The bubble of Olympia was our home for three days at the end of February. Who Do You Think You Are? 2013, the biggest family history event in the world, buzzed with people on a mission – to find out who they really are.
We had a potential challenge on our hands. Our objective was to gently encourage the more serious genealogists visiting our stand to turn 180 degrees and think about preserving today’s stories and memories for future generations, as well as unearthing hard information about those long gone. All those moving, sad, funny and strange anecdotes about your older relatives’ lives can add a wonderful texture to any genealogy project. If we can record these now we could be giving our future generations a real treat – a little time capsule full of colourful surprises in the form of a from you to me journal.
Our friends at Genes Reunited, one of the show sponsors, together with TV star Lorraine Kelly have recently launched a new campaign Every Family has a Story on their You Tube channel. This fits perfectly with the essence of our journals, inspiring family history enthusiasts to look close to home (as well as to genealogical records) to discover family memories. Feedback from our customers shows that our journals can help families make wonderful discoveries, adding colour and life to the family tree. Often our journals are used as an interview tool to spark some conversation and kick start memories. The experience of the older relative being asked to reminisce is both flattering and fun for them.
At the WDYTYA? Show many customers purchased our Journals of a Lifetime for themselves to complete and pass on to their children and grandchildren, rather than waiting to receive it as a gift. They really bought into our philosophy of capturing the now for the future. As our recent research ‘Do you really know your family?’ revealed, 90% of us feel it’s important to capture the stories from our relatives’ lives, although more than half of us don’t do it.
Create your little time capsule today and help our future generations make some heart warming discoveries.