Category Archives: Ideas & Inspiration

Gift Idea #21 – Memory Game

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idea numbers21When I saw this memory game on Pin Hole Press I thought it would make a wonderful gift for getting to know family members. Besides doing current family members photos you could pick photos from ancestors too. And you don’t need to order these from Pin Hole Press, you can make your own memory cards. If you make a nice big set it could be fun for all ages of your family.

Another twist on the game would be to make cards with names and cards with photos and you have to match the name to the photo. Or if you family is even more familiar with their ancestors you could find a simple image that represented a story or milestone in that person’s life and use that as the match.

Playing memory with ancestor cards would create lots of opportunities to tell stories or share memories about your loved ones. Depending on the situation, the game could be played so that the person who makes the match tells something they know about the person they found the match for. This could be a game that add to over the years as you and your family learn more about their family members.

Pin Hole Press Memory Game

 

Gift Idea #20 – Family Traditions Book

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How about putting together a book about your favorite family traditions. If you already have photos that you have taken while doing your traditions then use them. If you don’t have old photos you could take photos this year and match them up with stories and memories from the past. Or you can use photos that were taken around the time of the specific memories about your traditions.

A good way to start a project like this would be to get a binder and a bunch of sheet protectors. Then you can gather photos and memories and organize them in the binder. Have other family members help by sharing their memories of the past.

I think I should put together a book about our annual trip to the mountains to cut down our Christmas tree. I did several scrapbook pages over the years but something that shows the history and favorite memories from certain years would be lots of fun.

This idea could be done in coordination with Gift Idea #19. You could do a book about the history of the tradition and then add to the book as you restart and carry on the old family tradition.

Gift Idea #19 – Restart an Old Family Tradition

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idea numbers19Family traditions are a great way of connecting us together in our current family and to those of past generations. Is there an old tradition that you or another family member remembers from the past that could be reintroduced today? One way would be to have a family brainstorming session and come up with a list of traditions that have been lost for one reason or another. Then vote on which tradition you would like to start doing again. It may be that the old tradition needs to be adjusted for today’s circumstances but if it has its roots in the past will help connect your family today with your family of the past.

 

Gift Idea #18 – Home Movie Night

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idea numbers18My family has a few old home movies from when I was just a toddler. I bet many families have some old movies that they haven’t seen in a long, long time. I think it would be fun to put together a box or basket with a few home movies along with treats like popcorn and candy. What a great relaxing activity for the evening, even on Christmas day evening. Just get the family together and enjoy the laughs and the memories of days gone by.

If you are really organized, prepare yourself with an audio recorder or paper and pencil to capture the stories and memories that watching your home movies is sure to bring back to the surface.

Gift Idea #17 – Historically Inspired Photo Shoot

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idea numbers17Do you have an old family photo that you really love? How about using it as the inspiration for a new family photo? You could replicate the scene, the style of dress or just the arrangement of the people. Then you could hang the two images next to each other on the wall. Or it would be fun to use the two images together on a post card or greeting card to send to family and friends. This project will also give you the opportunity to share stories or memories about the original photo and the people in that photo.

If you are inspired by this idea, just let those creative juices run and see where it takes you.

 

Gift Idea #16 – Family Advent Calendar

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idea numbers16I love advent calendars and I think putting together one that focuses on family would be lots of fun. There are tons of fun ways to make your own advent calender. DesignMom shares some of her favorites in a recent Inspiration Scout article. The advent calendars that include an activity or message would work perfectly for this. Just plan something for each day that shares something about an ancestor or family member. You could focus on just one person or you could do lots of different people. Another option would be to do little photos of family members with just a bit about them. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful sight on Christmas to have lots of family photos to share the holiday with. Below are a few ideas to get you started.

5 Favorites: DIY Advent Calendar

Reusable DIY Advent Calendar

34 Best Christmas Advent Calendars

 

Gift Idea #15 – Family Puzzle

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idea numbers15I got the idea for this gift from a magazine article on family unity.

“My wife and I prepared an object lesson for our children on the importance of family unity by creating a puzzle. I found a current family picture that I then copied and cut into puzzle pieces. I made sure each piece included the face of one family member. Before the lesson I prepared a few thoughts on each person—the things that made him or her unique and special to our family.”

This idea inspired me to think how much fun it would be to do the same thing with an old family photo and have stories about the people on the puzzle piece so that everyone in the family can get to know their extended family members or ancestors better.

You can make your own puzzle or there are many online sources for making custom puzzles from your photos. Of those I looked at PortraitPuzzles.com seems the most compatible to this idea because they have puzzles options with only a few pieces. One way to adapt the idea would be to write numbers on the back of the puzzle pieces and write the stories on a piece of paper with the corresponding number.

Portrait Puzzles

Photo Puzzles

Custom Puzzles

 

 

Gift Idea #14 – Memory Quilt or Pillow

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idea numbers14I have contemplated making a memory quilt for my mom’s ninetieth birthday coming up in a few months. There are a few different basic approaches to a memory quilt. I think the most common is to use fabric from the person’s clothing to make the quilt blocks. Another way is to have photos transferred to fabric and use those in the quilt blocks. A third way in my mind is to choose block patterns that are symbolic of the person the quilt honors.

I think it would be neat to join all three of these into one quilt. Depending on the circumstances you might not have clothing or photos from an ancestor. But you could still create a memory quilt. I can imagine a quilt with blocks that help to tell the story of the ancestors life. It would be neat to cuddled up with a child or grandchild in the memory quilt and share stories about their family.

A quilt could also serve to remember several family members. Or to make the project smaller a pillow could be put together instead of an entire quilt. Adapt this idea to your needs and circumstances. You don’t even have to know how to sew. There are quilters who are willing an able to put your project together for you. Below are a few links with ideas on what others have done for memory quilts.

Memory Quilt

Custom Memory Quilts

Pictures of Memory Quilts

Gift Idea #13 – A Family Tree

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A beautiful family tree or pedigree chart would make a wonderful gift for any member of your family. There are so many, many ways to do a family tree. I did a post about pedigree charts last summer that shows a few options. Some are very simple with and others are very elaborate works of art. You can make your own from scratch or there are lots of options for customized charts. Minted.com has more than a dozen Custom Family Tree Art options. A search of “custom family tree” on Etsy.com comes up with more than 4,000 items. I never dreamed there were so many family tree styles out there. One summer not too long ago I drew a couple of family trees for my mother and my mother-in-law. I’ll have to find those on my computer and write a post about them sometime. You have two options. Create something yourself or pick one of the customizable options out there. If you enjoy drawing or crafting I’d suggest doing something on your own. Look at the options out there and let them be your inspiration.

 

 

Gift Idea #12 – Ancestral Greeting Card

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How about using an old family photo with your family by using it in a Christmas card. I’ve never been too good about sending out traditional holiday cards every year but I think that I’ll add an e-card to this years family directory and send it out for Christmas. I could also use it on the calendar I’m making to give to my family this year. It only seems fitting to use the image I have of Mary Taylor this year with all the things I’ve done to learn more about her. I think I’ll include a very short bio on the back of the card. I’ll post it here when I get it done over the next few days.

There are lots of resources both local and on the internet to help you put together a custom card featuring one of your ancestors. I find another blog post on Making an Ancestral Greeting Card here.