Family heirlooms for the modern family
Passing down family heirlooms is an age-old tradition, whether that is by leaving money in a will, keeping an engagement ring in the family for the next happy couple, or gifting your children with your “family secret” recipes. You may have some of these heirlooms already to pass down, but if not don’t worry. You can start creating your own, modern heirlooms and start some new traditions.
At Memory Books we’ve come up with a few unique family heirloom ideas that you can create to be passed down to younger generations, helping to keep your treasured family memories alive for longer.
Create a unique family tree.
Interest in family trees and ancestry has been increasing in the past 10 – 20 years, especially since the invention of websites that make it so easy to find your great-great-great-grandparents! Delving into your family’s past can be really interesting, inspiring, and informative. Sharing what you find with relatives makes the hobby even more fun.
If you’ve been researching your family history, why not create a truly unique family tree with one of our high quality Memory Books. Each page can represent a branch of your family tree using whatever information you have – whether that is photographs, documentation, or just a few words. Of course, the further down the tree you get, the more information, photos, memories and stories you will have – luckily every page of our Memory Books can be customised, so you can get as creative and as detailed as you like.
Pass down the fun of your favourite hobbies.
What are your hobbies? Did you take any of them up because the interest was passed down to you through your parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents? Hobbies like baking, cooking, crafting and bird watching are the sort of things that all generations can enjoy and will continue to enjoy for years to come. So why not keep the tradition going?
Many people have recipes that have been passed down to them from older generations, as well as their own favourites – why not document these recipes in a special photo memory book? Get together all your top recipes (borrow some from your friends and family too – the more the merrier!), get creating in the kitchen, and take some photographs once done or even whilst cooking. When you’ve got a nice collection of photographs and a very satisfied stomach just head to our website and start creating your very own personalized family recipe book. A lovely touch would be to add in who the recipe came from, along with any stories or memories you have of that person. This heirloom can be gifted to your family and passed down to the next generations to enjoy.
This idea can apply to all sorts of different hobbies, from documenting birds, cars or trains spotted, to how-to guides to your favourite crafting activities. The possibilities are as endless as your creativity.
Start a new tradition in your child’s early years.
Heirlooms don’t have to be old! Why not start your own tradition of passing down family treasures, and create a treasure of your own? Documenting our children growing up is easier than ever these days, and if you have kids you probably have mountains of photos and videos of them from across the years. Looking back at the photos is a fun, nostalgic activity for you as parents, but will also become a cherished pastime for your children when they are grown up.
You could start a tradition in your family of creating a memory book for every 6 years (for example) of your child’s life, so that by the time they reach their 18th birthday they’ll have a wonderful, meaningful gift of three Memory Books filled with photographs, stories and treasured memories. When your child goes on to start their own family, they can do the same, and a new tradition is born. These books don’t have to be just for you and your children; grandparents will love to look back at the fond memories of their grandchildren’s younger years and reminisce together.