Many times at auctions, or estate sales, a box of books will turn up a real treasure, like a scrapbook that was kept by someone in their youth and sometimes through their adulthood. The book could be 50 or 60 years old, and a source of great fun to look at the pictures, news clippings, and personal mementoes.

The hobby of keeping such collections is enjoying a resurgence of popularity, with people of all ages finding new and inventive ways to record special events or occasions in their lives. Scrapbooking ideas for kids can be very basic to start with, because once they catch on to the fun, they'll start developing their own sense of style and preference for decorating.

A scrapbook with reasonable quality paper makes a great special occasion gift for a child, along with glue, scissors, and perhaps a simple book on creating your own special treasure trove of memories.

Give them a start on their hobby by helping with the first entry, to celebrate the occasion such as a birthday. Cover a page in the gift paper that the book was wrapped in, and then tape or glue a photo of them in the center of the page. A package of 2" x 4" white labels is a handy part of any scrapbooking package, as they provide a clear area to put text, and can be stuck over top of an older label with outdated information. This is a handy way of adding your caption or comments to highly decorated pages.

Colored pencils, crayons, markers, and other artistic tools will also contribute to their enjoyment, as they use them to enhance a page with a photo of their new puppy, by drawing bones, mailmen, balls, and other doggy subjects around the picture.

Scrapbooking ideas for kids are only limited by their imagination in what they collect and use, from photos, to news clippings, souvenir programs from concerts, hair ribbons, ticket stubs from movies and more. They can even make mini scrapbooks of things like a visit to Grandma's, and give it to her as a Christmas present.

Kathleen Hudson is an avid scrapbooker and shares some of her best scrapbooking tips and ideas on her website at http://www.yourscrapbookingtips.com. Visit the site to add new creativity to your scrapbooking layouts.