sagesiren’s Recent Comments

• Click here to view comment in original post

  family gift idea

  i'd like to share a gift idea that worked wonderfully for me last year, and i'm planning on continuing it again.

  i've gotten into researching my family tree, and i also decided that a great way to record family history would be to record my grandmother telling stories.

  i got myself a little digital voice recorder that has a USB connection for your computer, and i recorded my grandma telling stories about various aspects and events of her life. i filled a whole CD last year, and we only got up to her marriage! there is plenty more to tell, so this year i'm going to make volume II, and she will tell stories about raising her children, and possibly tell about her firsthand experience about different historical events, or just what life was like back without computers, tv, plastic, or what she did for enjoyment as a child and as a teenager. there will be plenty of other material for subsequent "volumes"--she can talk about older generations that no one else really remembers or experienced except her. you would be surprised at how many colorful stories there are lurking in the roots of your family tree! even if you think there aren't any and you're from a boring family, i'm tempted to guarantee that there are juicy stories back there somewhere waiting to be told by (or coaxed out of) someone in your family.

  anyway, you get the idea. i edited the tracks using the software that came with the digital voice recorder, and burned cd's for everyone in my extended family. they absolutely loved it. they keep asking me for more, saying "when's the next album coming out?"

  hope this helps or inspires someone out there...

  halcyon days to you all.On 10 great ideas for "stuff-free" holiday gifts posted 2 years ago 11 Responses