Two of the most important moments in a child’s life are the day that they are born and their 18th birthday, the moment they officially become an adult. Making a Time Capsule is the perfect way to be able to connect these two rights of passage.
By creating a collection of memorabilia that kids can open on their 18th birthday they can take a trip down memory lane to the era that they entered the world and their best childhood adventures.
And be sure to include stories and photos of what mum and dad were like before they became responsible parents. Kids will probably be surprised to know their parent’s used to stay up after 10, had long hair, smoked cigarettes, wore tight clothes, knew what the inside of a bar looked like, threw the odd party and knew that a Jäger-bomb is a drink and not a German weapon of mass destruction.
So how to make a Time Capsule for a baby? Let us help you get started.
How to make a Time Capsule for a baby
It’s super easy, we promise! The Time Capsule comes with a neat kit* to help you create a personalised package that will give the baby an insight into the part of their life that they can’t remember. You might already have some great ideas but to help you get started, we listed some things you might like to include in the baby’s Time Capsule.
- Magazines/Newspapers from the day/month/year of the child’s birth.
- Ultrasound photos
- The baby’s foot print
- Weather report of the day of birth
- Baby’s birth announcement
- Sibling messages or drawings
- If printed in the newspaper, include that announcement too
- Top 10 music on the day of birth
- The bestselling book from that year
- A piece of art from an upcoming artist (who knows they might just be the next Picasso, it could make for a lucrative heirloom!)
- The funniest/sweetest/most special messages the parents received after the baby was born
- Money printed that year
- Stamps
- A bus/train ticket
- Picture of the house (interior!) the parents live in when the baby is born
Tip 1: Don’t close. Just yet.
If you’re not the parent(s) then you might like to think about leaving the capsule open so that the parents can personalise the Time Capsule too. And even if you are the kid’s parents, you might want to leave the Time Capsule open during his/her childhood. It’s fun to include funny quotes, locks of hair, pretty drawings, the first shoe laces they tied, first love letters, first report cards etc. So let's leave that Time Capsule open for just a little while.
Tip 2: Baby shower / 1st birthday
Making a Time Capsule is a perfect activity for a baby shower or 1st birthday and an unique gift to open years later. It’s a lifetime keepsake with treasured memories.
Tip 3: About those photos
Ok we know that right now the baby is cute and little and lovely and all but when they open this time capsule he or she is going to be a tall, grumpy, hormonal teenager and trust us, by the time they get to 18 they will have seen the baby photos a thousand times so try and include some photos that they won’t have seen yet like; mum dancing on a table in a bar, or dad with his first braces, or the time mum ran granddad’s car into the letterbox, or those photo’s you found buried in the bottom of a drawer of dad and his brothers on holiday in Bangkok. So you get the picture?
Tip 4: Horoscope
On our website you can find a horoscope of the day of birth. So you can predict a little character already. If you wanted to you could check the horoscope for the parents too and add them as well.
Tip 5: The price of…
Teenagers are expensive and parents are always saying “things were so much cheaper when I was young.” So now you can prove it! Include some receipts of everyday articles like groceries, bread, cheese, milk, the paper etc. You could also include things like a petrol receipt (or just the local petrol price) the cost of a phone call or a sms, the price of a cup of coffee, a beer, a glass of wine and a Big Mac. Try and think about the things you spent most of your money on when you were 18.
Tip 6: What’s in a name?
You could also include the story of how the baby got its name, maybe it’s a family name or maybe the baby is named after a special place, time, person or event.
* Your MAKE HISTORY Time Capsule kit comes with:
- unbreakable crispy white Time Capsule that keeps all happy moments alive and fresh for years to come
- a pretty journal for pictures and messages of loved ones **
- handy question stickers for friends, parents and grandparents to answer
- funky tags for labelling personal items you want to include. Like a favourite teddy bear, a print of the baby’s tiny foot or another treasured item.
- envelope for that special 'letter to the future'. Like a letter from mum, dad, grandparents and friends can write the child a letter and keepsake safely inside this pretty envelope.
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a super strength sealing-strip to keep all your goodies safe from curious little people for eighteen years! The strip has the child’s name, date of birth and the date of their eighteenth birthday on it.
** Inspiration for what to write in the baby’s journal
- Where was I made/ created?
- Details of my birth, when was I due, was I late or early? How much did I weigh? Did I have any hair? Did I look like one of my parents?
- What are my mum/dad’s best traits?
- How would you describe my mum/dad BC?
- What are my mum/dad’s worst traits?
- Tell me the juiciest gossip, the best stories and anecdotes about my parents… the ones they probably don’t want me to know!
- What about the rest of the family? Do I have a crazy Uncle, a flirty aunt or an eccentric grandparent? Who are my parent’s best friends, what kind of people are they?
- What was the name of the first girl my Dad ever kissed?
- Which celebrity did my mum have a crush on?
- What do you think I will be when I grow up?
- How did my parents meet?
- How did my grandparents meet?
- What are my mum and dad’s biggest aspirations at the moment?
- Do/did my parents have nicknames?
- When my parents were 18 what did they want to be when they got older?
Looking for the best baby gift for your friend or yourself? A Time Capsule is truly the most memorable gift out there.
How cute is this fella? Just so you get an idea of the size of the Time Capsule ^_* It's 36 x 29 x 12 cm. So it fits a bottle of wine, newspaper and lots more.
Find more inspiration on our inspiration page, instagram and pinterest.