Also see Miscellaneous ABC Lists and Families.
(Connie Lawrence adapted the idea above to use as a gift for her parents.)
Everything I need to know I learned from my Parents
A - to Admire the best in everyone
B - to see Beauty everywhere
C - to be Caring
D - I Delight in being your Daughter
E - to be Ethical
F - to know what a Fantastic Father is
G - to be Generous
H - to be Honest
I - to hold high Ideals
J - to be a Jack-of-all trades (can deal with anything)
K - to be Kind
L - to Love much, Live well, and Laugh often
M - to know what a Marvelous Mother is
N - to be a Nice Neighbor
O - to always have Oodles of projects (idle hands . . . you know)
P - to have a Practical approach to life's challenges
Q - that Quality is better than Quantity
R - to be Responsible in all things
S - that no Sacrifice is too great for those you love
T - to Trust and be Trustworthy
U - to be Understanding
V - to Volunteer your time and talents
W - to learn from the Wisdom of others
X - you can never give or receive too many XXX's and OOO's
Y - to always be Young-at-heart
Z - Zillions and Zillions of other little lessons along the way
(Terri in TX)
A admiration, abundance of love that you give, ambitious, adore, amazing, admirable, available, affectionate, adventurous, athletic, awesome, award winning, authentic
B brave, best there is, believable, buddy, bond (I have with you), born to be wild, boots, beer, beer drinker, brawny, basketball, bread winner, breakfast in bed, ball and bat, butterfly kisses, books (you read to me),
C caring, concerned, comfort/comforting, contributions, charitable, cash-provider, courageous, cheerful, coach, confident, chipper, cooperative, capable, cars, computer, couch potato, cuddle/cuddling, celebrate, champion, charm, crown--you should be king for a day!
D dashing, debonair, delight/delightful, daddy, darling, dependable, dear, devoted, diligent, determined, dutiful, dynamite, deserve, direction
E encouraging, effective, enlightening, excellent, enthusiastic, exciting, emotional, electronics, ethics/ethical, easy to love, endear/endearing, energy
F fun, funny, fantastic, friendly, fuzzy, forgiving, full of life, fun loving, food, fix-it man, friendly, football, fishing, father, father and friend, faith, fortunate
G giving, good, gifted, great, generous, go-getter, genius, golf, gorgeous, gracious
H heart, honest, helpful, hopeful, happy, hero, haggle, hug, head of household (or at least we'll let him think), healthy, hearty, heavenly, hobbies, hunting, hilarious, handsome
I ideals, inspire, inspiration, incredible, important, imaginative, intent, industrious, ideals, intelligent, ice hockey, integrity, insight, invincible
J joy/joyful, jolly, jack-of-all-trades, jazzy, jokester, jock, joker
K kindness, kisses, kissable, keen, keeps his cool, kindhearted, knowledgeable, know-it-all
L love, laughter, life, little girl, lucky, lovable, likable, luscious, laughs, loving, loyal, linebacker, lover, lively
M manly, masculine, magnanimous, mature, muscular, mischievous, mellow, mowing the lawn, morals, macho, miraculous
N neighbor, neat, nice, noble, nutty, naturally fun (or other word), not judgmental
O original, optimistic, outgoing, oodles of outstanding things you do
P patience, Provider, play, pleasing, papa, perfect, Pa, Pops, Pappy, paternal, perceptive, patient, pack rat, party animal, pleasant, positive, practical
Q quite, quick, questioning, quiet, quite impressive, quality
R responsibility, reliable, reasonable, radical, remote control, remarkable, responsible, ready
S sacrifices, sweet, smiling, sensitive, super, sensational, stable, skillful, strong, sensible, sympathetic, suave, sharing, soccer, snoring, super-duper
T trust, truthful, terrific, trustworthy, thoughtful, tender, tools, tie, thrilling, TV-aholic, toy fixer
U useful, upbeat, unselfish, understanding ways, unique, unusual
V vacations, vain, valiant, vicarious, volunteer, values, video gamer
W work, wonderful, wise, witty, worthy, warm, whimsical
X x-tra special, x-traordinary, x-cellent, x-pert, eXperience, relaXation,
Y young at heart, youthful, yard work
Z zany, zealous, zippy, Zillions of reasons that I love you!
INCLUDE: friends, relatives, favorite foods, special events, occupation, hobbies, etc.
(adapted by Denny Davis from Terri's Father ABC Album list above)
A admiration, affectionate, adore, amazing, admirable, available, affectionate, adventurous, athletic, awesome, authentic, amusing, agreeable
B brave, best there is, believable, bond (I have with you), breakfast in bed, books (you read to me), beautiful, big-hearted, blessing, brilliant
C caring, concerned, comforting, charitable, charming, cute, crazy, cat lover, compassionate, considerate, conscientious, courageous, cheerful, confident, cooperative, capable, computer, cuddle/cuddling, crown--you should be queen for a day!
D delight/delightful, darling, dependable, dear, devoted, diligent, determined, dutiful, dynamite, deserve, direction, dignity, dreamer, delicate, doer
E encouraging, effective, enlightening, excellent, enthusiastic, exciting, emotional, ethics/ethical, easy to love, endear/endearing, energy, education, even-tempered, expressive, eccentric
F fun, funny, fantastic, friendly, forgiving, full of life, fun loving, food, friendly, faith, fortunate, fabulous, first class, faithful
G giving, good, gifted, great, generous, go-getter, genius, gorgeous, gracious, graceful, gabby, giggly, gentle, genuine
H heart, honest, helpful, hopeful, happy, hug, healthy, hearty, heavenly, hobbies, hilarious, happy home, huggable, headstrong
I ideals, inspire, inspiration, incredible, important, imaginative, intent, industrious, intelligent, integrity, insight, invincible, independent, impressive, inventive
J joy/joyful, jazzy, jokester, jogger, jubilant
K kindness, kisses, kissable, keen, keeps her cool, kindhearted, knowledgeable, kidder
L love, laughter, life, little girl, lucky, lovable, likable, luscious, laughs, loving, loyal, lively, lady, logical, listener
M magnanimous, mature, mischievous, mellow, morals, miraculous, memories, Mom, mother, Mommy, musical, mysterious
N neighbor, neat, nice, noble, nutty, naturally fun (or other word), not judgmental, nurturing, neat, night owl
O original, optimistic, outgoing, oodles of outstanding things you do, open-hearted, orderly, outspoken, outstanding
P patience, play, pleasing, perfect, paternal, perceptive, patient, pack rat, pleasant, positive, practical, pretty, perfectionist, polite, poised
Q quite, quick, questioning, quiet, quite impressive, quality time, questions answered, quilter, quaint
R responsibility, reliable, reasonable, remarkable, responsible, ready, radiant, rational, refreshing, ray of sunshine, reader
S sacrifices, sweet, smiling, sensitive, super, sensational, stable, skillful, strong, sensible, sympathetic, sharing, super-duper, shoulder to cry on, shy, smart, sincere, special, sunny, spirited
T trust, truthful, terrific, trustworthy, thoughtful, tender, teaching, time, talented, tireless, tenacious, teaser, talkative
U useful, upbeat, unselfish, understanding ways, unique, unusual, ultimate, unbelievable, uplifting
V vacations, valiant, volunteer, values, virtue, vitality, vibrant, vivacious
W is for your wisdom and wit, warmth of your hugs, wonderful, wise, witty, worthy, warm, whimsical, wacky, winner
X is for all the hugs and kisses you deserve; x-tra special, x-traordinary, x-cellent, x-pert, eXperience, relaXation,
Y young at heart, youthful, yard work, yakkity
Z zany, zealous, zippy, zestful, Zillions of reasons that I love you!
ALSO INCLUDE: friends, relatives, favorite foods, special events, occupation, hobbies, etc.
A is for Arms, Arms that hold and Arms that support and Arms that push when they have to.
B is for Books, which belong in every home; and for Boredom, which can't stay long if Books are there.
C is for the Children; and the Caring and the Crying, which sometimes come together all at once.
D is for Doors, which you sometimes have to help them open and through which they have to go someday never to return unchanged; and for Discipline and Dignity, which you owe every child.
E is for Everything you hope for them; for the Easier you hope it will be for them; and for Education, which should take place at least as much at home as in school.
F is for Foolish mistakes you make with your kids; and for the Freedom they must have to make their own.
G is for Grandparents, who can add tradition and wisdom to children's lives; and for Growth, which parents and kids can experience together.
H is for Home, which sometimes is the only place where a child feels wanted and loved.
I is for Ignorance, which darkens the world and is sometimes mistaken for Innocence.
J is for Jealousy, which creeps into so many relationships; and for Joy, which can put it out.
K is for Kickball, and tag and hide-and-seek and all those other adult-less games kids need to play; and for Kissing, and hugging which nobody does enough of.
L is for Love, of course.
M is for the Memory all parents have of what childhood was like for them; and for Money, which can never substitute for love no matter how lavishly given; and for Manners, which make living easier.
N is for Nurturing, the giving of love and care which only sometimes comes naturally.
O is for Occupation, which takes so much of your time; and for the Openness that exists when kids and parents really work at it.
P is for Presents, which are easy to give; and for Presence, which is harder; and for Parenthood, which is only partly a biological function; and for the Patience it takes to see you through it.
Q is for Questions, which are so easy to turn off and so hard to turn back on.
R is for Rest, which never comes while the kids are young; and for Reward, which you get when you look in their faces or hold their hands.
S is for Summer, which seems endless; and for School, where you ought to feel welcome; for the Stories you know but seldom tell; and for Shoulders, which sometimes are drenched with tears.
T is for Time, which there never seems to be enough of; and for Teachers who try to understand.
U is for the Upper hand, which you try so hard to keep; and for the Understanding that you try so hard to have.
V is for the Virtue of overcoming all those roadblocks life seems to throw just when everything's going well.
W is for the Whys, which can drive you up the wall; and the Wisdom it takes to answer them.
X is for the X ray of the broken bone you both cried over; and for the Xtra love it takes to be a parent.
Y is for Yelling which helps only temporarily; and for being Young which is only partly a matter of Years.
Z is for the end, the end of alphabets, the end of childhood, but never the end of love.
An ABC album is great for duplicate photos or those that didn't make it into the family album. It's also a way to use pictures you don't want to sort into chronological order or after the kids have taken the ones they want. If you use generic phrases you can fit most photos somewhere. Their are many versions of this album. It is also called 'Album-in-a-Day'. See One-Day Albums.
A Star is Born (or) Always on My Mind
B usy as a Bee (or) Bright and Beautiful
C elebrate Each Day
D addy's Little Girl (or) Dear to My Heart
E verything is Coming Up Roses
F un in the Sun (or) Friends Like You Mean So Much
G reen, Green Grass of Home (or) Guess How Much I Love You!
H aving a Ball (or) Heartstrings
I Love to Laugh (or) I Love to . . .
J ingle Bells (or) Just a Little Smile!
K infolks (or) Kind Words; Loving Hearts
L oads of Love (or) Little Thing Mean a Lot!
M aking Memories
N ew friends are Silver, Old are Gold (or) Nice Thoughts of You!
O ne Moment in Time (or) Once in a Lifetime!
P retty as a Picture
Q uilts are Stitched With Love
R eady or Not Here I Grow (or) Remembering . . .
S weet as Can Be
T errific!
U nforgettable (or) Unbelievable
V ery, Very Special . . .
W inter Wonderland (or) Wonderful!
X-tra Special People
Y ou Light Up My Life
Z ip-a-de-do-da!