Family celebrations have always played a significant role in my life. When I was growing up, my mom made a big deal over birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries. As a mother, I continued the traditions for my daughter and son when they were growing up. Five years ago, as my granddaughter, Juliet, approached her first birthday, my daughter called to ask for some ideas on how to celebrate this milestone.

I suggested we create a time capsule and ask everyone in the family to contribute something to put inside. My daughter and son-in-law loved the idea and decided to seal up the time capsule until Juliet’s 13^th birthday.

Creating a time capsule is a great way to involve the entire family in the celebration. Start by asking everyone to bring an item that represents something to them and to include a note explaining what it means to them. The note of explanation will help the child understand the contents and put the item in context when the time capsule is eventually opened.

Items can be homemade, purchased or found and can include:

• Old family photos
• Mementos
• Newspaper clippings of events and trends of the child’s birth year
• Radio and video recordings
• Coins, receipts

I contributed the following items to our time capsule:

• A letter to Juliet sharing my feelings and memories of her first year
• A photo collection of “first impressions” from her first year called My First Year of Firsts, that included meeting family members, celebrating holidays, eating solid food, and wearing a party dress

Each person showed her contribution and read her note before placing it into the time capsule. After our celebration, my son-in-law sealed all the treasures in a five-gallon paint bucket and put it away, not to be opened until 2016.

The year 2016 seemed like such a long way off when we sealed the time capsule in 2004. Now that we’re already half way there, I can actually imagine standing beside Juliet when she opens her precious time capsule.

I can’t wait to see the look on her face as we all wish her a Happy 13^th Birthday, hand her the time capsule, and watch her go through the treasures!

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