Everybody grows up with holiday traditions. It may be a special trip, a special book read every year on Christmas Eve or having each child hang the ornament you bought to commemorate the year she was born. These are traditions that are special to your family, but it's never too soon to start thinking about creating something that you can physically give to your baby when he's an adult and is celebrating Christmas in his own home.

Passing on special Christmas keepsakes is a visual and tactile reminder of family Christmases past. It's even more special when these keepsakes are a reminder of times you and your children spent either crafting them or choosing them. They're not just things, but memories.

Looking at your tiny, perfect infant and picturing her as an adult off to her first apartment may be next to impossible (not to mention a little depressing!). But grow they do, and a significant part of your role as a parent will be to maintain your bond with your children in every way as they grow, and for them to always carry a little piece of you with them.

Rachel Paxton of West Richland, Wash., is the mother of four children, ranging in age from 21 to 3-year-old twins – and one on the way! She's also a dedicated crafter and the founder of Creative Homemaking. She's created a lot of traditions with all of her children, and advises others how to do so as well.

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