· In: BABY & FAMILY
A few years ago, my mother surprised my brother and I with handmade cookbooks full of our favorite family recipes. Such a wonderful, thoughtful gift idea, it means so much to me to have all our prized recipes right at my fingertips. So, today I thought it might be fun to share some ideas to create a DIY recipe book of your own. Whether you want to surprise someone with a special, meaningful gift or you’re on a mission to make a personalized keepsake for yourself, below are some fun ideas to keep all your family’s most treasured recipes and happy memories in one very special place.
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Our Family Recipe Book
There are so many great DIY recipe book options to choose from (I linked to a few recommendations below), but to create a cookbook similar to ours, its really quite simple. All you need to get started are a few basic office supplies:
Once you’ve gathered your supplies, label the dividers by type (breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizers, desserts etc…) and place them in the binder.
Next, throw a handful of sheet protectors into each section and its time to pull it all together!
Gather your favorite family recipes, your favorite family photos, additional kitchen related memorabilia and begin to fill up your binder.
Below are a few ideas to spark some creativity:
Choose A Fun Cover Photo
My mom and her good friend made their recipe books together (and all these pies!), so they decided to add the photo and title below to each book. Brings a smile to my face every time 😁.
Gather Recipes from Past Generations
We have a handful of amazing recipes that have been in our family for years. I plan on passing those recipes down through future generations, so I’m so grateful to have them all in one place now. (I’m also excited to incorporate Bill’s family recipes to the book now too!)
Our recipes are by no means perfect looking. You’ll find handwritten notes, magazine clippings, printouts from the web, you name it. However, the recipe was found, is often how it made its way into the book – and that’s the way I like it!
To me, it’s more than just a cookbook, it’s a collection of memories – a time capsule of sorts! I love seeing my grandmother’s handwriting, reading my mom’s fun notes and sorting through all the magazine clippings. It reminds me of the days before we went to the internet for virtually everything.
Include Favorite Holiday Recipes
Over the years, we’ve created a collection of go-to holiday recipes. As we find new recipes, they get added to the book.
A few favorites:
- Halloween: Jack-O-Lantern Cookies (First made these for my big Halloween bash around age 13!)
- Christmas: Beef Tenderloin ( Our go-to Christmas appetizer. A special treat we enjoy just once a year.)
- Easter: Garlic Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb (We found this recipe in Food & Wine magazine about 10 years ago. It’s been a favorite ever since. It’s so good – and easier to make than you’d think!)
Incorporate Family Photos
And last but not least one of my favorite aspects of the book – all the fun family photos.
At the moment, our cookbook includes mostly childhood photos. Perhaps along the way I’ll add a few more. We shall see! If it has something to do with food, it just may make its way into the cookbook.
Below are also some additional recipe book ideas that may be of interest as well 😁.
