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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

'Memory boxes' are they for the parents not the children?

28 replies

TheDevilWearsPrimark · 30/04/2010 15:03

Just musing.

Of all the things my parents have I most love looking through my dads old concert tickets, badge collection etc.

I couldn't care less about my lock of hair, first shoe.

So do you keep one, and what is in it?

OP posts:
fiveisanawfullybignumber · 30/04/2010 15:15

I have 4 boxes, 1 for each DC (& another 1 in waiting). I keep all scan photos, cards from birth, Baptism and 1st B'day. Cute bits of preschool art work, school reports and some work books that they bring home at the end of school term. Also my DD1 is very arty and has always made us cards for special occasions, those go in her box too. I was sorting through a load of stuff to go in the 2 younger DC's boxes the other day, the older DC's (17 & 15) really enjoyed rooting through their boxes & were pleased I kept these for them. I'll hang on to them untill they leave home, then if they want them, they can take them, or I'll keep them here.

ImSoNotTelling · 30/04/2010 15:17

Yes for the parents

Although I am always touched when I realise that my mum has kept all this random stuff so carefully all these years.

I don't have a box yet but have kept

Lock of DD1 hair (my mum was always showing us ours so I thought it was a motherly duty or something)
DD1 name tag from hosp
christening candles and certs
will keep some teeth

unfortunately have lost DD2 name tags from hosp (no idea what happened there) and she hasn't got any hair as yet...

I thought I might keep their first shoes as well, no idea why

Although actually i am v unsentiental and ruthless with "hoarding" so will probably not end up with much. I think DH is rescuing the pics DD1 does at nursery from the recycling and hiding them from me

What have you kept?

cfc · 30/04/2010 15:18

I have a record of S's, kind of like a diary with important milestones written in. I would like to think that when, God willing, he has his own babies, he can refer to this with his own wife and compare his record with that of his own son/daughter.

I would have loved to have been able to do this with my own record or hubby's. Whenever we ask questions we tend to get "can't remember"!!

I think they are for both of you and will certainly be using the memory box we got from a friend on his Baptism.

Earthstar · 30/04/2010 15:18

?
have you unflounced already TDWP?

Ivykaty44 · 30/04/2010 15:19

I am collecting an archive in my attic I have scavenged archival boxes and have 7 in the attic with mine and my mums, and both my paternal and maternal grandmothers memories.

I love looking through the letters from my gran to my mum - she died when I was 3 months old (my gran) and it gives me a real picture of who she is from her letters, she wasn't afraid to use the term bitch in the early 60's...

I have birthdays cards from my mums 21st and postcards from her friends at school - one who was a balerina and travlled all over the world and sent cards to my mum.

I have my mum's diary's, just simple what we did stuff from the late 60's to early 70's and it is really lovely, stuf all about me that my own daughter has really enjoyed reading

Original poster
TheDevilWearsPrimark · 30/04/2010 15:20

I have a box with loads of teen stuff- gig/ cinema tickets, letters from boyfriends, school tie etc

For the DC I have hospital band, but just one as one was a homebirth, first nappies, babygros, congratulation cards, 1st birthday cards, first shoes.

OP posts:
Original poster
TheDevilWearsPrimark · 30/04/2010 15:21

wow thats amazing Ivy what a treasure.

OP posts:
LadyBiscuit · 30/04/2010 15:22

I have virtually nothing from my childhood (second child, mother very quickly pregnant again after) so I'm hoping my DC will like them. I shall keep them and peruse them in my dotage if they're not interested though. Would be more than happy

I also have boxes of concert tickets, my old stamp collection, postcards and letter should they be more interested in those. Covering all the bases

Earthstar - was that really necessary? Really?

Original poster
TheDevilWearsPrimark · 30/04/2010 15:23

Earthstar if you care to comment then look at the other threads.

I am free to flounce and unflounce. In fact I'm a mumsnnet legend when it comes to flouncing.

OP posts:
Original poster
TheDevilWearsPrimark · 30/04/2010 15:25

Oh I have my rubber collection too

Hoping the DC will like it...I have some awesome rubbers

Brownies uniform too...

OP posts:
Condensedmilkaddict · 30/04/2010 15:25

I don't have one.

Too disorganised.

I do keep all their creative writing from school though.

I love reading the stories they come up with.

And when they have to write what they did on the weekend:

'On the weekend Mum went shopping for new shoes and we stayed home with Dad and ate chicken nuggets and played play station all day in our pyjamas. Then we had baked beans for dinner.'

No mention of art galleries, museums, concerts or any of the other educational stuff we take them too

Sorry - off topic.

Condensedmilkaddict · 30/04/2010 15:26

to

Ivykaty44 · 30/04/2010 15:30

The seven boxes do have photographs aswell and

my grandmothers reciets for her wedding and engagment ring in 1938 along with a voucher for a free clean..! Grandmother kept all the reciets from her parents burials (which came in handy for finding there grave) and gravestones, she also kept my first pictures which I now have.

I put a lot of photographs up on fb, so other family memebers could see. I had a lot of thanks for that from family members I have never meet in person.

I have no idea whether my dd's will want to keep nealry three generations of letters, diaries and paraphanalia...

I have a photocopy of one photographs taken in 1902, it is of my great grandparents wedding, the oldest person on the photograph is born 1840. The other lady of interset is Mr Tidball who was the mother of the bride and was host to R.D Blackmore when he wrote larna doone

Ivykaty44 · 30/04/2010 15:32

That should be Mrs Tidball and Lorna Doone

LaurieFairyCake · 30/04/2010 15:34

We had to do one (they even sent us on a course) so that DD would have continuity from care placements.

TeaOneSugar · 30/04/2010 15:36

My dd, age 6 loves to look through her box (we love looking through it with her of course) and she's started asking to put things in it.

Original poster
TheDevilWearsPrimark · 30/04/2010 15:42

Condensed - my uncle told me after the easter holidays hid DS(6)'s 'news book' read 'daddy had lots of men round and they all drank beer. mummy didn't do the cleaning and we went to grandmas'

Imagine...

OP posts:
Fel1x · 30/04/2010 15:42

Its definitely for the parents! I've got 2 DS's and cant imagine them caring about a box of stuff when they are older tbh.
I've kept hospital tags, birth cards, 1st birthday cards, first babygrow, first shoes, lock of hair and any memorable works of art so far for each of them.
I will enjoy looking back through them anyway

Original poster
TheDevilWearsPrimark · 30/04/2010 15:48

Do you have 'special' boxes too?

For my teen stuff it's all in a battered old shelleys shoe box

For DS I bought a turquoise leather case

and poor neglected DD...oops, it's all in an old handbag for now......

OP posts:
mrsbean78 · 30/04/2010 15:50

My parents kept a memory box for me: first pictures, little stories I wrote, the 'rules' of a club I made up (the Sterces club. It's Secrets backwards, geddit?), my first teddy, first tooth, hospital tags etc..

I quite like it. I don't look at it very frequently (last saw it about 6 years ago!) but I like that it's there and am doing one for my boy. I think it's nice to have your parents care about you enough to mark these little milestones, even if you never pay a huge amount of attention to them in your grown up life!

stressheaderic · 30/04/2010 15:58

DD1 is only 10 weeks old, we received 4 baby record books as gifts and I spent a very happy evening this week filling them all in with all the little milestones so far and details about her birth, family etc.

She probably won't give a monkeys arse that "she wore a pink babygro with a bunny on and a white snowsuit to come home from hospital" but I just indulged myself writing it all out

TulipsInTheSunshine · 30/04/2010 16:03

I have one for each child... preg tests, scan photos, tags and umbilical clips, first socks and tiny clothes, first shoes and toothbrush, locks of hair, all cards from the first year and assorted other bits and bobs (ie; ds2's has all the SCBU literature and his tags from there too)

They're for me mostly tbh, i'm sure the kids will be interested when they're olde but mostly they're for me

Original poster
TheDevilWearsPrimark · 30/04/2010 16:09

I saved the umbilical clip..in a plant plot of 'stuff' in the kitchen, then when moving house thought it had come from a toy I couldn't remember and threw it out, hehe

OP posts:
flaime · 30/04/2010 16:18

Our 3 have memory boxes with scan pics, outfit they came out of hospital in, first shoes and baby toys bought by great nan and grandma(both now deceased).

They also have christening and first birthday cards and jewelry bought for their christening.

Those were thing we put in, since then they have added school photo's, books their preschool made about their time there and tickets / brochures from special days out etc.

My kids are very sentimental like DH though and would keep everything they have ever owned if I let them

LadyBiscuit · 30/04/2010 16:33

I haven't got the umbilical clips but I did save the positive pregnancy tests (in a zip loc bag but still, they do have old wee on them )