In an earlier post we talked about giving the gift of time this year, and how learning something new or going on an adventure together can be more meaningful than buying “stuff”.  Another idea for Christmas is a homemade gift. I’m not talking about a macaroni wreath, or a popsicle stick ornament. There are many great homemade gift ideas that are meaningful and really rather nice!

I made this “memory display” for my husband last year for his birthday that turned out to be a cherished keepsake. When he was young, he was quite the star baseball player. He became a regular in the local newspaper, with articles and pictures about his accomplishments.

Thanks to my mother in law, all of those newspaper articles and pictures were saved, as well as many photographs of him in his uniform on the pitchers mound, doing his thing. I decided it was a shame to have all those memories stuffed in a file drawer. They needed to be on display! This is what I came up with. A “memory collage” if you will.

I found a nice wooden frame with a wide edge big enough to fit my articles on. Then, I made a collage out of the pictures to fit inside the frame, trying not to leave any blank spaces.

Next, I made color copies of the articles. I didn’t want to cut up the originals, but I wanted it to still look like newspaper print, so the color copies worked great. Then I cut them to fit on the frame, trying to fill in all the blank spaces. I applied them to the frame with several coats of mod podge. (Hint: Make sure to let it dry completely.)

My husband LOVED this gift. He was so surprised, and so appreciative that I took the time to make it. It really wasn’t that hard either, and it truly is a great keepsake. Is there something like this that you could make for someone in your family? Do you have a son or daughter that is a regular in your local paper? For more homemade Christmas gift ideas, check out  the 100 days of Homemade Christmas Gifts series at TheHappyHousewife.com.

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