Homemade Christmas

Since there is a lot of talk in "blogville" about making this Chrsitmas homemade I thought I would share what I did last year. I come from generations of wonderful cooks and bakers (sadly I did not get the gene). My mom still has many, many handwritten recipes wadded up in a box. She likes it that way, despite the years of me offering to organize them for her. So last year I borrowed her box and made a heritage cookbook for every member of my family, even the kids.
In the front of the book, next to the table of contents, I included this page with colored copied photographs of as many of the chefs as possible. I felt it was really important to keep the recipes written in their own handwriting and on the same notecards. This proved to be a treat when many of the recipes had dates, places and clues as to what was going on in my family's life at that time. Some of the recipes dated back to the 1920's and I was sure to note on the recipe if it was used as a tradition of some sort. Like my grandmother always made Watergate cake for my grandfather's March birthday.

I really wanted to make this book look pretty, but with making 26, I needed to keep the costs down. Plus my main goal was to make something that could stand the test of time, as these recipes already had. So I went with the generic binders and page protectors. Not as pretty as Martha Stewart, but everyone appreciated the durability. Anyhow, the tears that were shed at my gesture made me feel very happy and now I have to think of something for this year...any suggestions?