An inexpensive and fun family project for this year is building a Family Time Capsule. This capsule can include any items you like. The purpose is to let your future family members know about you, your times and their family history.
Because this is the turn of the Millennium*, there are many things going on that in 100 years will be interesting, amusing and fun for our family members to come.
Ideas of things to include:
It is still fairly easy to find things back to the turn of the century. Talk to the elder members of your families to find out what was important when they were children and what they remember of their parents and grandparents.
Every era has it's important times and historical events but this time capsule is for YOUR family, so how those events affected your family personally. For example, WWI, WWII, The Great Depression, The Dust Bowl, Korean Conflict, Viet Nam, immigration to this country.
If you really don't know anything about your family history or were adopted, use your best judgment as to what you would want the family members to come to know about your family however it is structured. One of the trends of our times are families with step siblings, half siblings and foster or adopted siblings. Whatever is unique about your family will be interesting to those that will come.
Collect this information throughout the year and put it in a keepsake box or fireproof box. Make sure it is small enough that it can easily be passed on and strong enough that it can last 100 years. Put instructions on it what date it should be opened on and the family names attached to it. (All families include lots of names, maternal, paternal and adoptive, none of us know which names will be important in years to come.)
On next New Year's Eve, have a little ceremony sealing the box.
Have fun with it and let us know any ideas you have for making your Time Capsule. We'd be interested in any items to include, what kind of box or container to use. We'll include a compilation of these ideas in future issues.
This page contains the following solutions.
Here is my "fun project" for the entire family. I find this to be great fun, we have done this 3 or 4 times. If I am doing any sort of remodeling where we have to open a wall, I always put a "time capsule" in the wall before closing it up again.
Here's a great project for children just learning to write. Make a Time Capsule. Have the child write their name or ABCs on a piece of paper and date it. Roll the paper and place in a paper towel tube. You can decorate the tube with paints, markers or fabric. Tape the ends closed and use a pen to mark a date to be opened.