Sunday, December 21, 2025

They Added Their Own Memories to Family History Booklet!

For Thanksgiving, I gave two relatives a bite-sized family history booklet (below) about a favorite in-law. 

On the last page, I left a lot of blank space and wrote: Please add your own memories here.

Happily, my relatives were inspired to share their own memories of her. In fact, each wrote a jam-packed page of emotional notes about this much-loved ancestor. 

Seeing how excited they were to share what they remembered, I decided to reprint.

Now this family history booklet is a bit longer, with several pages devoted to memories. I interspersed a few sepia photos to break up the blocks of text and inject a touch of color at the end.

Affordable ($22 for two spiral-bound booklets) and ready for my relatives to take home when they visit for the holidays.

What I learned: The booklet has become a treasure-trove of personal memories of someone special. These reminiscences will live on along with the genealogical background info, to be passed down in print to future generations.

4 comments:

  1. What a great idea to add blank pages at the back for more memories. Each family member has a different relationship with other family members and now you have more point-ov-views!

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  2. That's a wonderful family gift!! I hope your book is not only a treasure and place to record personal memories, but inspires the next generation of genealogists in the family! Happy Holidays!

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  3. The mini-genealogy is a wonderful idea in the first place, but the brilliant touch of adding the blank space for their own memories was beyond the call of duty! What a treasure that elicited from your kinfolk! Wonderful! Also, I just ordered your book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past. I'm no spring chicken, so I need to start thinking about this, seriously. Thank you for writing it!

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  4. That's a great idea and better to begin at Thanksgiving before everyone gets overwhelmed with holiday tasks and events. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

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