I first read up on this actually being a thing in 2014 from a blog called "Honeysuckle". I planned to do one that year but was pregnant that Christmas, lazy the next, pregnant the Christmas after that, and well- I'm trying not to be lazy this Christmas. Honeysuckle's newsletter looks amazing and it's such a fun way to include out of town family in yours and your families lives.
My first attempt at a "year in review" started with Becky Higgins 'Project life' app. To be honest I loved it, the app is $4.49 from the App Store but I've had it downloaded for quite some time. I added the Christmas selection to my card designs I'm able to use ($1.49) and that has already and will continue to come in use on my social media platforms and on my blog with this current Christmas series. It's seriously been my favourite collage app for the past 18 months!
When compiling my piece, I added one family pic, one of each of the three kids and one of the happy couple. I added a few sweet words and then a quick sentence or two about what we've each been up to individually. This is very similar to what most of the examples that I've seen on Pinterest include. Only problem is; I want to brag a bit more.
Our family has had an excellent year. Individually we've each had quite a bit going on, not to mention our big trip to Bali. So I saved the original design, scrapped it and then started over. This time I started out with the 'Big W photos' app. I normally order photo books automatically through the photos I've uploaded to Instagram - once I've uploaded 60, I get a prompt to edit the book before it is automatically sent to print then shipped to me. Get a free photo book by following my link here. http://invite.chatbooks.com/danniellebull4pn
I made a 22 page photo book via Big W with the photo books being on special for $6.00 instead of the usual $10.00 and opted to pick up in store rather than paying for postage. I added in 25 of my favourite photos of the kids, the Reindl man and me from over the past year and ordered enough copies for my 'long distance' family members.
Next step was to quiz the kids! Often kids, especially at Lexi's age (9), feel very grown up and get very frustrated when they are treated like the children that they are. A small way to combat this is to consciously make a point of including them in organising family activities. What better way than to put real emphasis on asking how their year has been so you can tell all the family about how grown up they are. For obvious reasons I coaxed the three year old and didn't even bother to ask the one year old.
Perhaps even interrogate your partner about their favourite part of the year... it may not be the promotion he got, as you first thought, but rather his AFL team winning the grand final this year. You really want this letter to be not only about your whole family, but also FROM you all too - after all, unity is what family is all about.
Writing the letter should now be easy. You have all the components you need - just let it all flow onto paper, or the screen, and edit until you are happy. You can then put it onto a pretty bordered paper or simply jazz it up with some stickers, pretty pens and glitter. Make it to suit your family! I'm so happy with how ours turned out! I'll put mine in an envelope with the photo books once they're printed, add a Christmas card (after I've written all those out) and hopefully have them all mailed off at/before the beginning of December!
No comments:
Post a Comment