NOVEMBER

Family Stories Month

November is the month that ushers in another holiday season…and with it, memories of family members and events in holidays past.  Many of us feel a desire pass these remembrances on to future generations at this time of year.  So it's most appropriate that November has been named 'family stories month'.

It's always a joy to listen to these stories over Thanksgiving dinner, of course.  But there are other activities you might consider adding to your holiday preparations this month:

Create a family story journal.  This can be as fancy or plain, as expensive or thrifty, a book as you wish.  Many office supply, stationery and book stores offer bound books with blank pages suitable for this purpose.  Even a wire-bound notebook from the local drugstore will do the job nicely---the treasure is held inside equally well.  Write down your special memories of the people and events in your life whenever you think of them.  Take the book to family parties and reunions, and ask older relatives to do the same. 

Ask younger family members to decorate the covers or pages of your book with pictures of these events and the people attending.  You can read aloud selections from this journal before or after sharing a meal together at family gatherings. 

Create a family story website. If your family is far-flung (and these days, whose family does not have a bit of geographic distance between members?), invite relatives to post their stories on a group website.  Relatives can access this treasure chest of family memories anytime they wish to read or contribute to the project. 

Create a family story video or audio.  This is especially easy to do, if you have a large number of family members in one place for a special event such as a wedding or reunion.

One or more people can interview others, collecting the stories and then sharing them later with everyone else by making copies of the video or audio. Another idea would be to ask everyone to record a few stories on their own equipment for exchange with one another, or to mail a video/audio recorder to each other in 'chain letter' fashion.

Collect family recipes for a cookbook.  Memories of people and places and times in our lives often revolve around foods served at special occasions or at someone's home.  Ask family members to share these recipes and the memories with each other.  One family member can volunteer to have them all printed together in a booklet or posted on a group website. 

Make a family tree.  This can be a paper family tree which is filled in by all family members at holiday gatherings, reunions, and other events…or is by filling in questionnaires mailed out by one family member who volunteers to collate it. 

There are also websites that can assist family members who want to collect the information over the internet, and share it in this way as well.  It's always interesting to see how the family has branched out over the years.  Plus, it often prompts memories and more stories to share. 

Make a family scrapbook or photo album.  In our busy world, it can be very hard to find time to tuck away the photo, momento, souvenir or document that can later provide a touchstone for a memory…but it's always worth a try!  Sitting down in quiet moments with a child or elderly relative over such scrapbooks and albums, sharing family stories, is the reward for all your cut-and-paste efforts. 

 

No one has all the time to do all these projects, of course.  And there are undoubtedly  many other creative ways out there to celebrate Family Stories Month.  Whether you celebrate Family Stories Month in the library, classroom or home, I hope you find this article a useful start to your brainstorming…and that you will share your ideas and project results with me: DianneOchiltree@ochiltreebooks.com