Save your vacation memories! 7 ways to document as you go

Document your vacation memories as you go!

Your vacation was so needed and so fun, but you haven’t closed the circle on making memories until you archive your photos in an album. With our electronic tools, it’s easier than ever.

Memory-keeping expert Jill Broadbent helps you get efficient with snapping, saving, and documenting as you go.

To follow along with all Jill’s creative endeavors, follow @craftyafternoon on Instagram.

How to Document Your Vacation Memories

We all take hundreds of photos on any given vacation. These are the memories we want to relive again and again, but not only by a scroll on our phones. Here are a few ways to document those memories and make them something the whole family can enjoy.

1. Clean out the photos/crop/edit – if multiple people in the family are taking photos along the way, create a shared folder so you can see all the photos. Delete duplicates or multiple shots of one spot. Narrow down to the highlights on the trip you want to PRINT AND KEEP. I like to do this along the way or on the ride home so I can order immediately.
2. If you want a simple way to see the photos /stories that comes together quickly, print photo collages in the size you want to document. I recommend 12×12, 8.5×11, or 6×8. I highly recommend printing photo prints over photo books. Photo books are not light or color safe and will fade over time. Photo pages will give you the same simple execution but will last forever.
3. 6×8 – I personally love this size for travel. Almost every brand has a 6×8 in some style and many offer pocket pages that let you easily add 3×4 and 4×6 photos. I feel like those two sizes are a great way to give emphasis to your photos and give your album some variety while still being simple to order prints and put together. Grab a few journaling cards that can let you tell the stories or add some visual interest along the way.
4. Another 6×8 inspiration is using all the ephemera you collect along the way. The ticket stubs, postcards, playbills – use all that memorabilia to help document the experience.
5. Full 12×12 pages – go all out with those special trips – if you love the art of papercrafting, get a full collection of products and make a complete album of one specific trip. Going page by page in the creative process allows you to relive the memories as you create. Have fun!
6. Traveler’s notebooks – these are a fun way to document any type of travel. Give each child a book or get one to share as a family to add to. This becomes “document on the go” option where you can literally take it with you on your travels and add to it as you. Write where you went, what you ate, take polaroids, tape in keepsakes and have it mostly finished before you even set foot back home.
7. Get the kids involved! No matter what option you choose to share your memories, Have you family help! Get their perspective and include it. While downtime en route or on the way home, ask and write down answers:
   1. What was your favorite thing we saw?
   2. What was your favorite thing we ate?
   3. What was your most memorable moment?
   4. What surprised you?
   5. What will you tell your friends about when they ask about your vacation?

Add these things to the photos and memories to help capsulize this moment in time with their ages and experiences. Even let them write it themselves and add that to the book. You’ll have their handwriting as an added bonus.

Take the time to collect these memories. We work so hard to plan and execute the trips. By creating a book for the experience, you’ll be able to enjoy it forever.

Jill Broadbent has been in the memory keeping industry for over 20 years. As an avid scrapbooker, Jill has a passion teaching people how to tell their stories in unique and meaningful ways. From paper crafts to hand lettering to painting, sharing creativity is her key to joy. She feels fortunate for the opportunity to make her talent and passion her work. Jill has three children and a very supportive husband, Dave.