Grandparents can share a part of their lives and their history with their children and grandchildren through several different and unique methods.  

Here are a few ideas to get you started: 

  1. If you enjoy writing, prepare your own personal history book.  Try using a blank journal or you can record your history in a personal history book already put together, just fill in the blanks or answer the questions presented. There are many wonderful memory books on the market today.  Your local bookseller or online sources are great places to find these books.
  2. If writing is not one of your strong suits, try creating an audiotape program or making a videotape.  If you chose to do it yourself, it doesn't have to be by yourself.  Involve a spouse, a friend, a sibling, or even the grandchildren themselves.
  3. If you are a computer buff, try creating a family tree or tracing your ancestors.  Creating family trees has also become easier by using any of the computer software programs now available.  Creating a family tree and tracing your ancestors will be information that can be passed on and added to, as new generations grow on your family tree.
  4. If your talent is in the kitchen, prepare a recipe book and include treasured family recipes.  Make copies of the book and give it to each grandchild or family.For a special touch, add a story or memory about the recipe or the family member who made it and the occasions it was made for.
  5. If you are a traveler, take your grandkids on a trip down memory lane. Together, visit the town where you grew up or spent time as a student or young adult.  Bring a notebook or video camera and record your stories, people and places.  Talk about how life and the world has changed since you were young and point out those things that are much the same.
  6. If you enjoy scrapbooking, make a scrapbook of any memorabilia, or photographs you have saved from your past that tell a story about you.  Include photos, letters, ticket stubs, school programs, awards, etc.
  7. If you are a collector, spend a special day with a grandchild and go through some of the mementoes or keepsakes you have saved from your past.  Perhaps this will ignite a shared interest with a grandchild. Perhaps you may want to give an older grandchild a special memento that has meaning for the both of you.  For very special items consider having them framed or displayed in a safe case or box.