Creating a Legacy Album for Your Kids: Where to Start + What to Include

Heather Schingel
May 1
3 min read

Vintage family photo album with old black-and-white portraits, perfect for creating a legacy album for kids and preserving family memories.

As parents, we’re the storytellers of our family’s history—collectors of memories, milestones, and meaningful moments. Creating a legacy album for your kids is a beautiful way to preserve those stories in a tangible, lasting format they can treasure for years to come.

Whether you're just starting your photo organizing journey or looking to turn years of images into something intentional, this guide will walk you through how to begin, what to include, and how Beechwood Photo Organizing and our trusted affiliate partners can help.

Why a Legacy Album Matters

A legacy album is more than a scrapbook—it's a curated collection of your child’s life, family history, and values. It’s a tangible connection to their past and a gift of identity, love, and belonging.

Creating one can feel overwhelming, especially if you have thousands of digital and printed photos scattered across devices, drawers, or old albums. But with a thoughtful approach (and a little help), it’s absolutely doable—and incredibly rewarding.

Step 1: Gather & Organize

Start by collecting photos from various sources:

Printed photos in albums or shoeboxes
Digital photos from your phone, camera, cloud storage, and old devices
Scanned keepsakes like artwork, report cards, and handwritten notes

Pro tip: Use our Photo Organizing Checklist (free!) to keep track of where your photos live and how to gather them efficiently.

To back up and organize digital files safely, we recommend:

Forever Storage (permanent cloud storage you own)
Backblaze (automatic computer backup)
Mylio (sync photos across devices without the cloud)

If you're digitizing printed images, our DIY Photo Preservation Kit includes everything you need—from gloves to a cleaning cloth. And if you'd rather leave it to the pros, we offer full photo scanning services with dust removal and enhancement.

Step 2: Curate with Intention

Instead of trying to include everything, think about the story you want to tell. Here are some meaningful themes to guide your selections:

Milestones: Birth, birthdays, school years, graduations, sports, hobbies
Family Traditions: Holidays, vacations, bedtime routines, favorite meals
Everyday Moments: Sibling snuggles, first day of school, silly faces, morning cuddles
Legacy Elements: Baby hospital bracelets, love notes, family trees, heirloom photos

Add brief captions, handwritten notes, or quotes—your words will mean as much as the pictures.

Step 3: Design + Print

Once your photos are chosen and digitized, it’s time to bring the album to life.

You can:

Use Forever’s print services to design a high-quality album directly from your storage.
Let us help you through our custom photo book services, where we curate, design, and print it all for you—with archival-quality paper and heirloom durability.

Prefer DIY? Check out Artkive for turning your child’s artwork into keepsake books, or use a Kodak Slide & Film Viewer if you want to include old family slides in your album.

Step 4: Preserve + Share

Once printed, protect your legacy album:

Store it in a cool, dry place (away from attics or basements).
Consider digitizing a backup copy for safekeeping.
Add it to your child’s memory bin or a family time capsule.

And don’t wait for a special occasion—sit down and look through it with your child. Tell stories. Laugh. Reflect. This shared experience is the real gift.

Let Us Help You Get Started on a Legacy Album for Kids

At Beechwood Photo Organizing, we help families just like yours bring photo projects to life with clarity, care, and ease. Whether you're looking for: