Many people in their interest to learn more about their ancestors focus so much on the past and what they are finding that they forget to preserve the present. While it is important to be able to pass on the information and lineage of your ancestors to your children and grandchildren it is also equally important to pass on the present day family memories to the generations that will follow. Realizing who you are related to and knowing the stories of their lives, both sorrows and triumphs can help to better connect future generations of the family.
It can be difficult to keep track of cousins, and other family members as they grow up and begin families of their own. Especially when it is a large family and people move across the country for work and other things. Rarely will the cousins get together to let their kids play with and get to know each other. However it is just as important to keep these ties strong.
One way to do this is through family reunions and newsletters. This will allow the extended family to reconnect and to remember the friendships that they had with each other when they were growing up. Often it is up to the grandparents or the parents to plan the first of these reunions. Hopefully the younger generation will then begin to plan them as well.
Another option is to have a round robin email or blog page that is set up to help the families connect. You could assign each family a month during the year, and then have members from the family be responsible to post a brief update sometime during the month. The blog format is nice because it allows you to share video, and pictures and respond with comments.
Finally it is important to simply share the records with your family. This can be included with the records that you pass out documenting your family tree. In addition to the names and birthdates of your ancestors, you may wish to include the names and birthdays of your extended family with each other. This would be a great resource to allow the cousins to wish each other a happy birthday and spend some time remembering the fun they had together as kids.
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Planning an Extended Family Reunion