It takes just minutes -- and a little creative thinking -- to inject new, gift-worthy energy into this old tradition. An easy-to-stash brag book speaks louder than boasts. A photo flip book puts videotaped memories magically in motion. A tin full of favorite handwritten recipes perpetuates family traditions. And party favors crafted from snapshots along with laugh-out-loud recollections set the mood for what's sure to be a memorable celebration.

Brag Book
Use double-sided plastic binder sheets made to hold sports cards. For a larger book, you can instead use 3 sheets made to hold 4-by-6-inch photos, trimming just the punched edges.

To create a 12-photo book, trim 3 sets of side-by-side pockets from a double-sided sports-card sheet; each resulting sheet will hold 4 photos, 2 on each side. To make the cover, cut a rectangle from oilcloth, heavy fabric, or leather, making it 1/8 inch larger on all sides than photo sleeves. (If using oilcloth or fabric, cut 2 rectangles and glue wrong sides together. Let dry.) Center and stack sleeves inside cover. Sew along the middle seam that divides the 2 sides of the photo pockets, attaching sleeves to cover. Attach an eyelet to front cover; slip a loop of elastic cord, about the same length as the book's perimeter, through eyelet, knotting the loop on the inside of the cover to make a band closure. Slip snapshots in sleeves.