Even though most people associate this work by Rockwell as a Thanksgiving picture, Freedom From Want actually first appeared on The Saturday Evening Post cover in the month of March. It is completely understandable why people would pick a painting such as the Norman Rockwell classic Freedom From Want as their primary source of scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. After all, it has all the necessary elements for scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving: a family at the table, turkey, and a truly inviting atmosphere. However, some of the best scrapbooking ideas for thanksgiving don’t come from the dinner setting, but everything else that happens on that day.
After all, very few people hold a Thanksgiving dinner at their house and immediately serve the guests the moment they walk through the door. Generally, most hosts realize that there will be some downtime before dinner. During this time, family members can get together and talk while the children can play. Why not make this the subject of your scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving pages?
This is the mistake most scrappers make when choosing their pictures for their scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving: they wait until the dinner to take the photos. While the dinner certain has some interesting scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving, the best scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving occur way before dinner is served. The time before the dinner is served might be the memories that your guests remember the most.
Things like the children sitting around the television watching a movie or playing a video is just one example of scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. Even better are “Thanksgiving firsts" for your scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. For example, someone may have brought over their newborn child for all the family to see. Certainly an event like this deserves some press. The scrapper should take some pictures of relatives seeing the child for the first time, capturing the expressions and reactions.
After all, some people may have families where the relatives live very far away, and it can be very difficult to get everyone under the same roof for any period of time. Take advantage of this time as much as you can, and don’t even ask people to pose. Just take as many pictures in the natural surrounding, and in some cases the photographer does not have to acknowledge his or her presence.
Taking pictures before the dinner and putting simple frames around them is one of the easiest scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. Sometimes finding a common theme in each of the photos and running with it is worth quite a bit with scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. Peppered with these pictures can be traditional Thanksgiving images like red and orange leaves, pumpkins, and of course, turkeys, and it will be a guaranteed success. Years later, when the family looks at the pages, they will have memories to remember.
A “Why I’m Thankful" (or, if you want to get the whole family into the act, a “Why We’re Thankful") album is the perfect way to celebrate Turkey Day. Not only will you be able to nibble on Aunt Martha’s delectable cranberry stuffing, but you’ll also be able to share with your loved ones exactly why you’re smiling so broadly this year.
If you’re a scrapbooking fanatic, you might feel tapped for scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving. Consequently, a “Why I’m Thankful" book will provide you with a new way to explore the activity you adore.
Marvelous Freeform Musings
Start your creative scrapbooking by getting out a pen and paper and writing down everything for which you’re thankful. Don’t be shy and don’t try to edit yourself – you’re not writing the Great American Novel. You’re simply expressing your innermost thoughts.
As your list grows, you may begin to see some patterns emerging. Those patterns should start to give you scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving album pages.
For example, if you notice that you seem to have written quite a bit about how you’re thankful for your parents, why not dedicate a few pages (or more) in your Thanksgiving scrapbook to them? Even if they are no longer living, you can do so in memory, which will make a lovely tribute to those family members who can only “participate" in Thanksgiving in spirit.
Pictures from the Piles
We all have scores of photographs in piles and files. After you’ve chosen some page themes for your creative scrapbooking, it’s a terrific time to take an afternoon and sift through your photos for the perfect images.
Let’s say that you want to devote a page in your Thanksgiving scrapbook album(s) to your son who just started college. (Has the time really flown by so quickly?) After collecting several autumn “shots" of him throughout his preschool, elementary, and/or secondary school years, you could put them together in a beautiful collage.
Additional scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving could be to use your photos in unique, unexpected ways, such as just cutting out the heads of the individuals and pasting them on “cartoon" bodies. (It’s not as gruesome as it sounds!) That way, if you cannot seem to find the “perfect" snap of someone, you can create it yourself using stickers, freehand drawings, or stamps.
A Wealth of Writings
Are you someone who keeps every greeting card that is sent to you? Do you hold on to sticky notes from your hubby no matter how mundane? Have you convinced yourself that all these slips of paper will someday be important?
It’s finally time to make good on that promise!
A Thanksgiving scrapbook is a wonderful place to showcase all those little scribblings you’ve held on to for a lifetime. For instance, perhaps one of your scrapbook albums is dedicated to your spouse. Inside, you could fill page after page with simple (but thoughtful) writings that you’ve kept in a drawer throughout your courtship and marriage.
Alternatively, if you have notes that your children wrote before they were quite literate, those treasured, misspelled letters could add a dash of sweet silliness to any Thanksgiving scrapbook albums.
Entice Others to Be Thankful, Too!
Finally, remember that as you come up with new scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving based on the “Why I’m Thankful" topic area, it can be extra motivating to share them with family and friends.
Truly, you never know who might be looking for the inspiration to start her own scrapbook albums. There are absolutely people out there who would enjoy the activity of creating their own books of lasting memories… but they are unsure of how to begin.
By showing them your holiday “Why I’m Thankful" scrapbook and brainstorming other scrapbooking ideas for Thanksgiving with your buddy, you might just find out down the road that you’re the reason she’s thankful this year!
Michele Cardello has sinced written about articles on various topics from Ideas for Scrapbooking, Home Improvement and Ideas for Scrapbooking. Michele Cardello, director of marketing and creative for Life Imprints, a supplies company in Cleveland, Ohio, has worked in the photo packaging in. Michele Cardello's top article generates over 2900 views. to your Favourites.