The beginning of a new year offers a natural occasion for reflecting on the past and planning for the future. This year, preserve tokens of the symbolic day in a first-day book or a party album. The resulting collection of written messages, photographs, and other mementos will serve as a tangible record of your New Year's celebration and more; to create an unfolding narrative, leave your book unfinished, and continue to add to it throughout the coming year.

Martha's Book (above)
Martha's own first-day book was inspired by Skylands, her home in Maine. Knowing that the house and its landscape already had a long and distinguished history before her arrival, she decided to continue chronicling everything of interest that might happen there. Martha designed a large volume that could preserve everything from vintage regional maps and architectural drawings to snapshots of pets and flowers pressed by visiting nieces and nephews. Since New Year's Day, 2000, the book has been open to any friend or family member who wishes to contribute.

The album has a custom-made leather cover, and its oversize pages are made from archival-quality, acid-free paper interleaved with sheets of vellum to protect fragile items and guard against the transference of images and text. Archival-quality photo corners and envelopes will help preserve both the book and its contents for many years to come.

Party Albums
A celebration as momentous as a New Year's party deserves to be recorded for posterity. These two simple projects help preserve the excitement of the moment and make perfect mementos to mail to your guests once the festivities are over.

RSVP Book
This party invitation-cum-questionnaire takes a mini census of your guests' experiences over the past year and of their hopes and predictions for the future. Compose your questions on a computer, and print them out on a sheet of heavyweight letter stock. Put party information on the top half of the back of the sheet, including a request that each guest answer the questions and bring the completed questionnaire to the party. Fold the sheet in half horizontally, with the questions on the inside; then fold it in half vertically with the party information on the inside. Seal with a piece of decorative tape, and address and mail the invitations. After the party, compile a grown-up yearbook by photocopying the questionnaires on fine paper and sending a set to everyone who stopped by.

Photo Packets
Capture the fun of your gathering by setting up a simple photo booth off to one side of the action. Put out an instant camera for guests to use, or take the photographs yourself, then display the shots on a nearby bulletin board. Later, remind everyone of the festive event with photo packets: Make as many duplicate images as you need with a color photocopier. Then cut out each image, and stitch or glue it to a piece of textured paper. Finally, sew a simple paper sleeve large enough to hold all the pictures. Use padded envelopes to mail the packets.