Family Album? Album for Each Kid? Theme Albums?

Okay so how in the heck do you decided what type of albums to do year after year? I am perplexed. So far I've only done Disney albums,because we do there several times a year. I am about to branch out from those since I am caught up.

So do I go for a family album, which includes everything we do together, the kid's sports, holidays, birthdays? or Do I try to do something for each on of the kids too? I shouldn't think this way, but I do. I think when the kids get old enough and move out or something happens to us I feel like the kids should have an album that focuses on them.

Am I over thinking this whole thing?!!

I am probably not a lot of help because I think I keep way too many...but it works for me. I had been doing the ones for my children and then added more when I found the Stacey Julian's Library of Memories.

I have one for each of my three children
Book of Me
People We Love (family photos, friends)
Things We Do (sports, bike rides, wine tastings, etc)
Places We Go (vacations)
Holidays

And yes...sometimes I will scrap the same photo multiple times. For instance, we are huge Disney Fans. So I may have 4-6 pages of Characters in the Vacation album, but then I will put maybe 2 pages in each of the children's books...those that are favorites of that child. Those may be duplicates. I may have a general cutting the tree page for the Holidays, and then some shots in each of the children's books as well.

Scrap what interests you and when the children move out copy the pages for them.

I only have one child but I did a First Year album, then an album for each year of her life in chronological order. I include our family vacations in here too.
I did a Disney album for each trip we have taken, 3 total with my daughter.
I have a school album and do a 2 page 12x12 layout for each school year
I have a Christmas album and put christmas pictures in from each year in chronological order.
Hope this helps!

I agree with Nancy: don't think that if you scrap a picture once, you can't do it again differently and in a different context. To me, that's part of what makes scrappin so much fun. The possibilities are endless when it comes to having good pictures and having alot to say about them (of course, you don't need to say the same thing twice) There can be as much overlap as you want!

I am starting from the beginning...kids beginning. I have scrapped my sons first year so far and I am now on my daughters first year. I have scrapped other pictures of them in between baby albums because of challenges and contests. At the same time I am also making granparent albums.

First, there's no one simple answer to your question because any and all of the ideas you have for future albums are acceptable. Now, since I've said that, I'll add my own two cents about the various books I make.

First, I believe in having a family album that includes things that we do together as a family and the memories we make as a family.

I believe that each child should have their own album about their infancy and early childhood. A baby book I guess you can say. I prefer scrapbooks to traditional baby books because with scrapbooks you can choose any "baby theme" that you can think of. With my oldest son it was Baby Looney Tunes, with my youngest son it was teddy bears...but specifically Pooh and Paddington. Looking back, I wish that I could have had more children because I still want to do a Disney Babies theme, and I kinda always wanted another daughter after I lost my first one. Her album was going to be Disney Babies. But the cancer I had at 16 claimed her life fairly early in the pregnancy. So, a year later when I turned 17 I had a Disney Babies birthday party for myself in her memory (I lost her on my 16th birthday).

I believe that each child should have their own album of their school years. But perhaps I'm partial to this because I homeschool my boys and a scrapbook is the only album they will have of their school years. It's a great way to show off their growth from one year to the next, highlight their writing and artistic nature from year to year, and pictures of a baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring volcano exploding on your kitchen counter is always a good conversation starter. But their school books also includes their friends, their hobbies, and other personal interests.

A "Book of Me" is always a fun and interesting album to make. It's a really neat way to showcase diffrent aspects of your own personality, and tell your own life story. But there are some parts of my life story that won't find their way into my "BOM".

And last, but certainly not least, every family should make a genealogy album. Also known as a heritage album. These are so much fun when you can get copies of old family photos from relatives. My husband does genealogy research into both sides of our family, and he's collected a lot of interesting photos and stories. Now it's up to me to combine the stories and photos into a pretty collection of memories instead of a plain white document.

Its pretty much up to what you want to do. I have chosen to make a complete set of albums for each child that goes from birth to marriage. After marriage I will do more if they ask and want me to make more for them. On top of that I do an ancestor book for hubby and one of my ancestors, an album of hubby's childhood, and one of my childhood. Another one covers of our wedding and life together (includes our children), another album with vactions, another one for my mineral collection and of my rock collecting trips. I plan on also making one that features lifestyles and advancements since I was born if I get to it. Oh and how could I forget one that holds my precious LOs of my grandbabies? I just came home from my parents with photos from family vactions we took when I was a child, antique photos of ancestors and relatives, homesteads, burial places, marriage certificates, etc. I cannot wait to get started on it.

Good luck on whatever you decide you want to do!

You should do whatever makes you happy. I have learned that I am not happy doing all sorts of albums at once. I like to finish things.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I started family albums and one for my child. I did the same for my second child. I kept the children's albums up until they went away to college.

Now I just do a family album and heritage albums(going back before I was married). That's all I can handle.

I stay away from other kinds of albums because they will distract me from the basic work I am doing.

I just want to keep current and slowly make a dent in the old photos.

• kimbbaumann Said:

i have reorganized my albums a few times and here is what i ended up with:

-generic/family book of the year (has most pics, they are predominately of everyone)
-a book for each kid (hi-lights pics of that kid and things they did that year.)
-a book for vacations/large events (when there are too many great pics to be 2-3 pages in the family book they go here. sometimes there are multiple trips in one book)

when my kids have a b-day party i usually put their current scrapbook out so people can see it. when they graduate HS i will take my fav LOs or pics from all their books and put it into one. they will have the option to keep this with them or leave it with me until they are out of college and have a stable place to live.

hth.

Whatever you have time and money for! I started with individual books for my two boys, but also did family Christmas books and vacation books. My boys are now 6 & 3 so I decided to start a family book this year that was supposed to just be holidays, but I guess I'm considering "Summer" to be a holiday because a lot of my summer photos are in the family book. I started that because I personally got tired of doing very similar LOs for each boy for things like Easter. The LOs had different pictures in order to focus on each boy, but the two sets were very similar, nearly identical.

They still have their individual books; I will continue with that because I don't mind doing it. I'm glad I didn't do just a First year book for each because it's been the LOs from the years after they turned one that are my favorites because they show their developing personalities--and it's easier to keep the focus on just on at a time.

You definitely have to do what appeals to you, first of all. It took me about 5 years (by then, the girls were 5 and 3) to figure out what I preferred:

*Traditional baby book (belongs to the child as soon as it's done)
*Scrapbook baby book (will be mine until I die; I do one for each child, through their first year plus all their own personal toddler moments, including day care as babies/toddlers)
*School-Days book (includes daycare when they start doing "school work"/pre-school ages through high school/college or when they decide they want to start scrapping "for real") (this is mine until they leave the house)
* Family Book (mine)
* My book (also mine)
The baby/school-days books have things that ONLY apply to the child (aka child's birthday, field trip, special occasion) even if other family members are present. The family book is of things/activities/traditi ons that apply to the entire family. My book is only stuff that only pertains to me, such as going on a vacation alone or with my friends, graduate level degree graduation, getting or leaving a job, etc.

I do not scrap the same layout for various books. I don't have time, and because the themes are sorted the way they are, there is always one specific book that fits best for any activity/event.

I have done most of mine by year. The kids have ones just for them, by year. Now I'm doing grandkids, but I will probably just put them in family albums, after the initial "baby" photos. Usually up until school age I do individual books for each, then after that they all go in the family books. Vacations just go in the family books, except Disney we bought the albums especially for Disney.
But again, it's just whatever you like and have time for.

I do not have any kids yet but I have my General plan:

A book of my fiance and I before Marriage
Then a book of our Marriage
Then a Family book after that which will include all events
Then (When we Finally start our family) each child will have a first year book
Then a Toddler Book thru school
Then a school book K-12.

I will be doing pages with the kids for their book and to add to the family books.

I hopefully will be able to stick to my plan! ( I will be able to be a stay at home mom. So I am hoping that I will have the time as well!)

PS I will also Give them the option to have there books once they are old enough and have there own place and are mature enough to take care of them.

Good advice and comments so far. I really can't add much, except to share what I do.


I have family albums (glorified photo-albums, if you will). They are 3-ring albums that I keep chronologically (although I do not create my pages chronologically).

They are MY albums! When I die, my kids can fight over them.

I have 4 kids, I use We R Memory 3 ring albums. they each have their own color. I also have a vacation album but I add a 2 pager to their album as well. I also bought Becky Higgins school kits and that is also a seperate album.

Just gotta do what works for you. I started with one album, chronologically. Now I have albums for each of my kids and one set for my husband and I, chronologically. Not sure if that is the right solution because it is alot of albums and layouts but I figure I can always change my mind again later. Whatever happens is what happens! LOL

I have 2 children they each have their own books. In those books are of course things from the moment they were born until present (or would be if I was caught up).

I'm doing a Disney Book of our trip a few years ago and then each kid will have 1 or 2 or 3 layouts of our trip.

Sometimes I use the same pictures and just change the layout design for each kids. I tend not to scrap the same pictures at the same time and so they don't end up being the same.

I say do what works for you.

The albums I have are
DD (She has 2)
DS (He has 1 at the moment, soon he'll have 2)
Wedding/Honeymoon
Disney
Nana (I've been working on one for her as a gift)
Niece (I'm working on her book too)
I know there are more up there just can't think what they are.

Each child has their own to take when they move out and is deplayed at HS graduation parties. I also have a family album for me. I have separate albums for big vacations. If I do a LO for a child that I want for the family album, I get it copied at Archivers.