I did a tiny bit of Christmas shopping today, if you can call it that.

I made iPhoto calendars for the coming year. I can’t believe I put it off until today. They won’t get here in time to put under the … er … nothing … but I should be able to send my mother-in-law and parents home with one.

I also finished up and ordered the photo albums from this summer’s family reunion. My mother-in-law treasures them and I like to give one to my sister-in-law as a thank you for hosting the giant clan yet again.

The whole fam damily.

I don’t consider it so gift giving as being a family historian. Someone has to make those albums.

My dear friend Elizabeth told me about her wonderful tradition. Her husband has a gigantic extended family (six siblings!) so her tradition is to make photo album from the year. It is opened on Christmas morning and everyone looks through the book together.

I used to make three or four albums a year but that got very expensive. Each one is about $100 and while cheaper than buying a scrapbook and printing out each photo and pasting it in, it adds up. Especially when I print an extra one so each of my sons can have their own copies as adults.

I’ve kind of given it up as a result.

But one book for the entire year? That I can do. I’m going to crib Elizabeth’s idea.

Happy holidays, enjoy your family, friends, pets and loved ones.