Sister scrapbook ideas from the years you share
Choose the years you share, gather photos from both sides and give each of you room for your own account. Start when you met if you did not grow up together, and agree what stays private.
A sister scrapbook can begin in childhood or with a later meeting. Make a short list of the places, routines and occasions you both recognise before asking anyone for photographs.
Ask each contributor which years they knew her. Put different memories beside one another with names attached, rather than choosing one account as the official version.
Make the memory book together
Invite people to send photos and their own words, then choose what goes in the book.
Questions for parents and siblings
- What is the earliest day with her that you remember?
- What was she like at five, compared with now?
- Which routine or place did you share most often?
- Which bedroom did she have, and who did she share it with?
- What did she collect, play or watch over and over?
- Which family holiday does she still talk about?
- When did she stand up for a brother or sister?
- What is she better at than anyone else in the family?
- Which photo of her do you keep, and why that one?
Going through the family albums
Go through albums with the relative or person who keeps them, if they want to help. Note who identified each person, place and approximate year.
Scan or photograph the pictures you want and put the originals back. Note who is in each one and roughly when.
A place or routine you shared
A shared bedroom, a bus route or a weekly call can give a spread its shape. Choose a routine that belongs to your actual relationship.
Ask your sister before including an argument or something private. Another relative cannot approve a personal story on her behalf. For a surprise, leave uncertain material out.
- A photo or floor plan of the shared bedroom
- A drawing of who had which side, if nobody took a photo
- Birthday cards you wrote each other as children
- School photos from the same year, side by side
The holiday you kept going back to
A family holiday to the same beach, caravan or relative's house across several years makes a strong spread. Keep the place fixed and let the two of you get older across the page.
Asking parents and siblings
Ask each parent and sibling the same questions on their own, so answers do not blend. Put differing accounts together with the photo they describe.
A younger sibling may only know the later chapters. Ask them about those rather than about years before they were born.
Pages to make
The earliest shared year
The oldest photograph of you together, the place and date if known, and each person's own account. Mark an uncertain year as approximate.
One shared routine
A room plan, route sketch or photo of a meeting place, with one account from each of you about what happened there.
Same place, different years
Holiday photos from one place across several summers, in a row by year.
Sisters as adults
Recent photographs of things you do together, with contributions from people she chooses. Leave space for a page she makes after receiving it.
Questions
What can I put in a scrapbook for my sister?
Childhood photos, school photos side by side, cards you wrote each other, holiday pictures by year, and pages from your parents and other siblings.
What if we did not grow up together?
Begin with your first meeting or first shared activity. Ask for earlier photos only if she wants that part included; the book does not need a childhood chapter.
Should it be a surprise?
It can be, but she is the best source for her adult years. Consider asking her partner or closest friend for recent photos instead.