How to Make a Mother's Day Time Capsule

Time capsules are a fun way to commemorate people and events. If you are looking for the perfect way to celebrate Mother's Day this year, plan on building a time capsule. With a little prep work before hand, and a lot of fun on the big day, this will be the most memorable Mother's Day celebration yet . . . especially when you open the time capsule in a few years.

Preparation

A month or so before Mother's Day, contact your siblings. Have everybody write a note to mom. Write about fond childhood memories, and things you love about your mom. Be sentimental and happy in what you write. Recount the good things.

If there are younger children or grandchildren involved, have them draw small pictures and put their names and ages on them.

Gather photos from over the years. Themes are great in photo albums. If your family is pretty light hearted, then make a "bad picture" photo album. Closed eyes, bad hair, awful 1980's ensembles and red eye make for some entertainment. You could also use all formal shots if you want to avoid embarrassing memories!

Collect anything sentimental that will not be missed. Locks of hair, awards, medals, and other small treasures are good to include. Anything mom would look at and smile. Also include the local paper or something that represents your time and location.

Buy a waterproof/fireproof container (whatever is in your price range), and bring all of your treasures, the container, and a Polaroid (or digital with printer) camera. If you are technical enough, bring a video camera or audio recorder.

Party Time

After you are done brunching (or whatever you do to celebrate), gather everyone together to go through the stuff you have for the capsule.

Take pictures of everyone involved and add them to the capsule, too.

Record greetings to mom on the video camera or audio recorder. Record mom and her reaction to the fun! Make sure to include the recorder in the capsule if you plan to seal it for many years. A CD is not much good without a CD player!

After the Party

When everyone is done strolling down memory lane, neatly package and seal the container. Although burying it is fun, it is much more practical to store it away in a safe place. Make sure to keep track of where it is kept.

Agree on a time to open the capsule. You could open it every year on Mother's Day and add to it each time (if you are impatient like I tend to be). Or you might open it in ten years. Whatever works best for you. It just depends on who is involved in the fun.

Happy Mother's Day!

Making a time capsule for Mother's Day is a great group project. It also makes for a 'main event' on Mother's Day. If you are thoughtful, organized, and include everyone in on the fun, this could be the best Mother's Day tradition, yet!

Have a safe and happy Mother's Day!