The gang at Scrapbook Generation hopes that you had a great Christmas! We certainly did! It was so much fun to watch Drew open his gifts, and to see Jackson taking in all the sights and sounds of Christmas. Stacey and Jeremy's children were added to the mix this year, and Kaitlin and Jaedan proved to be speedy gift-openers as well. I remember seeing a blur of gift wrap flying everywhere, and then it was all over!

We did have some interesting moments during the holidays. Karin left Scrapbook Generation at 5 pm on Christmas Eve to discover that her car had a flat. Not a good time to try and get help! As for me, I had treated myself to a new Nikon digital camera from Lawrence Photo (yes, I'm possibly the last person in the world to go digital!). However, when I opened the box about 1 pm on Christmas Day to shoot a few practice shots before the crowd arrived, there was nothing in the box! And I looked several times! I spent the rest of the day worried that they wouldn't believe me when I told them I had a box but no camera. I called the minute they opened on Friday and said "This is Debbie Sanders, and..." The lady immediately said "Oooohhhh, Debbie!" I knew then that I was okay! They had discovered the mistake earlier in the week, but had no way to track me down.

Anyway, I looked at the calendar after Christmas, and wondered where the time had gone. We have so many things coming up that I'm going to remind you about several activities.

-- Scrap-a-palooza. This mega-crop at Remington's on Saturday, Jan. 17 is filling up quickly! We're shooting for at least 150 people, and it's already over half full, just from our newsletter. The radio stations are just now starting to promote the event, and I think the rest of the spots will go quickly. Stacey and Allison will be there all day with a fully-stocked store for you to shop from, and they are also going to be doing free demos, free mini-classes, as well as a variety of paid layout, card, and mini-album classes. You can sign up for the mega-crop via our website, which has a link to the radio station's website, and you can sign up for the classes here at the store, or at the event. The $38 fee for the event includes lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks. For more info, feel free to stop by or call.

-- Sketches For Scrapbooking, Volume Three. This third volume of our hugely popular sketches books will be available for purchase on Thursday, Jan. 1. Priced at $12.99 for 30 two-page sketches, it's a bargain, and such a time-saver when you want to create great pages without the stress of re-inventing the wheel!

-- Spring retreats. The sign-up for both the March 13 and March 20 weekend retreats in Branson has been tremendous! We'll be relaxing and scrapbooking in a Polynesian paradise! If you want to join us, there are spots available at both retreats. For more info, check our website, which shows photos and comments from our past retreats.

-- Girl Crazy and Boy Crazy page kit clubs. Both these new clubs start January 1, and you still have time to get in on the first kits, which I think are outstanding! The clubs are $14.99 per month, and will feature popular topics for both boys and girls. If you are in more than one of our page kit and card kit clubs, you qualify for combo pricing, which saves you $2.99 on each additional club after the first one!

-- Super-Saver Scrapbooking. Our second session is scheduled for this Saturday, Jan. 3. We'll have three 12x12 double-page layouts for you to recreate, using 6-7 sheets of cardstock, 3-4 sheets of patterned paper, 1 sheet of letter stickers, and a few embellishments like jewels, brads, buttons, and ribbon. When you register for this free class, just pre-pay $9 (plus tax) to cover the cost of your materials. Using our classic designs, you'll be able to create three photo-ready layouts in less than an hour and a half, all for under $10. The 10 am session is full, but there are openings in the 11:30, 1, and 2:30 sessions. We had about 50 people try this new concept out in December, and everyone seemed to love it! To sign up, just call or stop by.

-- Midnight Madness. We have a midnight crop scheduled for this Friday, and spots are available. Hope you can join us for an evening of scrapbooking! The fee is $10 and includes pizza, snacks, and drinks.

-- New products. The Valentine's group by My Mind's Eye arrived a few days ago, and the Valentine's group by Little Yellow Bicycle is shipping today. It should arrive late this week or early next week. We're also stocking up on winter/snow/snowmen papers and embellishments, which should arrive late this week or early next week.

-- Classes. We already have several of our January classes on display here at the store, and they should all be on the website in a few days. There are lots of cute winter layouts, and other fun projects!