Why Every Family Needs a Time Capsule

Parents age, children grow up and move away, and new memories slowly erase the old ones. Who doesn’t wish to rewind a few years (or perhaps a few decades!) to relive some of your happiest memories or reminisce about how good you looked back then? Until someone invents a time machine to do so, your best bet is to get a time capsule and to fill it with all the moments you wish to hold onto forever.

A square wicker basket sits on the left side of a wooden table. In the basket is a collection of different film formats including: multiple film reels in metal cases, brightly colored boxes of slides, clear plastic audio tapes, standard black plastic VHS tapes, smaller VHS tapes in plastic cases, and a vintage Canon camera. On the table to the right of the basket is a stack of old vintage photographs and postcards. One small reel of film and another yellow box of slides slightly overlaps these old photos.

Why should you have a time capsule?

Making a time capsule for some of your most precious and memorable moments will bring joy and delight to all members of your family. Carefully choosing what to include in your capsule and what to leave out will be a fun weekend activity that will inevitably bring some laughs. Safely hiding it away and forgetting about it for a while makes opening it later down the road a delightful surprise. It will beyond a doubt be a pleasant blast from the past, leading to a stroll down memory lane. This small time capsule will also store a lot of love to be shared from one generation to another.

What exactly can you put in your time capsule?

The rule of thumb is, if it fits in the container you have chosen, it can go in! The box can be something very simple from an old shoe box to a more advanced air-tight stainless steel capsule that can be sent to Mars and back! As for the items you put in, your choices are endless. It could be a written letter to your future self or your children. Pictures, videos, audio recordings and small cherished objects are always good choices. Including a newspaper is an excellent way to remind yourself of the moment you crafted your time capsule. You can also include your wedding card, a baby’s first outfit or ID bracelet from the hospital, a postcard or anything that deserves to go down in history!

A white wooden desk is covered with old photographs, VHS tapes, film reeds, a vintage camera, a journal and a vintage type writer. In the top right corner sits a succulent in a red terra-cotta pot. Beneath it is an open blue journal. It's pages are filled with a lovely handwritten script in blue ink. On top of the journal sit a pair of brown reading glasses. To the left of the journal is a standard black VHS tape. On top of the tape is a black and white photo of two couples, a stack of slides and a couple film strips. Next to this pile are two yellow square film boxes and a gray, dark green and black vintage type writer. Above the type writer on a small shelf sits a brown craft paper Southtree box with a white DVD on top. To its right is a white book with a vintage video recorder on top.

How to make its content eternal?

Time capsules are not meant to be opened for decades. Unfortunately, such a long time may take a toll on some of those pictures, videos, and recordings. They can be damaged by humidity, moisture or extreme temperatures… It is essential to find a way to preserve those priceless items. Digitizing services can help make some of these objects eternal, so that when you open your time capsule in 20 years, everything will be intact. For example, Southtree has state-of-the-art digitalization technologies that can make your photos, tapes, films and audio recordings timeless!

Flash-forward to 2035, your grandchildren just discovered an old tin box in your backyard. They don’t know what it contains, they don’t even know what it is, but they are about to plunge back in time. Their heartbeats thump hard against their chest as they open your time capsule. And there they are; the photos of your most precious moments, the letters you wrote them, and the objects that meant a lot to you. Imagine their excitement and their eyes full of wonder. Burying that time capsule might be the most impactful decision of your life…