How to Create Family Memory Cards

A great way to keep family memories, traditions and stories alive is to create a deck of family memory cards. Not only is it easy to do, but it also gives your children a long-lasting sense of their family and ancestry. Creating family memory cards can be a special experience and you can continue to add to your deck as your children grow. This craft provides a way for children to explore their family history and you can share memories with them in the process.

Things You'll Need

• Family photos
• Card stock
• Markers
• Glue stick
• Recipes
• Magazine photos

Instructions

1. Find a special suitcase or box that belonged to a cherished relative. If you don't have one, visit a thrift store and find something in good shape that has a flavor of nostalgia.

2. Cut the card stock into playing-card size pieces. Begin your memory cards by writing down a phrase that is important to you or that has been passed down in your family. Try to recall childhood experiences, summer and winter activities, traditions and tall tales told in your family.

3. When you have written down a bunch of phrases, flip the cards over and begin glueing appropriate images or objects on the backs of the cards. These can be photos of the people or places that the stories are about or they can be drawings and magazine clippings (works well for recipes).

4. Decorate the cards with colorful borders. Use different color borders for different themes; for example, red for relative stories, green for animal stories, blue for school stories and yellow for vacation stories.

5. Share the suitcase with your children and explain that it holds their family memory cards. Have them pick out a few cards and explain the stories on the cards. Let your children pick some of the recipes to try and activities to do. This will help you relive great moments of your childhood and cementing a tradition that your children can take into their future families.