Let’s discuss five ways to participate in family history. You will not regret reading this for ideas. She is wittier than anyone I know. She is the glue that has been helping to keep our family together. She is the one always there when you just need a hug or someone to listen to you. She is 87 years old. She is full of stories. She is incredibly encouraging. She still acts like she is in her 50’s. She  is determined. She is a bundle of memories. She is my grandmother.

Grandma is someone who you can count on for anything. I love her so much. I am sure you have that someone special in your life too. So how do you keep her young forever? How do we make sure we never forget her influence on our lives. She has led a legacy life, especially living through the depression era.

With places like ancestry.com and other online ways of connecting with our history, or tracking our heritage, there is no reason at all for us to not find ways to share our family stories. Family history is so much more than the typical boring things you learn about in history class, like dates, names, and records.

 1. Family Reunion

The next time you are at your family reunion you could pull out the old photos that have been stored in boxes for several years. While everyone is there, tell the stories shown in the photos. If you have extra photos that are of someone else there, and you do not want them give them to that person who may find meaning in that photo you too, of them. You could even play a game of name that person. Some people change a lot over time. So when you see a very old photo of someone, see if you that person and what event they were at or what they were doing.

2. History Class Project

For the kid who does not like history, make it fun with a different homework project. You could even use several websites online to help write an essay about your family name and it’s meaning. Where did your ancestors come from? With help from historians online, you may even find out your great grandfather, 5 generations ago, was a famous person or had a major influence in the world. When we can attach  a more meaningful purpose to our history, it helps our history classes come alive. Who knows, your child may even be more excite about going to history class after this project.

3. Create a Family Blog

With the world flying by sometimes, it can be hard to keep up. My mother’s side of the family lives in Texas and I am in Indiana, so it can be difficult to keep up with their lives and who they are. Thankfully, we all now have social media which helps, but what else do they do during the day? What are their life struggles or moments of joy throughout their day? Set up a family blog for each of you to have access to so you can write what is going on in your daily lives. This will be a forever place your kids, grandchildren, and children of future generations in your family can go to and read about what life was like when you were alive.

4. Create a Scrapbook Together

If you are the crafty type, you could make a scrapbook or digital scrapbook to preserve your memories and photos. Creating a scrapbook is a great way to bring everyone’s own personality on the pages with extra stickers or other adhesives, designer pages, or other embellishments.

5. Create a Family Time Capsule

Where do you keep all your tangible heirlooms? Don’t wait until everyone is sitting at the family reunion table and asking, “what ever happened to grandpa’s baseball?” Be creative as a family and put together a family time capsule. Pass it around in your family, so everyone has an opportunity to put something of significance in the time capsule. Take the time to interview your family members, especially your great grandparents who may not be around in 10, 20, or 50 years when you decide to open the time capsule as a family. If you want ideas of how to interview your family members, check out this blog.

Use your own family photos to print and put on the outside of this blank “Any Occasion” DIY Time Capsule. Decorate it as if you would decorate a scrapbook page, creating your own Family Time Capsule. Then, on the inside of the time capsule, put your “Message to the Future” letters from yourselves to your future children or grandchildren. Describe what the world is like now. What is currently trending. What do you predict will happen to cars or other things 20 years from now? Most importantly, save your mementos and memorabilia in the time capsule. Get your own “Any Occasion” DIY Time Capsule today and get started bonding with your family now. Get it at www.timecapsule.com.

So what would you put in your own Family Time Capsule? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie

The post 5 Fun Ways to Participate in Family History appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

Have you ever wanted to write a message to the future letter to yourself? It sat in my closet for years. I don’t even remember what is in it. Do you remember making a time capsule as a kid in elementary school? Do you know what ever happened to your own time capsule?

How have you changed over the past years? What has affected you in life to make those changes? What advice would you give to others or your own children or grandchildren about life today? A time capsule is a great place to save that advice, so when your loved one is of a specific age, you can give them the time capsule filled with your valuable insight about life.

Write Letters of Advice

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone you love? Remember that feeling of receiving an actual letter in the mail, rather than email? Technology is amazing, don’t get me wrong here. I would not be able to stay up to date with the life of my aunts, uncles, and cousins in Texas if we did not have social media and email. However, there is nothing like receiving a personalized note or letter in the mail.

What to Do with Your Accumulating Wisdom

So as we all grow up, we accumulate more wisdom on a daily basis. So what is your view on life? What mistakes have you made that you do not want your children or grandchildren to make? What success have you had and what steps did you take to get there? Most importantly, do not ever forget to tell your loved one how much you love them in a letter. You never know what can happen to your life, unfortunately.

Don’t Wait Until You are Gone to Be Remembered

Pass on your legacy today. There are many different ways to share your wisdom in life to your children and grandchildren. How else do you know what you have in common with your grandparents or great grandparents, if they never share their stories with you?

Topics to Write About in your own “Message to the Future” Letter

1. Favorite recipe and how you created it or who it has been passed down from.

2. Teach a skill, like fishing, fixing something on your house, or how to advance yourself at your job. The ideas are limitless. Share your gifts and talents with your children and grandchildren.

3. Talk about your family tree and use one or two words to describe the personalities of each person.

4. Pretend like you are going through family interview questions, and talk about your own biography. Many people’s lives are so fascinating, but you will never know about them if these stories are not written out. Talk about what life was like when you were young.

5. Talk about what clothes you wore as a kid, or what you did for fun when you were bored.

Make a Bigger Connection and Add Personal Mementos and Memorabilia to Your Time Capsule

Finally, add more tangible items to your time capsule, along with these sentimental letters. I am sure you have a box somewhere or a storage container in your attic with items that can help tell your life story. What do you want to pass on to your children or grandchildren that you want preserved forever? By passing on your memories, you are making sure you will never be forgotten about.

Do not wait until it is too late to pass on your life story. It will be the most memorable and lasting gift you can give to your children or grandchildren. Check out this other helpful article about Five Ways to Pass on Wisdom to Younger Generations. Get your own time capsule here today and get started on your “Message to the Future” letter to your children or grandchildren.

What is your favorite story from your grandparents? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie

The post 5 Topics for your Message to the Future Letter appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

Growing up in a family with little money, meant making the most out of the few vacations we had. My husband’s family went on several vacations growing up. When we married, it was like bringing two different, beautiful worlds together.
My mission is to inspire people to care about family, bonding moments, preserving memories, and helping you pass on traditions as keepsakes. One way to make memories, is taking family trips together, whether it be close or far.

Take a Vacation to Places your Ancestors Lived

My parents were all about creating “teachable moments.” Growing up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the Allen County Public Library holds the world’s second largest family-research collection, it is a no wonder why I would encourage the use of time capsules and preserving family. One great “teachable moment” would be to take your kids on a vacation visiting all the places where your ancestors grew up. This would be a great to have lessons on heritage, and taking pride in where you come from as a family. Read our previous blog to help you build a family tree as you visit these vacation spots, at http://www.timecapsule.com/time-capsule/how-to-create-a-family-tree/. This blog will also help you find out where your family ancestors came from, and therefore know where to travel.

Preserve your Souvenirs

While you are driving around preserve your family fun souvenirs you find in a time capsule. What a great way to pass on these road-trip memories to your children’s children. You could even make a game out of it and put together a geocache container to leave as a mini time capsule near one of your past relative’s properties, for others to find and get to know your family. What a great legacy to leave behind. Leave behind your family motto in the time capsule container. Again for more geocaching ideas, check out our blog at http://www.timecapsule.com/creative-baby-ideas/time-capsule-baby-shower-game/.

What to Bring to Enhance your Memory Lane Vacation

• Journal to record your family thoughts and feelings.

• Camera to take pictures to possibly put on your family tree later, put in a scrapbook, or keep in your family time capsule.

• Map and highlighter to mark where your family’s ancestors live and you visited.

• Comfortable walking shoes to take hikes and collect seashells, rocks, postcards, or leaves while on vacation, to keep in your time capsule.

• Extra small containers to save sand in, and bring home.

• Jar or Baby Time Capsule to collect your mementos in as you travel from location to location.

Save your items in the Baby Time Capsule, to give back to your child to open when he or she is older and has children himself or herself. It will be like taking that family vacation all over again as you all gather around the time capsule and reminisce about your ancestors. You can get a Baby Time Capsule at http://www.timecapsule.com/product/babystimecapsule/.

We hope you have fun on your trip, and grow closer as you discover more about where you came from. We also hope this blog was able to give you some creative ideas to help you on your trip. You can also make your family vacations memorable by asking fun questions like these at http://mrdarcycheated.blogspot.com/2013/04/50-questions-for-family-road-trip.html.

What would you put in your time capsule from your ancestors? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie
www.timecapsule.com

Note: “Every Summer Has a Story” quote photo taken from http://photoletters.blogspot.com/2013/08/summer-quotes.html

The post How to Make Family Vacations Memorable appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

The ceremony is about to begin. This will be a special wedding day and none like you have ever seen before. This family has been planning on this, since the high-school sweethearts met. As the introductory music begins, you see them one by one come down the aisle in their flowing bridesmaids dresses.

It is a family affair. It is a milestone moment day, as the girls progress in age and height as each one comes down the aisle, starting with the flower girl (the bride’s niece). Next in this time capsule line of family, comes the bride’s faithful sisters, and then finally her mother carrying the decorative and heirloom Wedding Time Capsule to set up as the center piece at the end of the aisle. Get a decorative Wedding Time Capsule with special paperwork included from http://www.timecapsule.com/product/weddingtimecapsule/.

You see, this wedding time capsule has been passed down from generation to generation as each new son or daughter in the family gets married. There are tears of joy and excitement in the audience, as you can hear a pin drop, because everyone there knows what this wedding time capsule means to the family. The audience members do not know what is more exciting: the kiss at the end of the ceremony, or the filling of the wedding time capsule during the ceremony.

What to Put in the Wedding Time Capsule

During the ceremony, similar to the popular sand vases used, the couple will read their vows to each other, and then put them in the wedding time capsule. Next, they will each share tidbits from their “Message to the Future” letters to each other, and then put them in the wedding time capsule, to be completely read 5, 10, or 20 years from now. What a momentous day that will be. There is a hush over the crowd as you hear the famous wedding march song begin. The bride walks down the aisle glowing. Her eyes catch her fiancé first, and then the infamous wedding time capsule as it sits front and center on a podium where she will share her vows and treasure them for years.

Additional Meaningful Touches to Your Ceremony

Before the wedding starts, you could even have guests sign in, by filling out advice cards or predictions about where they see the couple in the future. You could even have some guests bring in a newspaper, or other items from the day of their marriage, which represent the world at this time. When the fun-filled wedding day is over, make sure to collect other important memorabilia like the decorations, all these guest sign-in cards, and a cd of the music played at their reception, and save it in the wedding time capsule. Then years later, on an anniversary of the couple’s choosing, they could open the wedding time capsule again and relive what life was like the year of their marriage. You could even have some guests bring in a newspaper from the day of their marriage.

What do you wish you would have saved from your wedding day? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie
www.timecapsule.com

Note:
Photo of Bridesmaid and two flower girls came from http://www.styleandthebride.co.uk/tag/beautiful-real-weddings/
Photo of Bride and Groom putting letters in the box time capsule taken from http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/2013/02/19/modern-los-angeles-garden-wedding/wedding-time-capsule-ideas/

The post How to Use the Wedding Time Capsule in the Ceremony appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

We have been discussing in previous blogs about ideas of who can use a time capsule. If you are human, an organization, business, or pet, or basically anything of importance you can use a time capsule.

Help your hard-working boy or girl scouts review their accomplishments over the past year. Keep your projects or photos of your proud moments, or badges received, in your time capsule. What a special day it will be when you as an adult scout, open your own personal time capsule, to show your son or daughter what your own boy or girl scouts was like.

Yes, your parents are there to teach you lessons, teachers can make an impact on your life, and your youth leader or pastor can help guide you, but your boy or girl scouts can teach you special life hacks and other valuable skills. Hard work and determination help guide you through your journey of becoming a scout.

The Scout Effect

Boy or girl scouts can have a great effect on your life. When I think of a time capsule in general, it is interesting to see how scouting was different in the past compared to today. I never had the opportunity to be a girl scout, however I wish I would have because I am a very down to earth girl. I have talked with friends who were a part of the scouts. They talked about the learning how to start a fire with sticks and how much persistence that took, to receive their camping merit badge.

Why would you let your parent eventually throw that badge away after you grew up and moved out of your parent’s home? Save it in a time capsule. That was a milestone moment in your life. It effected you to be focused, finish what you start, and learn the rewards in life from not quitting. That is a great badge and lesson to pass on to your future children as an example.

For my other friends, the girl scouts have prepared them for their future careers. They were taught how to be confident and have a healthy self-esteem. What great lessons to pass on to their future daughters, using a time capsule.

When to Have Boy or Girl Scout Open the Time Capsule

The unique thing about a scout time capsule is that it can be filled with mementos and treasures that the boy or girl cannot open until they either earn their Eagle or Graduate High school. You pick. It is all up to you as the leader or the scout creating their time capsule. What a fun project for a scout troop to make together.

I know some companies look for great leadership and teamwork, so what better way to pass on these lessons you learned in boy or girl scouts, than with a Baby Time Capsule. Preserve your stories and badges in the time capsule, so when your child graduates high-school, he or she can open it and you can further instill the messages of what you learned in scouts as a way of encouraging the same behaviors and virtues in your grown child, in the real world environment now.

Have the scouts fill out an all about me worksheet, to save basic information about themselves in their time capsules, to read years later. Continue to read about this topic and 10 Things I learned from Boy Scouts at http://geoffreywebb.com/2010/08/03/10-things-i-learned-from-boy-scouts/. Also check out this article of girl scouts who opened a time capsule 16 years later at http://www.ivpressonline.com/news/local/junior-girl-scout-troops-open–year-old-time-capsule/article_81f8b670-42be-11e3-aee1-001a4bcf6878.html.

What would you put in a scout time capsule? Share your ideas below in the comments please.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie
www.timecapsule.com

Note: Girl Scout Quote Photo taken from http://article.wn.com/view/2014/05/15/READER_SUBMITTED_Panelists_Announced_For_Girl_Scouts_Of_Conn/

The post How Boy or Girl Scouts can Preserve their Memories appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

Father’s day is just around the corner. What are you going to do? Why not create something different this year, and make it an unforgettable gift that lasts a lifetime.

Record your memories in a book, scrapbook, audio file, etc. That is what a dad really wants – to know he is loved and appreciated.

There are so many stories I remember with my father, like helping make homework fun, to the point that now I love math. I used to cry myself through the math homework, but because of my father’s patience and creativity, he took on my challenge to turn math into games, to help me remember better. What do you remember the most about your father?

How to Remember and Thank your Father

Not everyone will have a happy Father’s day. For some it is a painful reminder that dad is no longer around. It does not have to be that way though. You can still honor your dad by leaving a legacy and telling your children stories about their grandfather. Create a memory book for him. While you miss your father, help yourself through the continued grieving journey and explain to your children what all you learned from him, passing on his wisdom, insight, funny stories or jokes.

Thank your Father with Photos and Memories – Help Keep Traditions Alive

Whether your dad is with you still or not, plan the best Father’s day this year with a gift of shared stories and mementos. Create a gift to pass on from one generation to another, telling your father’s history and contribution to your family. Create a time capsule for your dad.

What to Put in a Time Capsule for your Dad. Make Unique Father’s Day Keepsake Gifts.

A time capsule for your father, is the most personalized gift you will ever give him. You can make this a family gift, having your mother or siblings help, or make is special only from you. Look around your house, your mother’s house, in your old photo albums, in his secret cave man rooms of fun, to find things to put in the time capsule. Ask family members and his own friends to fill out letters or “Message to the Future” notes about where they predict he will be later on in life.

Other Things to Include in Dad’s Time Capsule

• Stories about funny or sentimental moments you had with your father (written or voice recorded).

• Then and Now photos of your father.

• Written letters to him about milestone moments in his life or how he was there for you in your life for meaningful events.

• Include an “All About my Dad” worksheet to fill out for family members.

Download this FREE Printable “All About My Dad” for you kids to have fun filling out. Get it at http://allforthememories.com/blog/2011/6/7/free-fathers-day-printable.html

• Play a practical joke on him, and put it in the time capsule. You know you owe him for all the jokes he played on you.

• Include your dad’s favorite magazine or newspaper in the time capsule (so when he opens it about 20 years later, he can read about his interests in the past and what life was like then at that time.)

• Current photos of your dad’s house, before he does anymore remodeling. You could also include a picture of his current car he is driving, which will change in the future.

• School projects or drawings from you or your siblings of your dad or made for your father.

• Ticket stubs from special movies seen, or places you went with your father.

• Anything special from his job, to show his accomplishments in life at this time.

These are just a few suggestions to get you started on such a memorable activity and gift for Father’s day. You could even have fun and hide the time capsule in your home, then set up a geocaching game to have him find his own gift, then open the time capsule to see what is inside. Keep in mind, this time capsule can be closed again after he opens it on Father’s day, to be displayed for several more years into the future, when you and your siblings get to decide when he opens it again. When he reopens the time capsule again, in the future, it will be like re-living and re-celebrating this Father’s day all over again. What a fun moment that will be to see whose predictions were right (in your letters), or to just listen to the stories all over again and see how much your dad has changed.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

www.timecapsule.com

The post Father’s Day Keepsake Gifts appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

She was scared to take baths as a three year old. Until, one day her aunt showed her how the doggy takes baths too. When you make things more fun, children are more likely to listen and imitate. My niece and I gave the dog a bath after playing fetch with the hose and the dog. Cinnamon, our dog, is a Chocolate Lab and Australian Shepherd mix. She is full of energy and a great life lesson teacher. After playing in the water, Cinnamon shook, which splattered all her water onto my niece and I. My niece, Skylar, laughed and realized taking a bath could be fun. Then a few hours later, Skylar gladly took her own bath, had fun, and shook herself when she was done. I laughed so much at her. I was happy she had fun, changed her perspective about a daily skill, and she and I had a great bonding moment to last for years to come.

What special milestone moments would you like to relive again?

There are many different benefits of a time capsule. A time capsule has the ability to transport both you and your loved one to a different place and time. It can be an activity to break up your daily worries or activities in life. Most people enjoy hearing stories behind mementos. So why not start making your time capsule today? It will be a legacy keepsake for your future generations to enjoy.

Benefits of a Time Capsule

1. It is a great bonding activity to do with other family members or friends.

2. It is a great way to get others communicating about their thoughts and feelings (can be very therapeutic).

3. It can be a form of meditation, as you are reflecting back on your life or where you want to be in the future. We all need to have goals in life.

4. It can be a way for you to bury your past (so-to-speak), and start a new life of freedom. This would be a time capsule I do not know if I would want to reopen in the future though, unless you completely feel healthy and want to see how far you have grown spiritually, mentally, emotionally, or physically. For example put a picture of how you look now in the time capsule, then lose weight, and see how far you have come years later.

5. Creating a time capsule can be a fun, rewarding hobby, like scrapbooking.

6. Similar to a classic movie or song bringing back great memories, creating a time capsule can do the same. This is especially important for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. It is like reminiscence therapy. What is a classic movie you have not seen for a while? A time capsule improves memory and creates a family heirloom.

7. A time capsule would be a great, unique centerpiece for a Wedding or Baby Shower. Make a game out of it, and have guests bring things to put in it for the future couple or baby to see or read years later. What are your predictions of where the couple or baby will be in life, in the future?

8. A time capsule can make you use all of your senses to create and preserve your nostalgic moments.

9. It can help close the gap of generations. For example, explain how to use technological things like the latest cell phone (if we even have cell phones in the future).

10. It can help military families (especially those who are gone when their child is born), not forget any moments or memories (as you can write each day what is happening in a journal). Memories can fade easily, so help preserve those smaller, and seemingly less significant events that happened during your separation, while one of you is in the military.

11. Your family history is important, so include small notes on each item in the time capsule. Decades from now, your descendants can learn all about what life was like when you were born or alive. A time capsule is the best tangible history book around.

12. For an adopted child or someone in foster care, a time capsule can be like their beginning “life story,” so he or she feels some attachment to their biological family and has a sense of belonging.

13. A time capsule can be like a memorial, to help with grief and bereavement of a past loved one.

14. A time capsule helps preserve your favorite memories, in a safe place.

15. It can be a creative way to share wisdom, from adults or grandparents to children or grandchildren.

16. It helps you prioritize and organized which favorite baby items to keep or give away.

17. It is a tangible scrapbook, for those things that do not fit in a scrapbook.

18. It protects your items better than a scrapbook (if you do not bury it).

19. A time capsule can be a great classroom activity to unify students for a single, positive purpose.

20. A time capsule can help restore marriages, by opening the Wedding Time Capsule, when you have an argument together in the future, to remind you why you got married.

If you want to read more information or research on the benefits of a time capsule or memory box, check out http://commons.emich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1363&context=honors St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital even understands the benefits of creating a time capsule or scrapbook. Check out why at http://www.memorychestmemorials.com/Blogs/Memory-Chest-Memorials/February-2013/Therapeutic-Scrapbooking-A-Technique-to-Promote-Po

I am sure there are many other benefits of creating a time capsule. What benefits can you think of? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

www.timecapsule.com

The post 20 Key Benefits of a Time Capsule appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

Ask yourself, what’s most important to pass on to the next generation? Teach values to your children.

– Life lessons
– Teaching to help others
– Strong communication skills
– How to be emotionally strong
– Financial security
– Education
– Values
– Etc.

After being with my niece for a week, I realized she is in the independent stage, as she demands, “I can do it.” It is enlightening seeing a child without any fear. She is a real go-getter, a dare devil, and an observant learning sponge soaking up anything new around her. I realized while playing with my niece, how important it is to subtly drop hints to teach about values, and act as a consistent role model as she wanted to imitate many things I did last week. For example, when the dog got wet she shook, just like the dog. It was funny, but then I realized how much more important it is for my niece to imitate other important values, like family bonding.

My mom, niece (Skylar), and my brother.

Instill a Sense of Family History

Do not get so caught up in instilling values that you forget to enjoy the milestone moments, or memories. Share your family stories. These are what by nature, will share your values as a family too. A great way to do share your stories is by creating a time capsule together as a family. Save mementos and heirlooms in the time capsule. Save memories forever with a time capsule to pass on to future generations.

One Man’s Trash, is Another Man’s Treasure

I grew up learning the value of a dollar. My family shopped at stores like “Goodwill” in order to make ends meet. I am sure some of you can relate. Goodwill is a time capsule store in of itself. You never know what you will find there. To some, an old coffee cup may only be worth $1.00, but to others, it is may be sentimental and priceless, therefore it is treasured for years. My family had a dinner plate which said “You are Special Today.” It was great. My parents brought out the plate when we as kids accomplished something, received good grades, or helped someone else out. We valued this plate and how it made us feel. My parents valued what the plate taught us. It is a plate that will forever be treasured and passed on to our next generation of grand children, through a time capsule.

Passing on values to your children is so important. What do you value? Treasure these values in a time capsule, and make sure they get passed on to future generations. Pass on what makes your family unique. Embrace what life is teaching you now, and pass that on to your future children. Pass on your values you want to teach your own children, in a decorative Baby Time Capsule from http://www.timecapsule.com/product/babystimecapsule/.

What value or treasure would you like to put in a Baby Time Capsule to pass on to your future child? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie

www.timecapsule.com

Credits: Main photo taken from http://www.pinterest.com/pin/259590365996455168/

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