for Recording Your Family History

January – Items: Select any item that means something to you or was handed down to you. It can have family meaning or just meaning to you. Tell me about it. Now pick two more!

February -People: Choose your oldest known relative (one you knew personally). Tell me about that person. Tell me a memory about another person you hold dear or maybe one you don’t. Pick one more person, tell me about them.

March – Food: Are there special ways to make your favorite dish? Do you have a family recipe that has been handed down? Funny story that involves food? Write them down and bonus points for any recipes included.

April -Places You Have Lived: Focus big. Maybe a country, city or neighborhood. Focus small, maybe a room or a specific house/apartment. Rules are flexible but try and hone in on the details that you remember.

May – Plants: What role did plants play in your family history? Where there gardens? Funny story about poison ivy or a tree? Flowers that make you think of someone? Pick three and write them down.

June-Trips: Trips. Big trips/weekend trips. Trips that happened every year or once in a lifetime. Did you ancestors take trips (or where they more “staycations” due to the times?) Pick three and tell me about them..

July -Songs: Do certain songs remind you of someone or some event? Or maybe a song you have always misheard the lyrics your entire life, write about them.

August – Stories /Sayings: What are the stories that have been told over and over again in your family? Any funny sayings or sayings a certain person is known for?

September – Photos: A Picture is worth a thousand words, so let’s combine words/ pictures. Choose some favorite photos, write about who and what is in them How do they make you feel?

October – Clothing: Did a certain family member wear only a certain color or a favorite article of clothing? Maybe something you have saved?

November – Books: Do you have a favorite book? Maybe a book or poem that has been handed down through generations?

December – Holiday Memories: What family traditions do you have (think of any holiday under the sun) have you started new ones or made a point to keep certain ones alive?