Local History Month is coming up which means we’re reminded to make the most of the treasured memories we have and to keep them alive for future generations – especially if it brings home awareness of local and community history.
With our Treasured Memories campaign well underway, we thought it would be a good time to share some tips on how you can keep your memories and keepsakes safe for future generations to enjoy.
Turning memories into photo books
In today’s digital age we’re probably all guilty of snapping hundreds of photos and keeping them stored away on our computers, with little chance of them being properly organised or even looked at in the near future. There are plenty of companies online that will turn your digital memories into a wonderful photobook for you to treasure and show off to future generations. It might be a nice idea to have separate photobooks for major events, like holidays, first homes, new babies, etc! Or you could save them up and make a big yearbook with your adventures from the previous 12 months.
If you’ve got time to make one yourself, you could print off all the photos you want to include and get cutting and sticking, creating your very own memory scrapbook complete with dates, quotes and other memorable snippets.
Make a quilt from your baby’s first clothes
If you’re wondering what to do with all your baby’s clothes now they’ve grown out of them, instead of throwing them away why not make a quilt or blanket out of them? Any leftover clothes can be donated to charity shops or recycled, and you’re left with a lovely keepsake of all those early years (you’ll be so pleased with your efforts you’ll forget all about those sleepless nights!).
Bury a time capsule in the garden
Summer is on its way and if you’re looking for a great outdoor activity to do with the kids, why not get them involved in burying a time capsule in the garden? You can choose to include photos of family holidays, old photos from your own childhood, and perhaps a diary of a ‘week in the life of the…’ with details of your family’s day-to-day! The idea is for future dwellers of the property to stumble upon it when gardening, or even your own family’s future generations, keeping details within the family of where to find the time capsule. As an added activity, get the young ones to create a map of where to find the ‘buried treasure’!
With it being Local History Month, you could include details of what your village, town or city is like in the present day, along with some photos so that whoever unearths it will be able to get a real glimpse of what life was like in 2016!
Keep your sentimental keepsakes in a safe
It goes without saying that it’d be completely heartbreaking to lose sentimental items due to flood, fire or even theft, so if you have any valuable or sentimental items that you can’t bear to lose, keep them secure in a safe. It doesn’t have to cost the earth, just ensure you choose a model which is water and fire resistant so that any keepsakes, heirlooms or other irreplaceable items will remain relatively unscathed should the unthinkable happen.
If you’ve got a library or museum near you it’s worth having a look to see what they’re up to during Local History Month, as a lot of them will be celebrating all sorts of heritage from your local area, perhaps even exhibiting photos and other relics of local history.
Let us know if you’re partaking in any local history month activities by sharing your plans with us on Twitter, @TalkWithSafe. #TreasuredMemories
