You attend an anniversary party where a colleague is being honored who has been with the company for 25 years. Or you go to the farewell reception of a colleague or good acquaintance. A good acquaintance turns 50, or a friendly couple has been married for 40 years. Usually at such a silver, gold or diamond ceremony there is someone who will provide a congratulatory book for the jubilee or the couple. Such a beautiful memory album or farewell book, to which all guests make a sensitive contribution, and therefore an emotional gift that will be carefully preserved by the person celebrating their anniversary forever.
Unforgettable memory book, thanks to the PC
Until well into the last century, it was absolutely not customary to frame silver, gold and similar anniversaries with a beautiful congratulatory book. This may also have had to do with the fact that such a gift was very labor intensive and expensive at the time. Nowadays, with all available digital techniques, an original commemorative album is no longer an impossible task, and it is rather strange not to give a silver, gold or diamond anniversary an extra valuable shine in this sense.
Submit original A-four sheet
If you are invited to a farewell reception or anniversary of a colleague, friend(s), neighbors, sports buddy or family member, there is a good chance that you will be asked by the master of ceremonies, organizer or other initiator to make a personal contribution to the congratulatory book. Usually on an A-four sheet of paper, which can be sent digitally or by post to the person who will put together this emotional memory album for the departing colleague, the jubilee or the jubilee couple.
It may well be that you have been surprised by such a question and do not know how to respond to it. Don’t panic, if you think carefully you will come up with an original idea for the historical memory book of the anniversary or birthday person, who you have known for a long time and about whom you know a lot. Just think of events such as fairs, festivals, weddings, holidays, or school, study, sports, theater, singing and dancing and similar memories. Via that personal page in that book, you can indicate your special relationship and commitment with the departing colleague, anniversary celebration or the couple, which people will appreciate and perhaps move.
Ideas for the memorial album
Of course, it can also be two A4 sheets if one is not enough for your contribution due to the 40th wedding anniversary of Annie and Koos, who you have known since birth.
Nice text
A warm personal greeting, possibly with a nice anecdote from the past. Warm moments that you recall, perhaps a difficult period that was well endured. Acknowledgment for the support, patience and help you received when you first started working and still had a lot to learn. That you as neighbors never appealed to each other in vain. Other events you will never forget. That great sports match or that singing duet you once sang together. That you didn’t let each other down when things got tough.
Nice photos from the past
From the sports club, singing club, when you did a play together. That time at that staff party when everyone dressed as a cowboy. All together on that party boat. Try to remember that many such photos may already be in the celebrant’s possession. Here too it is appropriate to add something personal.
Drawing, illustration and/or poem
If you have a talent for drawing or can rhyme, you will certainly be very original in showing some of your talents on that A4 piece of paper. A good caricature stands out just a little more than a photo of which there are already so many in that book. And if you can always rhyme with Sinterklaas, you will probably succeed this time.
Collage
A little bit of everything is always fun. A rhyme + photo + newspaper article, piece from an old staff magazine. Those beautiful, honorable sports results when she won first prize in running at the age of 32. Because although she does not like to brag, she does enjoy it when family and friends come to visit her home in the coming months and see the wonderful achievement that was once achieved in that anniversary album.
The rest of the anniversary party
After the thick memory book was handed over to the birthday boy or diamond couple during the evening, and some nice words were exchanged, the party became more exciting and crazy. And the drink also flowed more and more. So maybe you too will one day be confronted with a photo in an anniversary album on your 75th birthday, and your grandchildren will be surprised that their grandparents used to act so crazy when they had too much to drink.