The holidays always bring an increase in the discussion of treasured family memories. It isn’t really the holidays that do it specifically, but mostly its because families are together during this special time and new memories are being created. Families usually enjoy talking about past memories and often we learn things we didn’t know before, from these brief sessions. Here are some tips to help you record your memories a little bit easier.
Ask questions. Interview family members, ask them lots of questions and get information on photographs you might not know about. Try to learn about dates, events and people who appear in photographs that you might not know. Ask family members about things they remember regarding historical dates, their past jobs, or anything else you might be interested in scrapbooking.
Look in record books. Seek out family bibles, baby books, wedding books and anywhere else there might be information that will help you along. Family bibles often have dates of weddings, funerals, deaths, and religious events.
Check out old school yearbooks. Most people keep their yearbooks indefinitely. This makes using them as a source for information regarding historical information on certain people, easy. Ask family members if you can see their yearbooks from school and jot down friend information, classes, clubs and activities they were involved in.
Listen well. My favorite piece of advice has always been to listen well. Don’t just ask questions, but listen to the answers. They should provide you with information, but also get you thinking of more questions to lead you further in depth of certain situations. Listen to those that talk around you. Always be prepared to learn a story that might someday be fun to commemorate in your scrapbooks.
Journaling doesn’t have to be difficult, if you learn to ask the right questions and record information constantly that might someday be useful. Enjoy the holidays with your family and hopefully you will learn even more about your life, your family and your ancestry.