How to Make a Time Capsule

Learn how to make a time capsule, to preserve your memories for years. Pass on stories, wisdom, memorabilia, and mementos that mean so much to yourself or your family.

In our last blog we discussed 11 time capsule craft tips. We are continuing this discussion with ideas of things to put in the time capsule and how to make it. There are many different things you can use to store the items that mean the most to you in life. You can use a sturdy container, fire safe, or other item that you feel will keep your items clean, dry, and dark so things won’t fade over time. In our last blog we focused on why you are doing the time capsule and who you are doing it for.

After you have your container picked out, let’s discuss more about specific things you want to make sure you include in it.

• Make sure you first and foremost, get a newspaper from the date you decide to make your time capsule, or from the date of a special event, like the birth of your child. Newspapers have the major headlines of stories at that time of importance. What was going on your first day of school?
• Gather magazines of significance to you and your interests. For example, my father loves anything about airplanes. He even flew for years. He would want to get the latest airplane magazine, then read it 20, 30, or 50 years later to see how things have changed in technology of airplanes, when he opens the time capsule in the future. How interesting would that be, including the price of gas per gallon for a plane in the future.
• Collect other catalogs, and brochures too. What pamphlets do you find yourself normally picking up around your town on a consistent basis. That says something about your daily life. Make sure to include a copy of that in your time capsule. For example, the free new and used car catalog, general merchandise ad, fashion catalog at the local store in the mall, etc. It all describes who you are and what your interests were at the time. It will be interesting to see if those interests change over the years.
• Take and include many photographs from your everyday life and mundane things around you, including what the weather is like for each season.

• Record parts or the whole episode of one of your favorite tv shows, like the nightly news, whatever is popular at the time, baby’s favorite cartoon, the latest reality show, etc.
• Also, interview and record your grandparents and great grandparents voice, by interviewing them. Ask them what life was like when they were a child growing up.
• You cannot possibly save every piece of artwork your child comes home with, so take pictures of many of them, then put them in a photo album, to have pictures of their proud artwork for as long as possible.
• If making a Baby’s Time Capsule or school time capsule for your kid, make sure to include your child’s favorite toy.
• Also popular fad items or things trending at the time will be important to save and fun to look at years later. Don’t forget to preserve your collector’s set of sports cards too.
• Make sure if you want to save your favorite soda can, that you empty anything that may explode or is decomposable.
• What was your monthly life like. Save your weekly paycheck stubs, gas receipts, tax return, monthly bill receipts, favorite restaurant menu, etc.

In our next blog, we will discuss more about what not to do when you make a time capsule. If you made a time capsule in elementary school, have you opened it yet? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie