My 12-year-old daughter was mad at me when I refused to pay $25 for a school yearbook last year. Who are they trying to kid?

In an attempt to appease my daughter, I suggested buying a little notebook that her friends could write messages in for her. As it turned out, we found a small turquoise spiral-bound notebook for about $3 that she really liked. Her gel pens looked really great on the turquoise paper.

I also agreed to let her take my camera to school on the last day (it's a fairly inexpensive camera). She took a roll of film that was all hers to take pictures of her friends. She had her friend write little notes to her in her notebook, including phone numbers, AOL Instant Messenger screen names, whatever information they wanted to exchange. After we got the film developed, my daughter cut the faces of friends she wanted out of the photos and glued them into her notebook. Next she added notes next to each photo, including the person's name and something about that person. The neat thing about those photos was the fact that they were all so candid. She got group photos of her friends, shots of all the boys she had crushes on throughout the year--everything she wanted to remember in years to come.

The total cost of her little friendship album was about $10. The memories it contains are priceless. When I last asked her where her album was, she said a friend had borrowed it so she could scan all the pictures for herself!  

The Author:   Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, gardening, organizing tips, home decorating, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at