It is natural to want to surprise your loved one when giving them a gift, especially something as unique as a photobook that honors and celebrates their life story.
At the same time, they will thoroughly enjoy being part of the process of putting it all together — collecting favorite photos, reliving fond memories, telling stories — and since it is the story of their life, and they are the expert on their life, they might want a hand in how it is told.
So which approach — surprise or include — do I recommend? Both actually, which I guess is a third option that combines the two.
It really depends on your situation, regardless of which scenario you choose the outcome is super rewarding. Check out these stories that illustrate examples of both:
Surprise Your Loved One(s)!
My friend Nancy surprised her parents with a book capturing their 60th wedding anniversary party along with stories and photos of their lives leading up to their 60th celebration.
She covertly acquired pictures from their basement and asked her mom for some pictures off her wall, telling her mom she was working on a project and not to ask any questions. While her mom was suspicious as to what she was up to she obliged and didn’t ask questions.
Nancy also recruited her aunt and uncle to supply stories, photos and the names of the people in various pictures. At a dinner party several months later, Nancy presented the finished book to her parents. They were blown away!
They loved seeing the pictures from the party of course, but where thrilled and totally surprised to see their life story unfold before their eyes. Photos of themselves as youngsters, their parents, brothers and sisters growing up, their wedding picture, and then their kids as babies and growing up — their 60 years of marriage and a lifetime of memories!
Her mom was so inspired by the book that she took it upon herself to research and capture her family’s heritage and history in another book. At the age of 85, this gave her mom a fun and truly meaningful project to undertake.
Include Your Loved One!
For each of the books my sisters and I gifted to our mom and dad, we presented them with gift certificates, therefore they knew they were getting the gift of telling their life story but they didn’t really know what the end result would look like.
My mom’s reaction was so cute, she said “Well it’s going to be a pretty short book because the only great thing I ever did was you three girls.” So sweet, but so NOT the case!
After going through the process, my dad remarked that “This book and the experience of creating it helped me realize that I have led about five or six different lives and that I’ve accomplished more in my life than I give myself credit for.”
Both of them were actively involved in working with me to put their life stories together, but what they didn’t know is that we had a surprise for each of them. A surprise tribute section honoring their accomplishments and what they have meant to so many in their lives. Their reaction when they saw their finished products was priceless!
Regardless of whether you decide to surprise your loved one or include them, in the end they will be immensely grateful that you would take the time to honor them.
If you’ve been thinking about a special way to honor your parents, then click here, or on the graphic below, to schedule a Complimentary Curator Consultation today and explore how you can surprise them with the gift of telling their story!
