
It’s funny how strange it is to think another year has passed every year, and how odd it is to get used to the new year for a while. A fun way to brighten the after-Christmas and back-to-school blues is to create a family time capsule each New Year’s Eve. Kids love traditions and presents, and this little family memory could end up being both!
You can be as creative as you like and take ideas from the whole family on what to put in your time capsule. Some ideas include having each family member fill out a survey or questionnaire of some sort (even Mom and Dad’s interests and goals can change!). You also can include handprints and/or footprints of growing children. Perhaps choose some artwork from the kids to see how their skills change over time and a few current photographs actually printed out!
I personally enjoy the idea of writing notes to each family member and sealing them up to read in the future—even one for your future self. If possible, add a tangible item that reflects family members or the family as a whole, maybe a vacation memento or a burned CD or flash drive with favorite family songs from the past year. This also would be a great time to have a child separate from a pacifier, blanket or other special lovey item. Adding a picture of your current home can be nice to see how it changes over the years or recall fond memories if you move in the future.
As for what the actual time capsule container should be, again, that’s up to you! Some things to consider are the size of your items, whether you will be adding to the capsule over the years and where you will store these family gems. Some families simply use a Mason jar to contain each year. You can even place items back in the boxes they came in for easy storage and access. If you’re looking for a bigger container, a coffee can, shoebox, a 2-liter bottle or a fun old suitcase from a garage sale or thrift store are other options.
Visiting a local museum can add to the time capsule educational factor by showing your children that if people didn’t preserve things from the past, we wouldn’t be able to see these things and learn from them today. Try visiting the Johnson County Museum or the Steamboat Arabia Museum. If you have older children, check out the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial.
Perhaps your family will make a new time capsule each year, or maybe you simply add to the existing one and have a time of fun reflection from the previous year as you enter the new one. To see more dramatic differences, you can opt to do a time capsule on odd, even or every fifth year. Your family also may choose to wait to create a time capsule until your youngest goes to kindergarten and then open it when your oldest graduates from high school.
If your family would rather leave a treasure for someone else to find, take the idea of Jessi Cole, Olathe mom of three. “We did make a family time capsule. We made it when we moved and left it buried at our old house,” she says. Hop onto Pinterest for some inspiration, chat it over with your family and find what works best for you!
Stephanie Loux writes from Olathe and enjoys incorporating meaningful traditions into her growing family.