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Scrapbooking Ideas for Your Own Holiday Story

Stories Are Gifts - Share
Years ago I scrapbooked every Christmas because that’s just what you do as a scrapbooker, right? Well, not necessarily. Later, I only scrapbooked what I really felt like scrapbooking.

It turns out that I always want to scrapbook about Christmas whenever holiday season comes around! But even my holiday scrapbooking inspiration has been evolving. Lately, it’s been more about capturing certain stories — deep rooted stories, funny stories, important stories, revealing stories. I find myself wanting to scrapbook more than just one Christmas layout per year because I’m digging deeper now than I used to.

Do you feel you scrapbook the same thing over and over again every year for the holidays? Or do you avoid scrapbooking Christmas for that very reason? What if there are rich stories revolving around your winter holidays that you haven’t even noticed?

Guess what? There are!

Our winter holidays are all about family traditions. Think about the way our personalities cause us as adults to either embrace some of our parents’ ways of doing things, or to toss them away, or to allow them to evolve to accommodate the needs of our own children. Much of what we do we don’t even realize is a “tradition” because it’s all we know. It’s all we’ve seen. There are lots of rich stories to reveal from this time of year. If you don’t think you have them, you just haven’t identified them yet.

For the rest of the December newsletter articles, I will share some of my own stories, mostly as I’ve recently been discovering them while poring over my parents’ photo albums from 1967 to 1975. I had no idea that by looking through these old photos I would learn things about myself — why I do much of what I do during the holidays. Here’s the first story. I hope it makes you think of something from your own life . . .

christmas_for_two

I searched the picture on the left quite a while for a clue as to who all these presents could be for. My parents’ first child was still months away.

“Mom!”

I had to ask her.

“Were these presents from you and Dad to each other?”

She looked at the picture, laughed, and said, “Yeah, I think so. Dad and I have always gone overboard for Christmas.”

I still couldn’t believe it, but then I took a good look at the other pictures.

buckland_christmas_c1967

  • Dad trying on a bullet belt, holding a polaroid camera box in his left hand and a suitcase under his arm. He looks like he’s wading in a shin-high river of tissue, packaging, and wrapping paper.
  • In another photo Mom is holding a dress (or robe?) to herself. At her feet, empty boxes are scattered around the floor, along with what looks like a rolled up sleeping bag. On the sofa the suitcase in the first photo has a mate. Above the pair is some clothing, and on a chair in the foreground is another stack of opened gifts — probably a set of stemware and more clothes. There are yet more items in the other pictures

The undeniable proof, though, is in the final picture of this set which you see in the top right photo. Mom relaxes on a chair, overlooking the aftermath of Christmas morning, eating an apple in the same relaxed and pensive way I’ve seen her eat apples my whole life.

The trash is all over the floor. There is nowhere to walk. It looks like they tore into their gifts without the slightest thought for cleanup. It’s a disaster.

This was how Christmases were for us when I was a kid but I never would have thought the mayhem to have also happened when it was only the two of them.

Even when we had a low income, my parents threw us huge Christmases! The stacks of wrapped gifts under the tree were tall and beautiful, though most gifts were not expensive and some of them were just practical — the stuff they would have bought us over the next few months out of necessity.

My parents wanted the promising beauty of a tree with mounds of presents. They wanted to draw out the main event of the holiday — exchanging and unwrapping gifts.

How do I know this? I didn’t actually ask my mom. I know because she passed this desire on to me. I remember my first Christmas with Israel. We didn’t get ourselves quite as many presents as my parents did, but we weren’t quite as practical with our gifts either. I remember how happy I was to have so many gifts under our tree. I also remember the wide eyes and comments from other couples — friends of ours — who were only exchanging one or two modest gifts with each other.

I remember being embarrassed about it, too.

Over the years Israel and I have shrunk Christmas down to a modest amount of gift exchanging that is more in line with our deeper values. Despite those values — the value of a certain level of simplicity and minimalism — these pictures of my mom and dad’s extravagant pre-children Christmas make me smile. Because I relate. And I remember.

What’s Your Story?

Thanks for letting me share my story with you! Did you relate? Or was it the very opposite from your own Christmases? Did my dad’s bullet belt remind you of your dad? Or did that blue fridge take you back to an earlier time (if you clicked on my photo and took a good look at it!)?

If you thought of one single thing from your own life while reading my story, then you have one of your own to share. In my kids’ school they call that seed writing. I tell you a story which, without fail, will always trigger a memory of some kind in your own mind. If you tell me you didn’t think of one I won’t believe you! So what’s your story? Write it down, quick. It may seem too small, but if you start writing it, you’ll begin remembering more. There’s always more to a story than you initially think.

Photos From the Paperclipping Members’ Holiday Photography Tips Course

For the holidays I’m giving our members a course in photography. I wanted to share a few that really caught my attention . . .

Shannon Van Sluytman
DSC_0019

Melissa Stinson (scrappyjedi)
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Weekly Roundup

Happy Holidays!
Noell

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  • Laura Kelly

    I’m having a major problem with some old photos of me and family from Christmases when I was young. The photos are mostly posed around the tree with all of us smiling and me holding at least one gift. I want to scrap them but I know they are basically fake. I was an abused child and full of ache inside. As a little girl I got dolls but as I grew, I never got anything I asked for(Not expensive items either). As I look at the photos I see smiling faces and a curly haired little girl in a “Norman Rockwell” photo. I want my girls and grandkids to see the photos but I can’t write honestly about them and ruin the effect. When I think of what I had to do to “earn” those gifts it makes me sick. What do I journal on those pages. I’ve only done one and it has a date and that is all. I have written my “story” out for it to be read after I’m gone and all others involved have as of last year also died. Lately I’ve been very frustrated because every single scrap site is pushing journaling and telling the story. I was a darn cute kid with curly hair and a great smile but the story is through hell and back. How do you journal that??? I am constantly fighting emotions and want to scream when I hear “tell the story”. I won that LOAD class and agonized over some of the layouts. I have a stack of photos from my childhood that need to be scraped but I’ve been sticking mainly to my grandkids and current activities. Do I scrap them? Do I lie and pretend? Dare I even hint at the horrors behind them? My grandkids check my scrap pages each time they come and want to see my old pictures. Where do you draw the line on “telling the story”. No one was ever punished back then and I don’t think there is anyone alive today that knows what went on. Do I just scream on the inside and pretend it didn’t happen? Sorry, but I’m just overwhelmed with all sorts of Prompts “to tell the story”. Maybe a little outside insight would help.

  • Joann

    Wow Laura, The answer to your question about whther you scream on the inside and pretend it didn’t happen. (As an adult who has lost both of her parents, I would have wanted to have known more about how they spent Christmas) Prompts me to want to question my husband’s siblings about their Christmas memories because my husband has had memory loss and I know very little about his. I feel your pain and understand how you feel. Not because I went through the same but I had a best friend from the time I was 8 years old who had the life you had. Likely! Many kids in her family and she was from her mom’s second marriage. I don’t recall seeing Christmas pictures of her but I often wonder how much she has shared with her kids and grand kids. I guess I should see if I can locate her. I just remember that I took an extra lunch for her every day because her dad drank and it was before food stamps and free school lunches. On a personal note, I haven’t scrap booked my childhood Christmas pictures either. The gifts we got were generally from grandparents. One Santa gift and a sock that always had a “rotten potato” in the bottom with tangerines and nuts and some hard candy. Always had the meal. Mom always cooked what dad wanted. Never remember being asked if we kids had something special we wanted. Christmas memories consisted of getting a real tree and putting ornaments on that were handed down through the years. I still have one ornament from my childhood. Always the first to be put on the tree. While we had special Christmas dinners, Thanksgvings were my most special memories through the years. Back to your memories that you are struggling with and your journaling in your albums. Maybe you need to sit down with your children and ask them what they see in the pictures. Journal what you can see in the album but for sure your story needs to be told. Do your children know your story? My Grandpa used to say that things that were out in the public eye in our children’s early year were behind the barn back then and nobody talked of them years ago. If the neighbors saw things, they were not talked about. The reason so many adult children need counseling today.

  • http://twitter.com/PomMommy PomMommy

    Laura, BIG hugs first of all. I have stories I don’t want to tell at this time and I have started writing them out for my children for sometime later in their lives. I’m not sure how old your children are but since you have grandchildren already I’d say your kids are old enough to know you and who you are BEFORE you pass away. Leaving something like that until after you are gone does not allow for any questions or a greater understanding that they are going to need of what you went through. I also give you this opinion because it sounds like you need to talk about it. Let them learn from it all too. You don’t have to go into details now but let them have an idea of how it was. It will help them know you better. Later they can read the details but you don’t want them to feel as if you couldn’t trust them. You did nothing wrong and should not be ashamed. Help yourself heal.

    As far as scrapbooking the pictures… names, dates and essentials are all you need. Perhaps try to just think of one word or moment or the bond you felt with a sibling be mentioned. Or perhaps make a note on the back that only you will know is there. Or a sealed envelope btw pages if you feel a need to write more. Don’t feel that you have to make the pages fancy and fun loving. You don’t have to or want to be fake. A muted solid cardstock and a simple embellishment or word can say more then you imagine.
    I hope this helps and you find healing. Much love, Claudia

  • http://twitter.com/PomMommy PomMommy

    Noell,
    Thank you for sharing your thoughts and the pictures. I was born in ’67 and it’s great to see that era. I find myself so absorbed and stressed about how to make this year a happy Christmas that I forget to enjoy the whole process. I get lost in the details. Thanks for the kick in the butt.
    Claudia

  • Carter Berkeley

    A new, and very powerful book by Dr. Craig Rikard, (Hidded Epidemic) chronicles the life of two abused children (Craig and his sister Jenny). It may well be the most helpful book in a very long time for those abused in childhood. The book will appear in Barnes and Noble soon. It is both depressing and poignant, an awake call to those who are simply not aware….. The book is not expensive, but is a heart-felt cry to get Jenny’s story out, and help others to see the disasterous consequences of adult abuse of children. The book is hard to believe, but written by a United Methodist clergyman. It is a redemptive book in that it illuminates the problem, and shows how one person can overcome, and another surrender. A very renowned critic gives it extremely high marks. Laura, you seem to have overcome to a great degree, and I congratulate you. Maybe the book would help — I don’t know, but so many childtren have not overcome and need our compassion and prayers. (There are other books of the same title — if interested seek Craig’s book. (It isn’t one of those $40 books)

  • Happyscrappykuhn

    Thank you for sharing your story. And yes the memories of childhood Christmases started flooding in. Thank you!

  • noell

    HI, Laura. As much as I believe in sharing our stories, I also believe that it is your decision which stories you WANT to tell. There are stories I don’t tell. That’s my choice. If you want to share the abuse you suffered, if you feel you or someone else will benefit from the telling, I say do it when you feel ready. If you never feel any desire to share, or if it causes too much pain to share it, why do that to yourself? You have other stories to focus on.

    It seems like you’re worried about what your children or grandchildren want or need. As a child I my mother told me about my how her father abused her mother. My heart went to my grandmother and I always admired her strength in overcoming it. If she ever chooses to write that story down I will cherish it. I don’t think she ever will, though, and I respect that, too.

  • noell

    Laura, as strongly as I feel about sharing our stories, I feel just as strongly that it is totally up to us which stories we want to share. I do not share all of my stories. There are some I will never write down. They’ll stay with me only.

    If you want to document your abuse and how it effected you, how you lived with it — if you feel good about sharing that, then I say do it. If you don’t want to, or if it’s too painful, I say, don’t.

    When I was young my mother told me how her father abused her mother. My heart went out to my grandmother and I have always admired her strength in overcoming that. If she ever chooses to write her story down, I will cherish it. If she does not — and I don’t think she will — I will respect that, too.

  • Laurawoodykelly

    Thanks for the comments. My comments were for my young grandchildren. My girls know my story and I am also a character in someones book. I also counsel abuse victims after taking two lay counseling courses. I guess what sort of set me off was being bombarded everywhere about journaling Christmas and not missing those special moments. I also have written my own book which my kids have. I guess I felt pressure to put those “pretty pictures” on a scrap page and trying to be truthful at the same time. I got some good advice and will do the pics and let the kids laugh at all the “old fashioned” stuff in the photos. Just like Noell said – there are stories behind the picture but remember it might not always be pretty.

  • Laurawoodykelly

    Thanks for the advice. My story is already written out and I’m also a chapter in a book already on the market. My children know my story but I have not scraped the Christmas photos because they were just discovered among some of my mom’s stuff my daughter had stored for me. I guess I over reacted to the many prompts that I’ve been getting on telling all the wonderful stories behind the photos. Sometimes the stories behind the pics are something that doesn’t belong in a scrapbook. I’m taking some of the wonderful advice and scrapping them with dates and my young grandkids can laugh at the “old fashioned” things. I’ve had the counseling which is why I can talk about it now. I also counsel abused children and adults after getting scholarships to several lay counseling courses. I had hidden memories but I’ve remembered and have had healing. I do want to say that the stories behind the photos aren’t always anything like what the photo looks like. Oh, and I love embellishments and will use lots of them in place of the journaling. LOL Thanks for caring!

  • Barnumsm

    Laura,
    I feel your pain… I have been there and I too had curly hair :) Share only the stories you want to. If you want to scrapbook your childhood Christmas photo’s you could always tuck the journaling behind the photo’s or in an envelope. As an abused child I think there is nothing that should be hidden. I think that is why it happens so much is everyone tries to hide it. Maybe you can journal about a happy memory of that day. Maybe you could journal about the joy the toy brought you. Even though I was abused as a child there are many good memories I have as a child and I try to focus on that. Ultimatly it is your scrapbook and your story. So you have to decide how much of your story you want to tell. These are just some idea’s. I hope they help.
    Shannon

  • molly

    I love this story about your parents Noell! Great advice as always. Happy Holidays to you and yours!

  • Fancyscrapper

    I totally noticed that ‘fridge and wished I could get one. Too funny!

    I can relate with your story, not because we had lots of gifts at Christmas, but because that idea always appealed to me, so much so, that as a little girl (13 maybe?) I bought myself my own little tree from the dime store and wrapped packages of gum and little boxes to nestle under that tree in my room. My mom did give us things like socks and packages of gum or mints just so we could have more gifts. I loved that!

  • Karen Han?m

    I loved your article. Your Mom in her curlers cracks me up. I had curlers similar to those at one point in my life. :-) That sparked a few memories! Thanks so much for sharing your life.

  • ErinK

    Noell, thanks for another great article. How cool that your parents had such awesome Christmases, even before kids!

    I love looking through the old pictures of my childhood. Most of the photos don’t bring back memories specific to the photo, but as you said it always brings up a memory. I try to write those memories down so that they are captured..I don’t really worry about the pictures and the stories matching…I feel that if the photo is me as a kid and the story is from childhood that is good enough for me!

    As for the reader and an abusive childhood. Maybe just use them as something to reflect on…write hopes and dreams she had/has for her kids and grandkids due to her not so great Christmases as a kid?

    Thanks again! Hope everyone has a great holiday season and enjoys the time with their families and friends!

  • http://www.paperclipping.com Noell

    Thank you, Erin. I think that’s a great idea for Laura and others!

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  • Michele H.

    i so love this story noell. beautifully written.