A few weeks ago, YAY! DIY reader Kath reached out to us, asking us to help her with a very special project.  Kath was looking for a special gift for her son’s high school graduation in June, who will be leaving for the Marines shortly after his birthday. Kath wanted to give her son a special gift to take with him that would remind him of home – something like a scrapbook, but not in the traditional sense.  She wanted a format in which others could contribute messages and well wishes to her son as well.  Kath asked us to help her brainstorm some creative ideas.  Needless to say, we were excited to help Kath brainstorm ideas.

We learned a bit more about his son, and put our heads together.  Heading to the Marines, we knew her son may not always have room for a ton of stuff, but would certainly want to have mementos of home and his loved ones with him.  With that in mind, we sent the following three ideas to Kath:

Idea 1: A digital scrapbook:

• Have family and friends record short 1-2 minutes messages and well wishes to your son on their digital cameras or camcorders. Ask them to email you their short videos, and then save them all on a USB Flash drive, labeled by the person’s name so that they are clearly organized.  (Purchase one here.) You could also record an opening, explaining to your son what he’ll find on the drive. USB drives are super small, so your son could carry these messages with him anywhere – even in his pocket or on his key chain.  Alternatively, if you have a flip camera, you could film all of the messages at his going away party, in one file, download it to your computer, and then save it to a USB drive.  Your son can watch it anytime he gets lonely!

Idea 2: Small Photo Album:

• Purchase a small photo album (I like this leather one from Barnes and Noble because it’s very masculine) Ask your guests to bring a handwritten note to your son, and a favorite picture of themselves, or themselves with your son.  Place the photos in the album, with the notes tucked behind the pictures, hidden away. The notes will be a nice surprise, but since they’ll be tucked behind the photos, its also gives a bit of privacy to the notes, rather than in a traditional scrapbook that people may just write notes in for everyone to see.

Idea 3:  A bit more scrapbooky!

• Purchase a more traditional scrapbook, made with paper you can write on.  Pull together your favorite photos, and also ask your son’s friends for a few of their favorites.  Place a photo on each page of a journal.  Pass the book around at his graduation party, just like a guestbook at a wedding, allowing people to write as many notes as they want in the book – it could be a congratulations note, it could be several little notes about the memories the photos conjure.  Whatever they feel like writing to your son!  If you like the idea of making it a bit more private, you can also make a pocket on each page with construction paper, so people can tuck notes into the pockets, which your son can read later.

Do you have any great ideas for Kath?  Particularly our readers who have served in the military – what did you wish you could have had with you when you first left home? For the mothers/fathers/spouses and siblings of those in the military, did you ever send a special homemade gift to your loved one?  What sorts of care packages did you find they loved and needed the most?

Thanks to Kath for letting us help her in this project, and a BIG Congratulations and GOOD LUCK to her son.