Family memory jars are a great way to collect and keep memorabilia from family adventures throughout the year. Make a jar every year, or empty it out and start over and save the contents in a special box.
My friend makes and sells “Thankful Jars” for Thanksgiving. The idea is that everyone in the family writes down one thing they are thankful for every day of November. Then on Thanksgiving all of the slips of paper are read out loud. And if you are really creative, you can turn those slips of paper in to a chain to put on your Christmas tree.
The idea got me thinking that it would be nice to have a jar to use all year round for family memories. The idea is to drop things in the jar all year long — movie tickets, notes, report cards, etc. At the end of the year, say on New Year’s Eve, you get down the jar and reminisce. You can either close the jar up and save it (like a time capsule) or empty the jar and start over the next year.
I bought these packages of scrapbooks sticker embellishments at Michaels. They have a ton of different themes, but I stuck to family and memories.
I just stuck the stickers I wanted on to a 2 quart Ball canning jar. You could use a smaller jar, too, I just don’t have any on hand. Plus this jar will give me lots of room to put post cards and larger items in. I added a bow and voila — a place to keep your memories all year long.
This is our 2012 jar – filled to the brim with both happy and sad memories. I can’t wait to see what next year brings.
