It was late Christmas Eve night. I kneeled on my bed pulling the curtains back on the window next to me. Still nothing but a clear, black sky and a few twinkling stars. I was sure that I would see him. I was six years old at the time and I still believed in Santa. Oh-I had a few doubts but I still believed. All day long I had been listening to the radio as the dj talked about Santa's trip around the world. They were "tracking" his progress and kept giving updates as to how close he was getting to us. I believed every word they said and because of that I was peering out my window for a glimpse of Santa and his sleigh.

I remember that night so clearly; the anticipation, excitement and trust I had that Santa was on his way. Now that I am a parent myself I get to play "Santa" and see the joy in my children each Christmas morning when they see what Santa left. These are the memories that I want to include on my scrapbook pages. I want to remember the sights, smells and sounds of Christmas. For me Christmas brings to mind; the smell of hot chocolate, the taste of freshly baked Kringle for breakfast, the sounds of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" playing in the background, the old black and white Christmas classics on TV, the crinkling of wrapping paper and the laughter of children excited over new gifts, the Christmas pageants, the nativity, and the excitement over the arrival of the JC Penney Toy Catalog.

Before you begin your Christmas pages make a list of all the things that you associate Christmas with. Use your list on your pages. This year when you are taking pictures try capturing the traditions and "details" of Christmas. The "details" can be the pile of tangled Christmas tree lights your husband has to untangle every year. Maybe it's the advent wreath or your children listening to the true story of Christmas. Another idea is to take a picture of all the decorations you use throughout the house for Christmas. Use a large square punch to punch out each decoration so there is room on your pages for you to document all the decorations. Whatever you do try to think outside the "box" for your holiday pages this year!

There are some great pre-made products on the market to help you get your pages done quicker. In "Christmas" I used a Christmas tree made by Paper Bliss and the eyelet letters are made by Making Memories. 

In "First Family Christmas" I used some great 3-d stickers from Jolee's Boutique to decorate my tags. 

Karen Foster Designs have come out with a great new coordinating line of stickers and papers that I used in my layout "Christmas 2001."

Sometimes you have pictures that you aren't sure how to display in your scrapbooks. In my husband's family every year they gather on the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house for a picture of all the cousins. I had over 15 pictures from all the people taking pictures and not one was perfect. It's a little hard to get 16 people to look the same way without any squirming or funny faces. I wanted to use all the pictures because everyone personality came through on the pictures. On my first page I highlighted my favorite picture; and then made a pocket to hold the rest. The next page has a sequence of six pictures showing the goofing around that occurred.

There are other activities that happen during the Christmas season, not just on Christmas day. When I was in high school I had the chance to be a "Santa's helper" in a shopping center. See Santa's Helper below. Another scrapbooking.com Design Team Member, Tiffany Johnson, created a layout of her daughter's breakfast with Santa.

Below are some more inspirational Christmas layouts from other Design Team Members.