In early October, I did this layout that included some journaling from my husband’s perspective. I love how the story now includes his thoughts and feelings on our anniversary trip, as well as mine. Though it may be tough to get our families involved in the memory keeping process, there are a few ways you can trick them into helping.
Think ahead. If you know you’ll want to scrap an event, keep the kids occupied in the car by offering up some drawing supplies. Ask them to draw you a picture of the fun they just had. Scan these images and use them in your layout.
Act busy. As head photographers in the family, we often miss out on great shots of us with our loved ones. Keep yourself busy or your hands too full to “possibly take photos too!” Hand off the camera to the hubby and have him take a turn behind the lens.
Make it mandatory. While one person can whine and complain about writing something for you, groupthink will force a larger number to all comply. Hand out note cards, like at a family meal, and ask everyone to reflect on this time, the year or a special memory from the past.
Ask a question. The easiest way to capture other perspectives in your journaling is to have a conversation. If you can, be at your computer “pretending” to work on something else. Subtly ask your subject what they thought, just in conversation. Write as much of it as you can, paraphrasing where necessary.
As parents, we know that being sneaky is sometimes what it takes. Use these techniques and add in your own to pull out the best memories from your friends and family.
I love your website! I often do the “ask a question” suggestion, including asking from a questionaire designed for scrapbooking. But I LOVE the “think ahead” suggestion! I’ll have to remember that! Thanks!
Good to hear that others have to resort to deception and sneakery to get candid observations from family members. It gets so hard when the hit the teen years.