Picture Perfect

Family pics are priceless, so why not enjoy them to the max?

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Time Travel

For me, leafing through the pages of a photo album is almost like time travel. As a child, I spent hours carefully assembling albums of all my cherished photos. Placing the pictures on the floor of my room, I'd consider the event, the sequence of the images, the unfolding of the memory, the telling of the story. Thinking about the captions was an undertaking in itself. Should they simply declare the subject and date, as in "Mom and Dad, 1959," or should they offer a unique perspective, as in "Another Fashion First"?

If a picture is worth a thousand words -- and of course it is -- then it's also worth a thousand hours of memories, conversations and recollections of family history. And just because our families are scattered from coast to coast these days doesn't mean our photos have to be.

While you're planning this year's holiday get-togethers, consider taking a journalistic approach to your photos. Start snapping at the beginning of your celebration and take pictures right on through to the last wave goodbye. If you have pictures of everyone arriving, setting the table, taking the turkey from the oven, and the candid "I'm so full" shots, your photos will tell a real story -- one evoking lots more laughs. (If you've been dubbed the official photographer, make sure to put yourself in some pictures too.)

Then, get it all into an album -- fast. If that sounds like one more year-end chore, it doesn't have to be. Try involving the children in some of the work. Including them in the process of making a photo album is a great way to get it done, as well as a neat way to teach them your family's history. The Kids' Guide to Making Scrapbooks & Photo Albums (Williamson Publishing, ages 7-14; $12.95) is full of ideas with easy step-by-step directions.

Not long ago, my best friend, Susan, took her daughter Mimi to Europe as a 16th-birthday present. The trip was great, and the scrapbook that Mimi created of their trip afterward made the experience last longer. Now, Joseph, Susan's youngest, wants to make an album about a recent visit with his great-aunt and great-uncle. It promises to be a work of art -- Joseph saves everything.

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