Create Gifts of Meaning

One of my New Year's resolutions--to turn up my creativity and make personalized gifts of meaning. In 2009, I believe we are all searching more acutely for our meaning and place in this world. What better gift than to share with your loved ones what they mean to you?

One way to do this is to make your loved one the heroine in her own story by writing an original storybook based on an experience, celebration, vacation or holiday. This creation isn't as daunting as it may seem, as there are many websites that do all of the formatting and printing for you. Simply upload your pictures, write your story, place your pictures and Voila! a unique, personalized gift your loved one will treasure forever.

This past Christmas, I wrote a fairytale for my neices, Harley and Scout, based on our trip to Disney World. I had fun putting the book together, and they loved being the stars of their own story. Now that week is forever captured for us, to remember and reflect upon our time together. To see an example of the story I created, click on the book below.

Here are some of the online resources you can use to create your own storybook gift. Have fun!

Picaboo
Snapfish
Shutterfly
Mixbook