The gifts which mean the most to us are the ones that people go the extra mile to make personal.  With that in mind I thought I’d suggest a couple of gifts for you to be working on for those really special people in your life for NEXT Christmas… 2007.  These have been field tested and proven to bring smiles, a few tears, and put some money in your bank!  

  Family Slide Show {Computer needed with Roxio Easy Media Creator Suite 8}.  Pick out pictures from meaningful events over the years.  Scan the pictures into a computer file.  Then create a DVD with the pictures set to music (Which you can also pick out).  If there are several in your family, have a different set of pictures set to a song they particularly like.  That meant for our family one for Pam, Amy, Trey, Britton, and then one of all of us.  This one I gave to Pam on Christmas Eve 2006.

  A One Year Diary.  Cheap and easy to do.  Find a diary of some kind and then begin January 1, 2007 and each week write something to the person you’re giving it to.  Put in the diary either memories, things you like about them, or recount some special event that happens during the year.  I’m giving this one to Pam this Christmas.  Special thanks to John Thweatt for the idea!

  Family Movie (Cam-corder required).  We did this two years ago for Pam.  I sat down and interviewed the kids with a list of 10 to 15 questions.  They were spontaneous answers to things like… “What do you like best about mom?”  “What is your fondest memory about mom?”  “Has there been a time mom embarrassed you?”  Then we ended the tape that year singing two Christmas songs.

  Family Music Video (Cam-corder and Boom-box required).  The kids and I all got together last Christmas and worked up a music video to the song from Men In Black.  Prior to the dance I had the kids pick out three special pictures having to do with Pam and explain them on the video.  There were some other special/neat thing included in it… you do whatever you want.  Pam really liked this one.

  This Is Your Life.  Contact friends and ask them to either write a letter or send a video of some kind a couple of minutes in length.  Then edit them together (Roxio again) and make a DVD to give for Christmas.  I’m considering this one for next year.

  That’s all I have for now, but I’m looking for suggestions.  If you don’t mind sharing them with me I’d LOVE to add them the ones mentioned above.