Keepsake Ideas for New Families

There’s nothing quite like a new addition to the family! Whether your family grows through IVF, adoption, surrogacy or through more ‘traditional’ methods, the early memories of your new family are so precious, and they go by so quickly! So, we thought we’d put together a guide on some cute ways to keep these memories safe to reflect on when they are older (and also to embarrass them!)

1. Set up an email address

It’s super simple and easy to set up an email address for your little one. Hand out the email address to your family and friends and they can also send emails to it. When they do something funny or cute, send them an email. When they reach 16, give them the login details and they can sift through the emails with their memories, photos and videos of their younger years. We also sent Riley’s school photos and home videos to the email address (it acts as a backup as well!). We like to take photos that have the same set-up each year, so it’s easy to see how she has grown year on year.

2. Memory Books

Our Baby Record Books are perfect for recording all the memories of your baby’s first year, and the baby milestone cards help you to share those memories with friends and family (or send them an email with the photo!). If your family is growing through adoption then our Adoption Journal and Adoption Milestone Cards are perfect for recording about the process and your new addition!

3. Charm Bracelet

We get Riley a charm every birthday, then on her 18th birthday we will get her a bracelet to go with them. We write a little note with each charm explaining why we chose that charm. We choose charms which show what she has been into that year. So far she has a pencil, a cat, a stethoscope (kid was obsessed with doctors!) and a penguin.

4. Memory blanket / bear

We hated getting rid of Riley’s newborn clothes, but there are SO many, it’s not realistic to hold on to them! We took a selection of our favourites and sent them to an amazing woman who made it into a blanket- this has gone straight into her memory box for when she’s bigger. You can also get memory bears made out of their clothes. We have photos of her wearing the clothes and we emailed them over to her.

5. Keepsake Memory Box

For any other mementos, we use our keepsake memory box. We have used it to collect scan photos, tickets from days out, Riley’s first scribbles, first artwork, and the note where she first wrote her full name! On her first birthday, we also asked friends and family to write her a card for her to open when she turns 18. We haven’t opened them (they are for her!) but my mom said that she took photos of her car, phone, TV, etc., to show Riley how things were “back in the day”!