Fun Family History Activities for the Holidays
Whether you are gathering in person for the holidays or sharing greetings from afar, these are wonderful times to do fun family history activities together.
Talk to Grandma about what it was like to be a girl in the 1940s and be sure the kids are around to hear.
Learn how Uncle Tater got his nickname.
Or simply take a walk down memory lane.
Create a Family Timeline
Sit down with your family and create a family timeline of events. Start with births, marriages, and deaths, and then flesh it out from there. Items to add could be employment, moves to new houses, big vacations, recurring vacations, and medical diagnoses.
Several years ago, I found a handwritten timeline that my grandmother had created. It’s a fantastic document that has helped me immensely with my family history research and my family photo organizing projects.
A few years ago, my mom and I sat down and expanded on her own handwritten timeline to a typed document of over eight pages! It began with my father’s birth in 1944 and ended with our Covid Quarantine. Of course, it’s an ever-evolving document and I need to get it updated!
Yours doesn’t need to be that detailed. Just start talking about when things happened and write it down. I bet you’ll learn something new about your family!
Play a Game
Games can be great ways to learn more about your family. Keep a notepad or your phone handy for recording the great stories you hear.
Here are a few fun ones to get you started.
TableTopics: Family Gatherings
PANDO: The Trivia Game About Us
Never Have I Ever Family Edition
Hot Seat: The Party Game That’s All About You
Take a Stroll Down Memory Lane
Pull out a handful of photos or some photo albums and take a walk down memory lane. Or watch old family movies. Record any stories that come out of the process.
Start a Conversation
Sometimes, it seems complicated and too formal to “interview” a family member. I’ve compiled some fun and informative questions you can ask the adults AND the kids. Again, be sure to record their answers for prosperity. You could even put your phone or camera on a tripod in the corner and record the evening’s festivities.
Family History Questions for Grandparents and Other Adults
- When and where were you born?
- What is a great memory that you have about your grandparents?
- Did you have pets when you were growing up?
- What sports or games did you play when you were young?
- What did you want to be when you grew up?
- What was your first job?
- Did you get an allowance as a child? What was your favorite thing to spend it on?
- What was your favorite subject in school?
- Were your parents strict? What did you get in trouble for the most?
- Tell me about your wedding day.
- Tell me about the oldest family member you remember.
- Who was your best friend in childhood? What about high school?
- Tell me about your favorite holiday tradition.
- What’s the best piece of advice you were ever given?
- What was the first movie you ever saw?
- Who was your first boyfriend/girlfriend?
- What’s the most exotic place you’ve ever visited?
- How did you meet your spouse?
- What is your favorite kind of music? What was your first concert?
- Do you remember your grandparents? Tell me about them.
Grab your own downloadable copy of these questions here.
Fun Getting to Know You Questions for Anyone
- If you could be any Disney villain for a day, who would it be?
- What’s your favorite movie of all time?
- Toilet Paper? Over or under
- What is your favorite food?
- If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
- If you could be an animal, what would you be?
- What superhero would you be, and what would your superpower be?
- Who is someone who always cheers you up?
- Would you rather have no hair or no teeth?
- Would you rather live in a graveyard or a deserted island?
- What are you scared of?
- Do you think Santa would say you are naughty or nice?
- What chore do you hate doing?
- What’s the funniest word you know?
- Would you rather ride a roller coaster or go skydiving?
- If you had $1,000, what would you do with it?
- How long would you last in a zombie apocalypse?
- If you could have your own reality show, what would it be?
- What is something on your bucket list?
- What has been your favorite Halloween costume?
Grab your own downloadable copy of these questions here.
Happy Holidays from Good Life Photo Solutions!
What is your favorite family history activity at family gatherings?
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Oh, I really love that list of questions for the grandparents. I think we’ll do that this year. My children are old enough to be very interested in these answers, and this conversation can happen quite well virtually. Thanks for these, Andi!
Andi, these are fabulous conversation starters. I love all these ideas and will share them with my children.
I love these questions! They are great for virtual calls as well. You can record them staying their story.
Revisiting family moments during the holidays is so much fun! I love your suggestions! The timeliness idea is cool and so simple. I would’ve never thought of that! Thanks for sharing.
I love all of your getting to know you activities, including the lists of questions, timeline making, photo visiting, and more. I have fond memories of watching home movies with my family growing up. We continued that tradition with our daughters and watched their childhood videos with them from time to time.
So many people don’t think of “getting to know” their family members until it’s too late. What a delightful use of family get-together time at the holidays (in normal years) and what a stellar way to spur conversation for virtual gatherings!
I’ve been helping folks write their life stories since 1998. In recent years I prepared a book to help folks create a time line of their life–like you pictured above. If interested I will email you a few pages to show you what I came up with. Not only is it helpful in writing your stories but such a benefit when organizing photos.
Since the holidays are the only time some families get together, it would be the perfect time for these activities! My grandkids love seeing photos of their parents as children.
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