A family time capsule is a fun activity with memories just waiting to be re-discovered!
Shortly after the construction crew finished the framing of our house, we were invited by the superintendent to come have a look inside. We gave each of the kids their own Sharpie marker and let them graffiti their bedroom walls however they wanted!
Our 2 year old thought it was amazing that she was actually being encouraged to write on her walls. Our 4 year old wrote his name a million times all over his room and the older kids wrote their names, favorite quotes, and some warnings to their siblings to “KEEP OUT!”
We made a video documenting the entire process – take a look:
If you’re a fan of the show Fixer Upper, you might have seen the episode where Chip found an old Pepsi bottle with a message inside it from a teenage boy who hid the bottle inside the walls of the home in the 1970’s. Chip and Joanna (or the producers of the show) actually found this person with the help of social media, and they brought him to that same house 40 years after he left that message in the bottle. What a fun surprise!
That got me thinking about how fun a family time capsule would be for our family, and I came up with the idea to create some family time capsule printables – aren’t they fun?
Here is how to make your own –
HOW TO MAKE A FAMILY TIME CAPSULE
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- glass bottle or jar (a used condiment jar or Mason jar work well!)
- family time capsule printables (download here)
- family photos and memorabilia – movie tickets, receipts, newspaper clippings etc.
DIRECTIONS:
- Download and print our printables. (Link here)
- Gather the family together and then fill out all the information sheets.
- Place the info sheets and any family photos and memorabilia into the glass jar.
- Bury the jar in your yard or in the walls of your home.
Your kids will LOVE putting together a little piece of their history!
Click HERE to grab the Family Time Capsule Printables from the Somewhat Simple Shop!
This post originally published on Somewhat Simple in 2010.

What a cute idea! I bet it will be so fun for them to dig it up on new years and see all the pictures again!
Neat! We hid a time capsule in the walls of our house when we were in the process of building. We also wrote the names of all our family, friends, and favorite Bible verses all through the house on all the 2 x 4s.
I wish I had my family around – the girls are all grown up on their own. I could ask them to email me pics maybe. But I think I would open our capsule up in 5 years or 10 (kind of like my HS reunions). But maybe still make one each year. What a fun idea to keep the history of your family going.
Cute idea! I haven't thought about time capsules since I was a kid and I loved them then! I bet my kids would love them now!
Andrea @ TheTrainToCrazy.com
That is a great idea! And beautiful pictures.
What a fun and creative idea. That would be so much fun
Love it. What a fun idea!
Great idea!!! 🙂
Awesome idea! Nothing better than family and memories 🙂
~ Emily N. from "too Blessed to Stress"
love this idea!
What a cute idea!
Cute!
Adorable!!! LOVE your blog!!!
m ^..^
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing! Jules
This is such a great idea. May have to do this soon!
What a great idea! Our daughter is two, and I can just see her opening up a time capsule of this year on her 18th birthday.
What a fun idea. Thanks for sharing.
I LOVE this idea! I love the memories in making it. LOVE this project!!!!! So very creative! Thanks for sharing today.
I LOVE this idea! It's such a fun way to preserve memories! Thanks for the link!
What a super idea… We live in an old house and while redoing a wall we left a bottle with info in it for someone to find later…. Lezlee
just putting them in a binder would be a cute idea every year to look back on
That is such a cute idea too! I love it!