I have “mom brain.” “I’ll remember this!” are my famous last words. From walking into a room to going to the store multiple times a day, something always seems to slip my mind. Forgetting to buy the milk and my glasses are already on my face are funny little things we’ve all done, but there are things that I don’t want to forget, like my toddler’s earth-shattering yet extremely obvious discoveries like leaves aren’t yummy, or my son’s packed GameTruck party full of wild boys having a blast. These are the things I don’t want to forget. 

No matter how old I get, I never want to lose the smiles, victories, and laughs my family shared. Those are forever part of myself, part of my identity. So, for all the mommas who struggle with “mom brain” and want to hold onto every memory, this blog is for you. Here are four fun ways to preserve your fall memories for a future trip down memory lane!

Create a Fall Jar

Hobby Lobby, here we come! Throughout this holiday season, hold on to things that have special meaning. Have your kids do the same. You can create one jar as a family or help everyone make their own. At the end of the season, pull out some glass jars, glue, your memory items, and a piece of paper. Write down the memory that corresponds to each item. Arrange, glue, and decorate your jar to match your style. Hide your paper in the jar. At the end of this process, you’ll have a beautiful decoration and a capsule ready to save all your fall memories.

Start a Journal for your Fall Memories!

Writing has captured the human experience for thousands of years, so why not try it with yours? You don’t need pages upon pages of beautifully crafted words unless that’s what you want. Sometimes the best memories are short, sweet, and made of broken sentences. Did your toddler reach a brilliantly obvious deduction about life, like cows can’t fly? Maybe your son won his first-ever football game. Did your daughter learn a new skill? Did your spouse or partner tell a joke that made you pee your pants? All of these are perfect examples of things to write down. While these events may only be a few sentences in your diary, they will warm your heart every time you read them. 

Start a Family Journal.

Another option is to create a family journal. Allow your kids to write down, or have you write down, something that they feel is important to them. It may not make sense to them or us in the future, but it’ll provide plenty of laughs in the future to see how their little minds once worked. 

Do a Family Scrapbook for your Fall Memories!

If writing isn’t your thing, try a scrapbook! And, yes, they do sell kits! Scrapbooks can be a fun way to introduce your kids to their creativity with layouts, design principles, and much more! Scrapbooks also provide the fantastic opportunity to print all those pictures we’ve been meaning to print for months.

Make a Home Video!

Are you feeling nostalgia with this idea? While the process might be a bit different than how our parents made family videos, creating your own is a wonderful way to preserve memories, and the cool part is that most of us already have everything we need to do it. Most phones now shoot in 4K, so wipe off your camera lens and capture the moments you want to save! 

Once you’re done, you can download the app of your choice (or use Instagram) to combine the footage, add transitions, music, stickers, etc, to create the perfect home video.

Motherhood transformed me. It’s been a beautiful journey that’s taught me so much. “Mom” is more than just a title to me. It’s part of myself, my identity, and I don’t ever want to lose all of the positive fall memories that have made me who I am today. From family vacations to GameTruck birthday parties, I want to cherish them forever.