Passing Keepsakes on to Family Members Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

What to Pass on to Kids

5 things that are really worth saving

Leave your kids or grandkids things that really mean something to you. Lisa Weatherbee/Offset Chances are, you never use your mother’s or your grandmother’s wedding silver although it’s neatly stored in the attic because you think it would make you a terrible person to sell it. So that won’t weigh them down in the same way the silver does? Here are five ideas to get you started: 1. A sentimental piece of jewelry and/or clothing It’s not unusual for diamond rings to be passed down from generation to generation. But if it’s something that will likely just at home or in a bank and doesn’t really hold any sentimental value, then why hold on to it at all? Leave your kids or grandkids things that really mean something to you, whether it’s the ring you got at your Sweet 16 or the necklace you bought during your first trip to Paris. When it comes to clothing, wouldn’t you love to have the jacket your own grandmother wore every day when she was in her 20s? Everybody saves wedding dresses and baby clothes. But your dad’s varsity jacket or your mom’s pencil skirt may be more appreciated. And all trends do have a tendency to come back in, so your grandkids may actually want to wear these items someday. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. 2. Something mortifying from your childhood Most people save their wedding photos to pass on to their kids and grandkids — and that’s great. But what about a memento that reveals your youthful angst? Some token that gives your offspring a real window into the younger you? Maybe it’s a hideous Christmas sweater your parents used to make you wear. Or a photo of an embarrassed you and your siblings wearing matching outfits. These are the things that made you who you are today. People love looking at and sharing these photos so much, those that really get at the nitty-gritty of a family, that there’s even a website to showcase them: AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com. 3. Favorite family recipes that holds the secret to making your family’s signature dishes. 4. Your family history So many people have lost parents or grandparents and then lamented the fact that they failed to write down all the stories they heard from them. Once upon a time, genealogy projects consisted mostly of recording names and dates in the family Bible. But today there are websites that help you record oral histories and put together trivia games that make the project intergenerational. Research where your ancestors came from by checking out Ancestry.com, Archives.gov. and FamilySearch.org. Write down your own memories of your childhood and of raising your children. If you still have kids at home, take photos of their bedrooms. Years from now, it will be fun to look back at them. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > 5. Cherished items that can be repurposed Getting your great-grandmother’s teapot that can now be used as a vase is one thing. Getting a giant oil painting of long-lost cousin Frederick is quite another. Who wouldn’t love to have a set of the brightly colored Fiesta dinnerware introduced in 1936? Leave behind items that your kids and grandkids might actually be able to use or repurpose. A stack of vintage doilies can be turned into framed art; old buttons can be made into lovely hair decorations when attached to bobby pins. The bottom line: Family history doesn’t come alive if it’s buried in an attic or in the back of a drawer. Give things that can be brought out into the open as reminders of loved ones. More on home-family AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS