I’m captivated by the art of writing memoirs and memory keeping.
This likely largely plays into my love of photography and documenting the every day. Facebook memories is one of my favourite features because I love the little glimpses into our family’s past.
It can be quite overwhelming, though, to think through and plan to record memories for a family. My motto has become “something is better than nothing” and I work to develop creative ways that we can make these things together.
A new idea I recently had was to involve the family in creating a Willms Family Christmas guide (insert your own family name there). I believe it’ll be a fun way to compile all of our favourites and traditions of the season into an engaging “how to” layout.
By following a template of which categories to expand on, it will jog your memory and make the brainstorming process super simple.
Calendar: Print out a blank November/December calendar and fill in all of your important dates, including he day you typically trim the tree, go on the twinkle tour, open presents, leave to see family, etc.
Traditions: compile your traditions that you have for each of your main Christmas activities. This could include events like trimming the tree, Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Outline things like what snacks you have for tree trimming, what you set out for Santa, when people get up to open presents, etc.
Playlist: Everybody needs a great Christmas playlist. Make a record of your favourite seasonal tunes that you listen to year after year. Maybe it’s a Rat Pack Christmas or Boney M?
Must Watch List: Christmas movies are a wonderful part of the season and if you haven’t started a tradition of which ones you watch every year, now would be the time to create it. Some of our favourites are White Christmas, Home Alone, Arthur Christmas, Miracle on 34th St. and Elf.
Food: Create a list of your favourite Christmas foods. We used to make a special Christmas punch each year, so including a recipe for unique drinks and/or dishes is a great idea.
