Photos to Share for Fun!

I'm sure you've all seen the above quote and others like them. I feel the same way about family photos. Why have them hidden away in an old box or scrapbook? Get them out--enjoy them NOW!

I know most of us have a lifetime of photos hidden away in a box in the attic. Or if you're like my husband, you've meticulously documented them all in scrapbooks. But honestly, who looks at them? And they're fun and interesting and educational. Get them out and I'll show you what to do.

I love all things New Mexican, so of course my display bowl has a Southwestern "feel."

The procedure:

Simply go through your boxes or scrapbooks and find some photos that your friends and family would enjoy. Get old ones, new ones, funny ones, outtakes and goof-ups. Vacation shots, old school photos, scenery and portraits. Anything and everything. And if you're worried about oily fingers handling them, then simply make a copy and then display the copies. Change them out periodically. Just put them in a pretty dish or basket and set them out. There's something about them being in a bowl that even friends visiting will pick up and look at them. It's a great conversation starter with friends and family. And always good for some laughs.

The photos:

Find pictures of family celebrations and your grandkids when they were babes.

My oldest grandson when he was but a toddler.

Yep! He's in junior high and in percussion in the band. He'll like seeing this old picture.

Find some really old ones. They'll recognize their dad. But can they recognize their cousin who's with him?

I had to include this one. This is a family favorite. It's a goof-up that we all really enjoy.

Just a rare time in Austin when we actually had quite a snow accumulation.

Will the grandkids be able to recognize their uncle?

I think it will be fun for the grands to see their parents wedding photos as well as seeing their cousins when they were young.

Another family celebration that will be fun to replay when they see it in the display bowl.

You get the idea. Just some random pictures through the years.

​Next you'll need a pretty container. First shop your house (as they say on HGTV). You'll probably find a pretty tray or basket in which to display your old photos. If not, go window shopping like I did at a home goods store:

A basket on the coffee table is always a good choice.

This gorgeous wooden bowl would be great.

Found these at the home goods store for those of you using the farmhouse look in your decor.

I "shopped my house" and found this Native American-inspired bowl to hold my photos.

And that's it! Why on earth should those precious photos be up in the attic or on some shelf in a scrapbook? Display them this way for all to see. And what great conversation starters, as well as a way to share your family history.

And here's another idea. My sister thought of this one. A few years ago when she and my brother-in-law moved from their large family home to a garden home, she was dismayed as to what to do with all those family photos that they had accumulated over the years. She came up with a plan to go through them and divvy them up between her son and daughter.....paying attention to the ones her daughter would like and the ones her son and his family would cherish. Then she decided that the way to give them to each, was to put them in a pretty wooden box. I never saw what she used, but on my window shopping trip, I found some fabulous wooden boxes and small chests. Take a look:

Again, sharing old treasured family photos--two plans:

1. Place them in a charming dish, wooden bowl or basket for guests to see when they visit your home. Why have those old photos stashed away?
2. Get a small wooden chest or decorative box, and present your loved ones with your old photos--ones that they would particularly want and enjoy.

And do it because, every picture tells a story...

"What I like about photographs is they capture a moment that's gone forever..." Karl Lagerfeld

"Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film, you have captured forever...it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything." Aaron Siskind