The holiday season is a great time to capture memorable images of your pet. Previously we shared some tips for improving your pet photography; now we have some tips on how to preserve and display those photos. And to give you some inspiration, we're including some of our favorite holiday photos from last year!

Scrapbooking is a wonderful way to preserve your cherished memories. For many people their pets are an important part of the family, so it is just natural to want to capture those special times shared with a beloved pet. You can use your favorite scrapbooking tools to make unique pages that you can enjoy for years to come.

To get started, you'll need to have some good photos of your pet from a variety of different angles. Also, make sure that you capture your pet with different members of the family. And if your dog has a favorite toy, include some special pictures of that as well.

First, make sure that the scrapbooking materials you use are acid and lignin free. You'll need scrapbooking supplies such as an album, cut-outs, stickers, letter rub-ons, and any other creative embellishments you desire. Choose things related to your pet such as dog breed stickers or cat themed papers.

Next, you will want to consider what themes to include in your pet's scrapbook. We have a few ideas to help you get started, but you should include any moments you want to preserve for posterity.

My Pet's First _______
Focus on "the firsts". If you are fortunate enough to get your pet while he or she is still a baby, then create a scrapbook album around the "firsts". But even if you adopted your pet when he or she was older, you can still create some great "first" scrapbook pages. Create scrapbook pages around coming home, your pet's first bath, first visit to the park, first car ride, etc.

A Day in the Life
Tracking your pet's daily activities is another great scrapbook theme. You could include pages about your pet's morning routine, nap time, meal time, and outdoor time. Trace your pet's paw print and include that in the pages too!

My Favorites
A theme around "pet favorites" is also a fun idea. Take photos and create pages around your pet's favorite activities. For a cat you might include pages on favorite toys and nap places. For a dog, choose photos of favorite outdoor play or playtime with toys.

Special Occasions
In addition to holidays, there are other special occasions that you may celebrate with your pet throughout the year. Do you celebrate your pet's birthday? Then by all means include some "birthday" photos in the scrapbook.

Pets are wonderful. They keep you laughing, cheer you up when you are down, and love you no matter what. And there is nothing more heartwarming than seeing a child who has fallen asleep curled up next to a favored animal. So it is no wonder that pets are a very common gift for children at holidays. What child's eyes wouldn't light up at the sight of a brand new baby animal to hold and hug?

However, you should remember that pets are a long-term commitment. Little critters are soft, warm and fuzzy gifts but (and it's a big but) they all grow up. Cute little puppies become big romping, barking dogs. Cuddly little kittens turn into large aloof cats. Soon the baby ducks and chicks are no longer soft and fuzzy, but big, noisy and messy. And most surprising of all, those two bunnies, Fred and George, turned out to be Fred and Georgia!

Also, keep in mind that animals cost money way above and beyond the initial purchase price. Food, leashes, food, collars, food and water bowls, training supplies, food, toys, vet bills, food, licenses and tags, and more food!

Buying a pet as a gift should be a well-planned and thought out move, not a spur of the moment decision based on emotion. If you are honestly thinking of getting someone a pet for the holidays, even if it is not for a child, make sure the gift fits. Be sure it is something you would do even if there were no holiday involved.

Once the pet is revealed, promises to love, feed, and take care of the new addition to the family will flow like water. Therefore, it is important to choose an animal the recipient is capable of handling. For example, you don't want to get a dog that will quickly grow to the size of a small pony for a young child. In fact, you might want to expose your child to other people's animals before buying a pet of your own. This will let you know if your child by chance has allergic reactions to animals before you bring one home that they will fall in love with. It will also give you time to try to convince them that they would really prefer a turtle, lizard, or something else that doesn't have dander.

Finally, there is a great deal of time that has to be invested in getting any pet acclimated to your household, and the holidays are not always a good time to do that. The hustle and excitement of a houseful of friends and family is not the best setting for a new puppy, kitten, or any other young animal. A better idea might be to cut out a picture of the pet you have in mind, put that in a card, and make sure the child understands that as soon as the holidays have passed and things have gone back to normal, they can help pick out the newest member of the family.

I haven't been the best doggie this year... But it's just so much fun to bark at the mailman and chase kitty cats that I can't help it. Mommy say that it must be in my jeans, but that doesn't make sense because dog don't wear pants. Mommy is silly sometimes... Anyway, I decided that I would try bribery in order to get Santa Paws to visit this year. So I'm having Mommy bake some goodies that the reindogs should enjoy. My plan is that they will smell all the yummy treats and make a special trip to our house. If you think that you might be on the naughty list, you could have your Mommy or Daddy make some as well.
~Bandit

P.S. I also included some cat treats on the list to apologize for that time I chased a cat into a bush and to show Santa that I really want to be friends with all the kitties out there...

Homemade Pet Treats for Christmas

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