National Scrapbook Day
Capturing moments through pictures, creative designs, and memorabilia — a great way to cherish and share memories with loved ones.
Drive retail and e-commerce sales of scrapbooking supplies, albums, and craft materials by positioning National Scrapbook Day as a seasonal moment for memory-making and creative gatherings.
- 'Start Your Memory Book This May' — beginner scrapbooking kits and supply bundles
- Host a Scrapbooking Party: DIY event guides and group activity ideas for craft retailers
- Spotlight premium tools and archive-quality materials for serious hobbyists
- Photo printing + scrapbook supplies bundle deals timed to the first Saturday in May
This concept of making scrapbooks and friendship albums dates back several centuries to 15th century England. During this time, various people would collect letters, poems, recipes, drawings, certificates, quotes or even pressed flowers that they would place in books to keep their important memories together. These scrapbooks were often shared with visitors or guests when they came to a family home. Guests were sometimes asked to sign the book and include a personal note.
Since that time, scrapbooking has grown and changed, especially as the development of the photographic process made it possible for people to include pictures in their scrapbooks. In addition, paper, notebooks and albums became more accessible to more people. Newspaper clippings also began to be included as mementos of these large and bulky albums. Even US president Thomas Jefferson kept a scrapbook album of the newspaper clippings of his presidency!
In the 1980s, scrapbooks began to make an upswing again and in 1981 the first official scrapbooking store was opened, called Keeping Memories Alive, located in Spanish Fork, Utah. As the popularity of scrapbooking grew over the next decade, it became one of the fastest growing hobbies in the US.
What had originally started out as an individual hobby turned into a social event, with people hosting scrapbook parties and collaborating on their projects. National Scrapbook Day began in 1994 when it was founded by the Creative Memories foundation. The day is celebrated on the first Saturday in May each year, making it possible to celebrate in a variety of ways!
Start a New Scrapbook
Those who are new to scrapbooking might want to head over to a paper or scrapbooking store and gather up some supplies to make a scrapbook in honor of National Scrapbook Day. Don’t forget to pick up an album and get some photos printed to include into the album. Gather up some ticket stubs, poems, coasters, show programs and other meaningful memorabilia that can be incorporated in a collection of memories.
Host a Scrapbooking Party
National Scrapbook Day is a perfect excuse to gather a group of friends who are interested in making memory books. Invite some guests to bring their supplies and gather around a large table, either in a home or a booked common space such as a library or coffee shop.
Share Scrapbook Resources
This type of scrapbooking event might be an especially good time for avid scrapbookers to share their resources, such as cutting plotters, special scissors, or archive quality scrapbook markers and felt tip pens. Have tons of fun sharing and getting inspired in honor of National Scrapbook Day!