It’s difficult to find the time to keep a paper journal in this day and age, when we spend so much time documenting our lives through social media outlets. But there is still something special about a handwritten journal, especially once you become a parent. So I’ve compiled some of my favorite journals for moms below that make documenting memories easier!

1) Your Birthday Book – This journal is from the same company that makes The Belly Book and My Baby Book (which Mrs. Jump Rope reviewed here and here). If you’re a fan of those books, you’ll probably be a fan of Your Birthday Book too. It includes places for pictures, questions to ask your child each year, and a time capsule envelope for storing mementos. It’s a fun way to document birthdays from 1-18 years of age, and you only have to fill it out once a year! 

2) Journal 10 – I came across this journal when I was looking for presents for a Hellobee blogger and hostess Christmas gift exchange. I loved it so much I purchased two as gifts, and got one for myself! While it may not be as pretty or designed as other journals, I love it because it has space on each page for you to document a couple lines each day for not 10, but 11 years!  It’s also the size of a regular notebook so it’s much easier to write in. I love spending just a minute or two every evening jotting down a couple notes from my day, whether I was happy or sad, the kids hit a milestone or said something funny, etc. It’ll be funny looking back on what I was doing today, 11 years from now! You can see Ali Fedotowsky do a video review of her Journal 10 here.

3) My Mom – Her Story, Her Words – This small journal has a question on each page for you to fill out like, “Mom, what music did you grow up listening to? What was your old neighborhood like? Who were your best friends?”  Once it’s complete, you pass it down to your child. I’m not always the most expressive person, so I would love to give something like this to my children… perhaps when they have a child of their own. There’s also a version for dads, grandfathers, and grandmothers.

4) Q&A a Day for Kids: A 3 Year Journal –  I love the idea of this journal! It features a question a day that you ask your child, and you can see how their answers change over 3 years. The suggested age range is 4-10 years. Maybe we could incorporate this into a post-dinner ritual!

5) My Quotable Kid – I own this journal and it’s a cute book for recording funny things your kid says. There is a space on each page to record a quote, the date, and who said it. Even though it is pretty basic, I found that we actually wrote down funny things Charlie said because we had the journal… otherwise we probably never would have written anything down. I think this is great for when your child is 2+ and really starts saying funny things. We love to go back and read some of the things Charlie has said!

6) Mom’s One Line a Day – Mrs. Stroller blogged about this journal here, and I used to own this 5 year journal, which is pretty much the same thing. This is a quick, easy way to jot down a line each day and be able to see what you were doing on that same day over 5 years. I just prefer Journal 10 because it’s larger, and it covers 11 years, but this compact journal is perfect for your nightstand.

7) Just Between Us: A No Rules Journal for Girls and Their Moms – This is a journal for daughters and moms to share together. Writing prompts cover topics including school, career, likes and dislikes for both mom and daughter to write together. Reviewers say that it is an excellent communication tool. Although Olive is way too young to participate in something like this (it’s recommended for ages 9+), this is something I’m going to file in the back of my mind (or rather my Pinterest page).

Any of these would make excellent gifts for moms and moms to be in your life!

Do you journal? Would you consider any of these journals?