What refrigerator memories do you have? What photos do you have on your refrigerator door? We seem to put our most meaningful and proud pictures on our refrigerator door. Ah the smell of fresh baked apple pie lingers in the house. “Mommy who is this?” Aniah points to a picture on the refrigerator. “That is your great grandmother who created this apple pie recipe and many others.”

What is on Your Refrigerator?

You can learn a lot about someone just by looking at their refrigerator, like how many kids someone has or what kinds of pets do they have. What does their daily schedule look like? I know our fridge has many different items on it like photos, favorite quotes, fun magnets, kids artwork, proud homework with a gold star on it, grocery list, to do list, etc. I am sure you can relate.

Your refrigerator is like a time capsule, inside and out. Think about it, what preserved photos do you have on your fridge? Your calendar tracks what you have done this past week, month, year. Save your calendar in an actual DIY Time Capsule, to open years later and reminisce about what you accomplished this year.

For some fun craft ideas:

• Turn your old cd’s into magnets for your refrigerator. Go back in time every time you look at your old cd. I am sure you will start singing your favorite old songs too.
• Reminisce by making macaroni art with your child to put on your refrigerator.
• Make your own photo magnets by buying magnets sticker sheets from your local Walmart or office supply store.
• Don’t just throw away that card you just received from a friend or family member, turn it into a magnet.

Your Refrigerator is a Timeline of your Life

On the inside of your Time Capsule, I mean Refrigerator; you may have leftovers from your grandmother’s favorite apple pie recipe. You may have the top layer of your leftover wedding cake you are saving to eat on your special anniversary. You may even need to clean out your refrigerator due to your moldy and aged leftovers in the back right corner of your fridge. Yuck.

Is it time to clean out your refrigerator? I do not like the thought of cleaning it out, but the other day I realized it is time. With all this snow this past Winter, you get closed in and eventually cabin fever. Winter is a time to get many things done, that I usually put off or do not have time to do during the Spring or Summer. I can always find more fun or interesting things to do when the weather is nice.

There are so many things about a refrigerator that can bring back memories, like the different flavor syrups that we used when we made our first snow cones together last Summer. What about the three quarters full bottle of balsamic vinegar from when you tried to make you first fancy recipe for your husband? That concoction did not turn out as good as the picture you saw on Pinterest. What about that homemade grape jelly stuck to the shelf, that you and the kids spent hours picking and mashing grapes together ,from the vineyard. Ah, memories.

Clean out Your Life – Create a New Time Capsule

You know our lives can be like our refrigerator. Every now and then we need to do some cleaning, removing old habits, or bitter thoughts of our past. A time capsule and cleaning out your refrigerator is a great way to reminisce, however remember it is all in the past. You can start today and create a clean, new life for yourself by reading motivational books, increasing your self-esteem, surrounding yourself with new and better friends, go on a diet and start exercising, etc. It would be interesting to start a new “Any Occasion” DIY Time Capsule to save different memories from this new clean journey in your life, then open the time capsule years later and see how far you have come.

Refrigerator styles have even changed a lot over the past years. I am so grateful to live today. If I was asked as a kid what do you think refrigerators will look like 20 or 30 years from now, I never would have guessed they would have TVs in them or computers, would you have guessed that? Our technology is so advanced now.

So what is in on the outside of your refrigerator? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie

The post Refrigerator Memories – DIY Craft Ideas appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

My new niece, Arden.

“Yes, you are officially a new parent Matt.” This is what I said to my brother this past Thanksgiving weekend as we all gathered together as a family. Now we are a bigger family, because he and his wife recently had their first baby. “You are taking more pictures now, than you ever have in the past.” “You are using Facebook more than ever, posting the new baby photos about every week.” That is the sign of new parent syndrome. It is a great sickness to have.

We love to hear and see stories in action, of parents or couples doing whatever it takes to preserve memories. That is what keeps family stories and traditions going. What fun memories did you make with your family this past Thanksgiving? It is never too late, because Christmas is coming up, then we start all over again with a new year filled with special days and events to make new memories.

How to Preserve Memories

Kwote App

Kids say the darndest things. It usually happens on the spur of a moment, so how do you capture that? If you are like me, I do not constantly have a pad of paper I am carrying around with me. Also, if I do not write it down that moment, and wait till later I get so busy that I forget to write it down. There are so many apps out there nowadays. Check out one called “Kwote.” It is completely free to use. Get your Kwote app here. Save your child’s quotes on a colorful background, then put them throughout your photo album or scrapbook pages. It is so cool and easy to use.

Save Grandparent Voices

Have a grandparent, baby sitter, family member, or friend, read your child’s favorite book out loud and record it. A great keepsake and from those you love and a comforting voice to listen to years later. You really do not know what you have until it is gone many times.

Holiday Memories

Thanksgiving is a perfect time to gather together around the table and take advantage of the time and get people to tell some of the stories of their life. Get the whole family involved. Make a game out of it. Go around the table and tell about something funny that happened in school. The key is not to wait. There are so many different ways to document these great stories for your kids and grandkids. Collect these memory makers, like old photographs, handwritten letters, newspaper articles, and family recipes while you are eating that delicious traditional pumpkin or apple pie on Thanksgiving day. A new recipe you create today, can become an old tradition years later when passed down from generation to generation.

 Photo from: http://www.oysmem.com/why-you-need-to-preserve-memories/

Create a Digital Scrapbook

There are so many options to use and digital scrapbooks you can find on Google. It is an option to dump all those photos collecting on your phone, in a creative keepsake fashion.

What are you doing to preserve your protective photos, slides, audio and video tapes. These are priceless, because they help us bridge gaps of generations in our family. If you are like me or most people, you are storing them in boxes and containers under the bed, or in closets or basement shelves. Preserve family stories and traditions, giving your children an answer to their future questions of where their family came from. Some memories may still be stored in your grandmother’s memory waiting to come out. Where ever they are, they are slipping away and deteriorating waiting to be preserved.

Get started now in preserving your memories and other tangible heirloom objects with a decorative Baby or Wedding Time Capsule from http://www.timecapsule.com.

What is your most valuable heirloom you would want saved in a time capsule? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

–  Marcie

www.timecapsule.com

The post 4 Ways to Preserve Keepsake Memories and Heirloom Objects 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.

Photo Credit: David Manuel

You had a blast at the Fourth of July parties, watching fireworks, recording fun videos, uploading fun fireworks pictures to social media, but now what do you do with all these memories?

If you were lucky enough to get great photos of the fireworks, how do you turn these memories into a keepsake now? There are many different ideas out there about turning holiday events and memories into craft ideas. How about a new unique idea, that you may not have heard of before.

Don’t just let the photos sit on your phone or in email somewhere for you to eventually forget about them. Wow, that night of fun sure did go by fast, and so can the memories, jokes, laughs, and stories.

Save your Photos in a Time Capsule

What are some of your family traditions you want to keep alive, that you do together every Independence Day? While out watching the fireworks, I saw grills, bonfires, guitars playing, smores being made (yum), kites flown, kids running around, families laughing and playing games, picnic blankets, etc. After you get done sharing these memories all over Facebook, You Tube, Google, or Twitter, then what do you do? You make a July Fourth time capsule to open one year later at your next family get-together, or whenever you choose, to reminisce. Besides, for some people opening a time capsule next year, will give new meaning to “Christmas in July.”

Put your photos on colorful scrapbook pages, or other colorful paper, but whatever you do, save them in a time capsule so you are reminded to look at them again, instead of forgetting about them years later. You could also create a time line of your fun filled weekend to save in a time capsule of each photo in order. Also have family and friends write up a short letter about what their favorite activity or story heard during the fourth of July.

Other Things to Save from your Fourth of July in a Time Capsule

You want to save as much as you can to put yourself back in the experience you had this special day.

• Make sure to save all your ticket stubs or wrist bands worn at special events you attended on July fourth, as memorabilia that will have special meaning years later.

• Save your wrappers from your favorite American snacks you always eat on your July Fourth holiday.

• Write down you favorite songs you listened to during this time of year, which were popular.

• Save the copy of the all of the signatures of the fire men, who came out to put the fire in the woods out, which your child started with a bottle rocket. I promise, you will laugh at it years later when you open your time capsule.

• You can also save your memorial commemorative T-shirt from this year’s July fourth celebration.

• Save your kid’s toys won at fair games, the homemade ice cream or good old American burger recipe your relative made, hand held flag, and your patriotic confetti used for your party tables.

• Last, but not least if only you could save that left over firework smoke smell in a bottle. Just kidding, it would never save, let alone how would you capture it?

What would you save in your July Fourth Time Capsule? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

www.timecapsule.com

The post What to Do with Your July Fourth Fireworks Pictures? appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

Who Can Use a Time Capsule? – Parents

Although it is a morbid thought, the truth is we are all going to die someday. That is the bad news. The good news is, we all have a chance to leave a legacy to our friends, family, and children. We can leave a legacy in a tangible way with a time capsule.

Do not wait until you are the parent who has to send your child off to college, only to notice the adult size shoes and clothes you pull out of the suitcase, as you help him or her unpack for their new life adventure. Leave memories in a lasting way, with the use of a time capsule. A time capsule is more than just social media, saving photos on Facebook, or posting your Throw Back Thursday pictures. A time capsule is about collecting the memorabilia that will not keep online, or in a scrapbook, or in an old box where mice and moths can destroy your precious memories. Let’s discuss time capsule ideas for parents.

A Celebration of Life

Don’t wait until the end, when most people have a “celebration of life” at a funeral. Start today and save those tangible memorabilia, souvenirs, and keepsakes in a decorative Baby Time Capsule from http://www.timecapsule.com. Keep special items, in a time capsule, about everyday life and what matters most – your children and family memories together. When parents make a time capsule with their children, it helps them feel a sense of connectedness on a deeper level.

You are not just your child’s “mom” or “dad.” Use a time capsule to explain to your grown child, about who all you really are, as your child opens their time capsule at their high-school graduation or as you leave their dorm room at college, and he or she starts a new life.

You are a “mom” or “dad” who has:

• saved their childhood pictures drawn
• saved their proud moments of finally nailing the sound on their band instrument, in an audio recording
• been the one who has saved their sweet 16 napkin from her Birthday party
• been the one who still has the key to his or her first car
• been the one who has their best years of Report Cards saved
• saved their journal or diary, to remind him or her what life was like as a young teenager
• saved their favorite childhood toy
• saved their most embarrassing or funny videos
• continued to make their favorite recipes holiday after holiday
• saved their sentimental baby blanket
• saved every day timer planner (each year of their life) of the many scheduled events, you have taken them to. (How do you have all this energy?)

The countless list goes on, as I am sure you are now thinking of the many ways you have been there for your children. Remind them of how much you love them with a decorative Baby Time Capsule to give them at their graduation, or whenever you choose to have them open it. What a day that will be as he or she is able to relive life the year they were born, or the first few years of their lives. Help your child truly understand how you contributed to their world. From the tiny baby feel of size 3, to the adult feet of size 13, there are many memories with tangible objects involved that we all do not want to let go or lose. Capture and preserve them in a lasting gift of the Baby Time Capsule. It is when you have to leave your child at college that your child’s life really flashed before your eyes. Get a time capsule to slow down this time and remember it. That time capsule now is not just a price, it is worth so much more. Priceless, as you freeze that moment in time, in a time capsule. Reminisce over the items in the time capsule, as you feel those emotions of empty nest syndrome come upon you. The time capsule helps you connect, no matter how far apart you are. Pass on the legacy from your family, of what matters most, treasured memories.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

www.timecapsule.com

The post Time Capsule Ideas for Parents appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

21 Creative Ways to Use a Time Capsule to Connect with Teenagers

You know, I remember asking my mom and dad when I was a teenager, “If life is like this now, what is it going to be like when my children are teenagers?” It was a rhetorical question, one of the many that came from my random thoughts as a teenager. I have always been one of those kids who was told, “you are wise beyond your years.” My parents made it a goal to consistently make sure they were bonding with us in positive ways. When I worked as a counselor in my own private practice, I heard many different life stories from young kids and teenagers. It is vital, to find anything and everything you can to communicate to teenagers about their world, even if it is a time capsule.

This blog is a continuation about who can use a time capsule. These priceless and treasured gifts can also be used by teenagers. During a time of great confusion, a teenager is trying to discover his or her identity. The following is a list of 21 ways to use a teenage time capsule to connect with with adolescence on a deeper level.

1. Write a “Message to the Future” letter to yourself about where you see yourself after you graduate or get married.

2. Use the time capsule as an anonymous container in your youth group, for kids to put questions or comments on slips of paper to leave for staff to read once per week, or have teachers from your teenagers high-school, fill out a letter about predictions of where they see him or her in the future.

3. To put your nostalgic memorabilia in, from childhood, to open years later and reminisce about what life was like during that time in your life.

4. To save love letters from your first boyfriend, to review later when you meet “the one.” What a fun day that may be when you read those old letters from your “first” official boyfriend. A time capsule will help you remember this “first” or milestone moment in your life.

5. Adolescence is an adventure in of itself, of which includes many exciting events that need to be preserved in a profile book of yourself that you can include in your time capsule.

6. For a teenager, giving them the privacy they so desperately want, is connecting with them. Let them develop their independence, as they learn skills of how to make it in life on their own, by encouraging them to keep extra money in their time capsule like a savings bank with emergency money.

7. For a teenager, a time capsule is similar to diaries, journals, or saved emails to yourself. Time capsules can be a place to work out difficult life questions, as you write about your feelings and changing relationships.

8. Connect with your teenager by using the time capsule to teach them about what to hold on to and what to let go. Let them put those emotions on pieces of paper or in a letter, put their old favorite shirt or toy in a time capsule, to bury or put away for years, helping them forget about it and let go.

9. Leave your teenager a letter, in the time capsule, about what life was like when you were a teenager. Then have your teenager open the time capsule with the letter in it and other significant items you saved from his or her life so far.

10. In the time capsule, leave a list of positive words that describe your teenager. Make it look nice on special paper, that maybe he or she will want to frame and hang on the wall.

11. Show you listen to your teenager, and put something significant in the time capsule and then give it to them to open as if a present. For example, put a favorite book, movie, or music, etc in the time capsule.

12. When you feel your daughter is of age to wear make-up, put a set of different colors of eye shadow, lipstick, nail polish, etc in a time capsule and have a special party as she enters adulthood. You could even invite her friends over for a make-up party.

13. Write a love letter to your teenager, and say how proud of them you are. Leave it in their time capsule, telling them when they can open it, for their special surprise.

14. Let your teenager use the time capsule as a place to write out the full story of what happened (during a problem in their life or if he or she made a bad life decision). This helps your teenager get the whole story out, before you react or jump to conclusions.

15. Create a favorite, new, recipe together and save it in their time capsule for years so they have it for when they get married.

16. Keep a souvenir from your fun vacation together, in their time capsule.

17. Take great photos of moments with your teenager, or their friends, and preserve them in a time capsule for years. Then, at their graduation, open the time capsule and reminisce about the “good old days.”

18. Keep a gift or memorabilia from a shared hobby or passion, you have spent time doing with your teenager, in the time capsule. None of us really truly understand what a special time in our lives meant, until it is gone or your teenager has left for college far away.

19. Put the keys to their first car, in the time capsule, then let them open the time capsule when they receive their driver’s license.

20. Make a college survival gift basket kit, with the time capsule holding many significant items from their childhood, you feel he or she would want to preserve and take to college.

21. Make a bucket list to keep in your time capsule, to see what all you have accomplished by the time you open the time capsule.

I hope this list of ideas is just a start for you to connect better with your teenager. A time capsule is a gift that keeps on giving and giving. Pass on your life lessons, and preserve your teenager’s milestone moments in a time capsule. Help your adolescent tell his or her own children what life was like when he or she was a teenager, with the use of a decorative time capsule from http://www.timecapsule.com. For other ideas of what to put in a teenage time capsule, check out http://www.education.com/activity/article/Make_High_School_Time_Capsule/

What is one thing you would put in your teenager’s time capsule? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

www.timecapsule.com

The post 21 Creative Ways to Use a Teenage Time Capsule to Build Relationships and Bond appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

Memories are some of the most special moments we want to treasure forever. That is more difficult for us all, as we get older.

“She just does not seem to be all there anymore. She is forgetting more. She is having a hard time recognizing me as her daughter. She is forgetting my name.” – my Aunt complained to my mother over the phone. My aunt was living in Texas with my grandmother, and my mom (her sister) lives in Indiana. It was heart retching knowing there was very little my mother could do, to help my Aunt and Grandmother, in Indiana.

What To Do To Help the Older Generation

Despite our distance, my grandmother and I were close. She prayed for my future husband for years, wherever he was in life, to be ready for me mentally, emotionally, and physically. Her prayers worked as I found “the one.” How could I ever give back to my grandmother who was an Alzheimer patient. I do not wish this problem, or any other memory disorder, on anyone. It is hard to deal with, as family members let alone being the actual person trying to live through this struggle.

How a Memory Box or Time Capsule Helps

Even though my family lived far away from my grandmother, that does not mean we could not help. We helped my Aunt recall memories, wrote down stories we remembered, recorded our voices, and of course as grandchildren created homemade cards for grandma.

A memory box or time capsule can do a similar function to help. What would you put in a memory box to stir up a loved one’s memory, emotions, and thoughts?

Image taken from http://sheffieldtimewalk.wordpress.com/2013/12/05/manor-memories/

A Memory Box or Time Capsule helps us all Recall the Past

Include things like:

• Newspaper clipping of special events, or marriage announcement

• Postcards of places visited

• Favorite recipes (maybe even take the time then to make the recipe together)

• A letter from each of you as family members thanking your loved one for all he or she has done for you.

• Family photos

• Special necklace or watch your loved one constantly used to wear

• Video of your loved one growing up. Go through the video slowly pausing to say each person’s name (especially if they are family members) to help your loved one recall names with faces.

• Hobbies your loved one usually does (for example: a sample of his or her quilt or a golf ball)

• Include items which an Alzheimer’s patient loves or boosts their self-esteem. Things that give your loved one their identity back.

• A memory box or time capsule can help an Alzheimer’s patient on all sensory levels. Include things that relate to all their senses. For example, maybe include their favorite perfume or cologne in a small bottle.

This is a fun activity to do for the family, as much as it is for your loved one to open the memory box or time capsule. You all get to share sentimental moments with each other, bonding closer and inspiring conversation about the nostalgic items. Whatever you include in your memory box or time capsule, make sure it reflects the senior’s loves, interests, and significant or milestone moments in the history of their lives, and has strong meaning to him or her. You may want to include an inventory checklist of each item you include with a tag on each item with the story associated with each nostalgic memento. This will help your loved one be able to read and review things on their own time too.

If everything goes well, memory boxes are a great means to help an alzheimer’s patient, because when a senior sees one memory trigger, it may help them recall another memory to talk about. You may even find out something new about them, that you had no idea about. To read more about this topic, check out http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/09/music-memory-box

What would you put in a memory box or time capsule for your older loved one, to help them remember better? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

www.timecapsule.com

Credits:

Main Family Quote is available as wall art from http://www.wisedecor.com/decor/wall-art/theloveinour.html

The post Top 10 Reasons to Make a Time Capsule for an Alzheimer Patient appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.

Who can use a time capsule? – Grandparents

This blog is just the beginning to many in this series. Keep checking back to see who else, specifically, can use a time capsule. A time capsule can be for ages birth on up. It is something you do not want to limit by age, because each age has sentimental memories and items of value to preserve in a time capsule. What was one of your favorite memories in your childhood, compared to your most treasured moment in adulthood?

Every summer of my childhood, my brothers and I rode our bikes to our grandma and grandpa’s house, about 2.5 miles away from our home. We could always count on candy or cookies there. It was like a reward for our exercise to get there. Your ancestor’s stories are told at your grandparent’s house. Their home is like its own time capsule, especially if it is a home where they grew up themselves. That is my grandmother’s experience. She still lives in the home she grew up in, having fun, as a kid.

This is a picture of my cousins, two brothers, and I in front of my Grandma’s house. Good times there.

As we all get older, family stories take on an increasing importance. Our children turn to us t o tell them where they came from. What does your family value? How do you feel about each other? Photos can only go so far to tell your stories. A story with your facial expressions, tone of voice, while holding an actual objet from the story in that photograph, makes old times come alive again. Photographs are only the starting point for capturing great stories. Great story tellers and motivational speakers know this is true.

How to Interview your Grandparents using a Recorder.

Imagine if you lost your memory, would photos be enough to help you remember? Tangible objects or actual items can help you regain meaning of what life was like for you in the past. What tangible items would you put in your time capsule? Also make sure to include a descriptive audio recording or story about your family history. For 50 sample questions to ask your grandparents, check out the interview ideas at http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm or check out the FREE Printable worksheet of questions at http://www.thehouseofhendrix.com/2013/05/25/lessons-i-learned-when-you-turned-100/.

What one question would you ask your grandparent, about what life was like when he or she grew up? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie

www.timecapsule.com

The post How to Interview Your Grandparents for a Time Capsule appeared first on Time Capsule | Personalized Gifts.