4 Easy Ways to Preserve Memories with Your Kids

*Guest post by Melissa Page.

Most parents know very well what the phrase “time flies so fast” means. One moment a baby is born, the next thing you know, baby is crawling, standing up, and uttering those first precious words. It is often hard to believe, but kids grow up incredibly fast that everything seems to happen in the blink of an eye. 

As parents, we don’t want to miss those milestone moments, so it is essential to store and organize childhood keepsakes so the family has something to look back on years down the road. Those experiences and memories will become priceless treasures in the future.

Here are 4 ways to preserve memories with your children.

Create Photo Books

In this digital age, it is common to see precious memories digitally stored on smartphones or in social media accounts. While these are accessible and convenient, they also make one less interested in organizing them into physical albums. Creating photo books is an excellent way to preserve memories with your children especially when you are creating memories of very special childhood occasions and events such as:

• Children’s milestone moments
• Birthday celebrations and parties
• Family holidays and vacations

It is super easy to create photo books online using various tools and platforms. You can also commission specialized shops to create these photo books for you.

Professional Family Portraits

With the convenience of high-powered camera features in most smartphones, taking pictures is easier than ever. But when it comes to keeping cherished family memories, especially with children, having those photos professionally taken creates more desirable results. 

Consider getting family portraits taken by a professional photographer each year to document your children’s growth. Photos of this sort truly capture the moment and will reflect your children’s personalities at each stage of childhood. Additionally, professional photos are excellent keepsakes for your children after they have grown and moved on into adulthood. Professional photos are fantastic reminders of how fun, happy, and carefree life was when your children were younger.  

Create a Memory Box with Special Items

A memory box is a great way to preserve memories with your children as well. You can store unforgettable or cherished items and mementos from childhood like your daughter’s first pair of ballet shoes or your son’s first pair of baseball cleats. 

Include photographs from your first family vacation, your hospital bracelet from when your child was born, your child’s first piece of artwork from preschool, or any other special items that will be cherished years down the line. A memory box is a personal project that can connect kids and parents in very meaningful ways.

Items that may not have enough sentimental value to preserve in a memory box can be recycled by selling them online. Items such as clothes, shoes, bags, and toys can be of value to other parents who want to save money on baby or kid items that may only be used for a short period of time. Reselling baby items is also great for you financially as well as much more environmentally conscientious.

Make a Quilt from your Child’s Old Shirts

Many children accumulate a large number of shirts throughout their childhood. Instead of tossing or reselling them, consider repurposing those old shirts into a unique and special quilt. These shirts tell a story and by transforming them into a quilt, your family gets to maintain those special memories in a piece of functional art. 

Before beginning a tee shirt quilt, you may want to organize the shirts into time frames from your child’s growing up years. For example:

• Favorite shirts from your child’s first year of life
• Favorite shirts from the toddler years
• Favorite shirts from kindergarten
• Favorite shirts from their elementary, middle, and high school years 

There are no specific rules for creating T-shirt quilts. This is your special project to make in whatever way works best for you. T-shirt quilts can be any size or they can be as intricate or as simple as you would like.

Preserve Artwork in Books or Frames

To showcase and memorialize your child’s creative efforts, you may want to compile doodles and colored drawings into a photo book. Things like artwork or handmade cards that your child gave to you on Mother’s Day or Christmas hold a lot of meaningful memories for parents and preserving them in books or frames will ensure that these cherished pieces are not lost or destroyed.

Another way to preserve these precious works of art is to take photos of them before creating keepsake books or portfolios. You may also want to frame some of the more special pieces and display them on a designated wall in your family room or scattered throughout your home.

Parting Thoughts

Making cherished memories with your children is important but it isn’t just for them. The entire family will hold these memories close to their hearts. Preserving those special moments will bring a nostalgic feeling when you have something to look back on as your kids continue to grow older. While it may seem like extra work for some parents, preserving memories today will allow you to memorialize those unique and precious moments in the future to look back on fondly for years to come. 

What creative ideas have you used to preserve childhood memories for your kids?

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

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