Time Capsules

When the family gets together at the holidays, a fun activity can be creating a time capsule.  My kids and I have created time capsules at the end of the year for short term storage and then packed them away with the Christmas decorations.  We include goals for the year and reflections on the year past. It's fun to open them next Thanksgiving weekend when we get the decorations out. 

A time capsule is “a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_capsule). They are a great way to capture this moment in time for the future. Creating a time capsule can cause your family to pause now and reflect about what is important to them and what brought them to the point they are now. The creation of a time capsule can spark some good discussions in your family about what is important to you.
You can ask everyone in the family to contribute to a time capsule. They might want to contribute a tangible item, but also encourage them to add something that will really tell about their lives now. A personal note, pictures, or a schedule of what daily life is like could be really interesting down the road. The capsule can be any container as long as it is labeled and kept sealed in a safe place. And it needn’t be sealed for long. One year, five years, or ten years, can give the observer great perspective on life.

If you want a really safe time capsule container that will last a long time, check out:
https://www.futurepkg.com/
http://www.amalco.com/time-capsules.html

And for complete instructions on creating long term archival time capsules check out the Smithsonian Institutions ideas at:
https://www.si.edu/mci/english/learn_more/taking_care/timecaps.html

Good luck.  I'm sure it will cause lots of reflection for your family and give them a broader perspective on life--one of the best benefits of family history.