Updated June, 2022
Scrap-booking isn’t everyone’s strong point (seriously, who has time to print photos and put them all arranged and pretty in a binder these days). So how do you document your child’s life, especially those Early Years when they are growing so fast? When you are older, having something to look back on can be really fun. I came up with 10 unique ways to preserve memories.
1. Signed Books
Find a book, or a journal, or even just a really nice piece of paper. Each year, around the same time, have your child sign and date the paper. This is a cute, simple way to track their writing development over time. Take it a step further and frame their writing work!
2. Email Account
This is a popular one if you take a lot of photos but don’t print them. You can create an email account for your child and send photos and stories to it occasionally. You can share the email address with other family members as well, so they can also send photos and memories to it. That way not just one person is contributing. Then once your child turns 18 or some designated age, you give them access to their account!
3. Art Journal
Simpler than a scrapbook, this journal can be a big binder where you keep meaningful artwork they have done. Pick a few beautiful pieces they do over the years and keep them in chronological order so they can see how their work has developed over the years. My favorite is when they are really young, watching the progression of concepts such as drawing a person.
4. Repeating Artwork
We tend to do a lot of artwork every year around the holidays. Often the same artwork even. Keeping a book of the artwork that is the same every year to see how their skills developed is fun. For example, every year we paint evergreen trees in December. The whole family does it, from the oldest adult to the youngest baby. Then we display it on the wall for a few weeks and eventually take it down. Already it has been fun to see how this artwork has changed every year for our kids.
5. School Pictures
Okay, okay, I know school pictures are stupidly expensive. But buy 1. Just 1. Every time they come out, get the big one, 8 x 10, write the season and the year on it, and display it in a picture frame. Whenever you get a new picture, put it in front of the old picture. Then after a few years, you can take down the frame and when you go to replace their latest photo, you realize you have pictures of them growing up.
6. Writing Journal
The hardest part of scrap-booking for me is printing out the physical photos and arranging them. Keeping a written journal of momentous occasions and cute anecdotes can be sweet though. You can write down things you notice them doing, milestones they reach, and other fun little stories. I got really into this concept in 2020 and invested in adorable “Letters To My Daughter” books. I even bring them with me when we go to see family so they can write notes as well.
7. A Baby Book
They make really cute little baby books now where you can fill in big milestones and they prompt you to record things. Yes, they often have places for pictures, but if you never put the pictures in, such is life. You can record other big milestones though, such as first words, teeth, steps, etc. Then even without physical photos, you and your child can look back on their early years.
Growth Chart
I love this one because children get so caught up in growing bigger. It also allows them to be involved and offers educational opportunities. You can make (or buy) a fancy board to chart their growth on. Or you can just write on your wall somewhere. Have your child stand straight against the wall and make a mark for how tall they are. Then date the mark and you can track their growth over time.
9. Hand prints and Foot prints
I love handprint and footprint art. I could fill an entire room with all of the art we have made. Getting semi-regular (every 6 months to a year is probably adequate) measures of their hands and feet is cute. Sometimes I look at my eleven month old and think they are still soooo small. But then I look at their prints from when they were 3 months and I realize how much they really have grown.
10. Scrapbook
Yup, I give scrapbooking a hard time because I am exceptionally bad at. Some people are really good at it though and even enjoy it. It’s a great way to create something you and your children can look back on. And hey, at the very least, you can put all the pictures and other memorabilia in a box and your child can sort it out for themselves when they are older. Good intentions to make a scrapbook is still better than nothing.
