What are you giving for Christmas this year?

Can you believe the holidays will be here in just a few short months...actually weeks! (I consider the holidays officially underway on October 31.) So what are you giving this year to all the special people on your list? Giving the same-old-same-old....New underwear? Oh, wait, a coffee cup? I bet you give ties, right? Hum....how about switching up the gift giving traditions this year. How about actually putting some thought in to it and giving a gift that will not only change you, but change the person you're giving it to. What gift is that? The Gift of Story.

Can you picture this.... Yeah, go read that real quick and then come back. A little tear? Hit a little close to home? I bet it did. That is the power of story. That is what can happen at each and every family Christmas party. That is the emotion and love that can be shared throughout your holiday season. With a little help from me and Cherish Bound you'll create a holiday tradition of story that will forever change your heart and those around you.

So what gifts can you give through Cherish Bound? The list is endless and the recipients are...well, just about everybody! But here is a list to help you get started.

Mothers, Fathers, Mother-in-laws, father-in-laws, sisters, brothers, cousins, best friends, aunts, uncles, daughter, son, grandmother, grandfather, niece, nephew, teachers, bus drivers, neighbors, pets....okay. You get the picture right?

So what can you give them through Cherish Bound?

1. Family Recipe Books: Create a book filled with family favorites and add images of family, scanned in original recipe cards, pictures of the food, stories about where these recipes have come from and the memories that have been made while enjoy those yummy foods.
   
2. Tribute to Mom/Dad/Grandparents: Tell the important people in your life just how much they mean to you. Give them the gift of story by reminiscing about the past, present and the future you have because of them. With added photos and your text this story is sure touch the heart of everyone who receives it.
3. A-Z Books: A-Z books are SO much fun! There are 1000's of ideas that you can do with A-Z's. Here's a few....The A to Z's..... of why we love (whoever), of 2008, child's favorite things, holiday memories, family traditions. There are so many ways to share the love through the ABC's.
4. Sports/Hobby/Collection books: Create a book just for the sports lover in your family or highlight their great achievements or special hobbies and collections like fishing, dirt biking, camping, coin collections, baseball cards, etc.
   
5. Family Traditions: Have each person in your family write about their favorite traditions and memories from the holidays. Grandma's love those!
6. Photo Brag Books: No time to write? How about a book filled with snapshots and photos off all your adventures or best pictures throughout the year?
7. Family Yearbook: If you're like me, you live far from family and you don't get to share your amazing adventures with them as much as you'd like to. So put together a family yearbook from the past year. Get the kids involved, the hubby too and together as a family create a yearbook that you can share with all your family!
   

So there are a few "Book" ideas to get you started....but there are so many more! Just think about the special people and why you love them. Something will come to mind. But wait..there's more! Cherish Bound has an AMAZING product line. Here are some more ideas!

1. Chat Cards: LOVE THESE! Chat Cards come in three different types, Family Chat, Gathering Chat & Child Chat. They are a deck of 50+ cards that have TONS of question on them to help promote great storytelling and conversation. Neighbors will love a deck for their kitchen table, Gathering Chats are fun to use at your own family parties, and teachers will LOVE the child chat cards....great for the classroom!
2. Journals: Heritage, Traditions, Favorites and Gratitude. Pre-published 5×5 hardbound journals with questions, spaces to write, room to attach photos and memories. (MY favorites!) Need to connect with a Teen? Get them a "Favorites" journal, take them out to dinner alone and ask them all about their favorites. Find out what THEY like and what makes them tick. Start a gratitude journal in your home or share it with your sister's family. Heritage journals are a prefect activity for your children at the holidays. This journal will help them interview their grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles and anyone else who has a history.
   
3. Lifeprints are a great product to have at the holidays...especially the Family Gathering Lifeprints. This set of 16 leaflets all have the same set of questions and room to write. Each family member can answer the questions about their favorite family gathering memories, food, people, etc. All the information can be collected and turned into a great family gathering yearbook!
   
4. Story Starters are little booklets full of questions to help you explore a particular theme of story. With space to write and places to jot image ideas, Story Starters help you organize and write your stories. You can also give the gift of story to someone else by picking some Story Starters out and adding a publishing gift certificate to the package. Let them write, create and design their own stories.

Again, there are so many ideas with Cherish Bound. Make your gift list now and get started! If you'd like to learn how you can get FREE publishing for Christmas please email me at tarabrown at cherishbound dot com. You can hold ONLINE gatherings and workshops at www.momchats.com You can invite your family and friends to join us in the chat room and we can share story from the comfort of our very own computers!

End the stress and chaos of looking for the perfect gift! Cherish Bound has the perfect gift for everyone on your list!