I wanted to share a little gift idea that I made for my mother this past Christmas. Many people have seen the calendars you can have printed at Walmart or Walgreens, which have photos of your family on them. I put a little twist on this idea by staging photos to match the month. My kids, husband, and I all had a great time coming up with ideas for my mom’s calendar. Believe it or not, it was some work getting twelve photos (plus the cover and the back) planned, shot, edited, and uploaded. Then, I crossed my fingers hoping that they would print nicely. We decided to devote the month of each of the kids’ birthdays to a photo of that child, or children, as in the case of August (Lauren and Mitchell). I also threw in my birthday month for fun. We were very pleased at how it turned out.

Here’s how it looked:

Cover (It says “Basham Family Calendar 2017 for Nana We Love You!”)

January

February

March

April

May (Leslie)

June

July (Matthew)

August (Lauren and Mitchell)

September

October  (Guess who?!)

November

December (Laci)

It was an extra special gift because each of us were involved in the making of it. We all worked to keep it a secret, and we were all holding our breath as she opened it, anticipating her reaction. She shed happy tears, so we knew we had accomplished our mission.

Each year, the giving of gifts, and this one in particular, is the true joy of Christmas. That moment was definitely the highlight of my Christmas Day.

With love,