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Books and Calendars
FAMILY ALPHABET BOOK
An album stocked with fun photos of all your relatives -- and family pets -- helps bridge the gap between long-distance cousins.Coming from a large extended family, the Markey children of Springfield, Massachusetts, have received wonderful homemade gifts from their aunts and uncles over the years, including hand-drawn storybooks and personalized trivia games. So last year, their mom, Jennifer, invited Brendan, age 10, Nora, 8, and Danny, 6, to help make a present for their young cousins.
"We realized that with so many cousins, aunts, uncles, and pets, we might have someone for every letter of the alphabet," says Jennifer. And so the Markey ABC's book was born. Together, they gathered and scanned family photos and assembled them into albums, one for each set of cousins. Each page was labeled with a letter and included one or more pictures of family members whose names started with it.
The family did have to get creative with a few letters. For i, they wrote the word Irish for the family's nationality. And for y, they attached a small mirror to the page and captioned it "You" to go with the reader's reflection.
The alphabet book has not only proved to have lasting appeal (the kids never tire of looking at it), but also helped perpetuate a sense of family between distant relatives. One toddler who lives in Oregon was able to recognize her New England cousins when she came for a summer wedding because she had looked through the book so often, Jennifer says.
A photo album with pocket pages works well for this project. Just trim a piece of card stock to fit in each sleeve and dedicate one side of each page to a letter of the alphabet.
A CALENDAR OF FAMILY EVENTS
When you're from a large family, coming up with something for everyone on your gift list can be a challenge. Lesley Neiman of Cayucos, California, devised a practical solution: a calendar that features a laminated collage of family pictures on the inside cover and a directory of phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and mailing addresses on the back. Birthdays (including ages), anniversaries, and other important events are printed directly on the monthly pages. Every year, Lesley updates the calendar with new photos and contact information. The gift's been a particular favorite with Lesley's cousin, Emily, who lives in Oregon."It's been incredibly useful for keeping in touch with family members, who are scattered around the globe," says Emily.
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