Creating Journals For Your Children - A Creative Gift Idea You Can Be Proud Of

Posted by Christie in Birthday on Friday, October 3rd, 2008

When my oldest son was turning one, I wanted to think of a really creative gift to give him, one that would keep giving as he got older. I had a hard time thinking of such a gift, until one day I came up with the idea of a journal. I know what you are thinking, “just what every one year old wants… a blank book that he or she has no idea what to do with…”. 

This was not a journal for him to write in, it was for me to record letters to him as he grows up. I have fallen more and more in love with this idea as my children have gotten older and I wanted to share it with each of you tonight.

I took a simple leather journal from a stationary store and personalized it with his name on it. As my other children have come along they now each have their own journal as well, a tradition that I am determined to keep up for each of them.

I sit down every year on their birthday and write them a love note of sorts. I tell them about all the cool things that they learned how to do this year and how much I have enjoyed watching them get bigger and learn more about the world around them. I tell them some of my observations about their personalities or the dreams that they have shared with me about their futures. 

I always end each birthday note with a few reasons why I am so proud of them this year and my birthday wishes for them. I have even begun to use the journal for other significant days in their lives to record stories that I want to share with them some day. 

For example, I wrote in the journal the day my son lost his first tooth and even included the letter he wrote to the tooth fairy. I also wrote to both my boys on their first days of school and described how we each reacted to that adjustment. 

I plan to give the book to the kids when they turn 21, all grown up by society’s standards, though probably no where close by mine. I share this idea with you because I think that it is important for us as parents to create a legacy for our children. Not just be able to recount the dates and times that they proudly passed certain milestones, but to share with them some of my emotions, thoughts, and feelings along the way. 

One day our children will be parents too… (scary thought, I know… ) but I hope that this small journal that I started as a creative gift idea will help them understand that all parents make mistakes and that the point of parenting is not to get it perfect but to help both them and me to become better people along the way.



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