Plans & Keepsakes™

    Legacy & Memories · Story Interviews

    Ask the questions now. Keep their answers.

    A guided set of questions for interviewing a parent, grandparent, or anyone whose stories you never want to lose — childhood, how they met, the funny moments, hard-won advice, and the traditions worth passing down.

    pull up a chair — start with one question

    Browse the questionsRecord answers in your account
    A granddaughter records her grandfather telling a story at the kitchen table, with a photo album and recipe card nearby
    grandpa's stories, in his own voice

    Four ways to keep the answers

    • Video

      Record their face, voice, and laugh. Best for stories, recipes, and heirloom walk-throughs.

    • Audio

      Just their voice — less pressure for camera-shy parents and easy to do over the phone.

    • Letters

      Write answers down, or have them write a letter to someone in the next generation.

    • Printed sheets

      Print the questions with space to write. Slip them into a binder or a family storybook.

    Suggested interview questions

    Pick a topic, add the questions you like to your sheet, then print it or bring it to your next visit. Nothing you choose here is saved.

    Where they came from, who raised them, and what everyday life was like.

    1. 1

      Where and when were you born? What do you know about the day you arrived?

    2. 2

      What was the house you grew up in like? Walk me through it.

    3. 3

      What were your parents like? What did they do for work?

    4. 4

      What chores did you have as a child?

    5. 5

      Who was your best friend growing up, and what did you get up to?

    6. 6

      What was school like for you? Did you have a favorite teacher?

    7. 7

      What was your first job, and how much did it pay?

    8. 8

      What did a normal Saturday look like when you were ten?

    9. 9

      What big world events do you remember living through, and how did they affect your family?

    10. 10

      What are you most proud of in your life?

    11. 11

      What did your neighborhood look and sound like when you were young?

    12. 12

      What games did you play, and who did you play them with?

    13. 13

      What was your favorite meal growing up, and who made it?

    14. 14

      Did your family ever move? What was that like?

    15. 15

      What did you want to be when you grew up?

    16. 16

      What was the first thing you ever saved money to buy?

    17. 17

      Who was the person you looked up to most as a kid, and why?

    18. 18

      What was the hardest year of your childhood, and what got you through it?

    19. 19

      What did your family do for fun that cost nothing?

    20. 20

      What was your first car, and where did you drive it?

    21. 21

      What song takes you right back to being young?

    22. 22

      What skill did you learn young that you still use today?

    23. 23

      If you could spend one more day at any age, which would it be?

    24. 24

      What did your parents teach you without ever saying it out loud?

    25. 25

      What would your ten-year-old self think of your life now?

    Add your own question

    Every family has questions only they would ask. Write yours and it joins your sheet.

    Your interview sheet

    0 questions chosen

    Tips for a good interview

    1. 1Sit somewhere quiet with soft daylight on their face, not behind them.
    2. 2Ask one question at a time and let silences sit — the best answers come after a pause.
    3. 3Follow up with "tell me more about that" instead of jumping to the next question.
    4. 4Keep sessions to 20–30 minutes. Several short sessions beat one long, tiring one.
    5. 5Say the date and who is speaking at the start of each recording.

    Ways to pass down the stories

    • Record a recipe while it is being made

      Film hands at work and ask why each step is done that way. Print the recipe card with the story beside it.

    • Narrate the photo album

      Turn album pages together and record audio as they name faces, places, and years.

    • Walk through the keepsakes

      Hold up each heirloom on video and ask where it came from and who should have it someday.

    • Write a letter to a future reader

      Pick one question and answer it as a letter to a grandchild who has not been born yet.

    • Make a printed family storybook

      Print the interview sheet with written answers and add photos — a keepsake for every household.

    • Repeat every few years

      Ask some of the same questions again later. How answers change becomes part of the story.

    Keep every answer with your plans and keepsakes

    Inside Plans & Keepsakes you can pick a question, record video or audio right from your phone or computer, or write the answer as a letter — saved privately to your Memory Archive.

    Start your plans and keepsakes