WORK / LIFE : MAKING MEMORIES
URING A ROAD TRIP last summer , I spent hours alongside my mother delving into crumbling file boxes filled with old photos , gala seating charts from New York City ’ s Plaza Hotel , caricatures , and restaurant menus from decades ago belonging to my great-grandpa and great-grandma Gertz . We imagined what life must have been like for them back then , and reminisced about more recent family gatherings .
This interest in the past is part of a wave of nostalgia that has swept the country during COVID-19 , with people digging up old family photos , movies , and keepsakes as a way to cope with anxiety and uncertainty , and feel more connected to family and friends .
“ We naturally use nostalgia as a way to comfort and energize ourselves ,” says Clay Routledge , a leading expert in existential psychology and a professor of management at
North Dakota State University , as well as the author of
Nostalgia : A Psychological Resource . “ When there ’ s a collective threat , that pushes a lot more people in that direction .”
Whether you ’ re revitalizing old photographs or videos , revisiting special letters or invitations , or creating new items of significance , here are a few ideas on how to preserve family memories and gift new keepsakes your loved ones will cherish .
Digitize old photos and home movies While stuck at home during the height of COVID-19 , Wendy Dykan spent months digitizing and organizing decades-old VHS movies of birthday parties , Passover meals at Grandma ’ s house , and trips to the beach . In one , her mother cradles Dykan ’ s newborn brother as beaming grandparents lovingly look on .
“ It gave me something to do outside of just kids and work , which I badly needed ,” she says . “ Watching my grandparents on video felt very special .”
With HP ’ s new service
HP Memories , you can have your old photos , home movies , film reels , and cassette tapes expertly digitized . Order an
HP Memories kit , fill the box with your keepsakes , and a few weeks later , you will receive them back along with a convenient link to download the enhanced images , and optionally receive a USB drive with the digital files . At the secure HP Memories facility , all items are tracked and monitored from the time they arrive until they ’ re returned to you via UPS .
“ We take the privilege of working with our customers ’ one-of-a-kind memories incredibly seriously ,” says Anderson Schoenrock , CEO of Memory Ventures , HP ’ s partner for HP Memories . “ In most cases , we are being trusted with the only copy of a particular memory , and we treat it with the utmost care .”
Customize photo books and other keepsakes Digital service
Shutterfly offers book themes like the
“ What a Year ” book or
“ Best Grandparents Ever .” You can also add family photos to items like
tea towels ,
playing cards , pillows , puzzles , and ceramic coasters . With services like Photowall , you can even turn old family photos into wallpaper murals for your home .
“ Photographs can be really reassuring ,” explains Krystine Batcho , a professor of psychology at
Le Moyne College in Syracuse , New York , and an expert on nostalgia . “ That person in the photograph can be a trigger to remind you of all the good times .”
For preserving your more recent digital photos in print , the
HP ENVY Inspire has the ability to print in different sizes like social squares or panorama and automatically add a date and location with two-sided printing . You can get creative with templates to make greeting cards and photo keepsakes using the
HP Smart app .
Create shared family artifacts Ami Neiberger-Miller , a writer in the Washington , DC , area , got free access to
Ancestry . com through her public library and lost herself in family stories as she created custom PowerPoint presentations for family members ’ birthdays , complete with old photos , a family tree ,
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