I remember keeping a scrapbook as a kid, carefully compiling ticket stubs and postcards from Disneyland with out-of-focus shots of my family and I standing in front of the good old T-bird (no doubt taken immediately after my mother had washed my face with the "mildewy" facecloth she hauled out of the baggie), where void empty spaces in the page were filled with profound 10-year-old insights.

I have a few friends who rabidly scrapbook, and I envy their professionalism and polish to piece together their memories.

Some of their kids have even adopted the practice, and I can only imagine them spending long hours bonding over glue sticks and buttons after their holiday.

I’m lucky if I can get the chance to download our vacation photos within a year of returning, in hopes that we’ll have enough time to see them while on our next vacation.

But my kids do love seeing pictures and reliving those vacation memories, so I thought I’d encourage them to start their own scrapbook.

Here’s how to get your kids started:

Gather the Materials

Obviously, a scrapbook is the first item you’ll need.

As tempted as we were to buy the more expensive high-end ones, we stuck to a thick, coil ring book of sturdy pages with a soft cover that didn’t weigh a ton—much like the one I used when I was a kid.

And don’t cheap out and buy a book with prosciutto-thin pages, as the pages won’t last.

Stick to It

I always say there can never be enough glue sticks in a house with children, so think about buying double the amount that you think you’ll need.

And don’t cheap out on these either—get at least one small bottle of heavier duty glue for any thicker items.

As far as the myriad of other scrapbooking paraphernalia goes, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

Dos and Don’ts

I found that my kids’ books looked more “organic” when I bought just a few of those blank, adhesive thought-bubbles that they could easily fill in.

When my daughter talked me into buying a book of fancy papers and fairy stickers, it all ended up on one of her pages, as well as the hotel room mirror!

Instead, consider investing in some good quality markers that will spark their imaginations and allow them to come up with their own designs.

With a small pair of scissors that has blunt tips, you’re good to go. Buy some stickers at your destination too.

Unleash Their Talents

I’ll never forget seeing Meg Ryan on a talk show showing off the photos that her then four-year-old took on their family vacation to some exotic locale.

Despite the beautiful surroundings and amazing beaches, his pictures were all of his action figures, propped up on hotel pillows and such.

Although I fancy myself to be a bit of a photographer, I particularly remembered this when we gave our oldest daughter a digital camera when she was eight.

If she wanted to take endless shots of the inside of her sisters’ mouth, so be it. If her top-rated photo was of the rocks she arranged on the sidewalk outside our hotel room door, I could deal.

My kids always love to include photos of themselves too, so if you have time, take your own memory card (your kids’ too) into a cheapo 1-hour developer while you’re running errands.

Getting duplicates always saves arguments, and it’s fun to cut themselves out and glue them onto crazy postcards.

The End Result

This is the part when you have to find your inner zen. When all is said and done, you must remember that the process of putting together the scrapbook, although toilsome, was more important than the outcome, and that is was not your process, but your kids’. 

In the end, it doesn’t matter if your child has page after page of fairy stickers and dead leaves, or if they want to fill their book with pictures of the inside of their sisters’ mouth to commemorate their trip to Hawaii.

You’ll be looking back on those pages with fond memories in years to come.

photo#1:Donna L. Faber
photo#2:  SparklingHallow
photo#3: chris_hertel