Within the next few days, you are likely to be attending at least one family gathering, if not more. If you are genealogically inclined, this means that it is prime time to do a little family history interviewing. Whether you choose to do it informally, by just striking up conversations with people and sprinkling information-seeking questions in along the way or more formally, by preparing a list of questions and then interviewing family members is up to you.
You may be seeking names and dates for your pedigree chart, and that is fine. Family gatherings are a great place to ask around for information that can help you fill in the branches of your family tree. You can also ask more general questions to get people talking about family history and sharing stories. I have come up with some other fun things that you can ask your relatives about while you are visiting with them. Nicknames – who has what nicknames and why? That could really be an interesting discussion, depending upon what the nicknames are. In the spirit of talking about all things Christmas, why not have people talk about their favorite Christmas memory or gift. What toys did they play with when they were younger? Where did they go for vacation when they were younger? My mom once told me about a time when her mother took her and her two brothers on a road trip and they were misbehaving. Apparently, my grandmother let them out on the side of the road. Of course, she went back to get them after a bit, but can you imagine what would have happened if she did that today? She also told me that they often ate Spam sandwiches on their road trips. The kids might enjoy hearing about who enjoyed which subjects in school, or what subjects they disliked the most. Who played sports, and what sports did they play? What was your first job?
What kinds of fun things will you find out about your family this holiday season?