she learn? Put the photos all on the same page in your album, along with your child’s comments.

Honor a Favorite Family Member

Have your children write down their favorite things about their grandparents (or any favorite family member). Take a picture of your children with their grandparents. Then put the photo in the album along with your children’s words. Or use the photo to honor each grandparent with a gift from Photagio (http://www.photagio.com/shop2300.htm).

Stay tuned…in our next blog we will share our tips for sharing holiday memories. Can’t find the design you are looking for? Contact us (www.photagio.com/contactus.htm) and we’ll be happy to create a custom design for your photos.

by Nicole Gallant
Creative Director
Photagio
www.photagio.com

Copyright © 2008 Awesome Memoirist and Photagio. All rights reserved.