70th birthday memory book that starts with life now
Begin with the person's life now, then choose earlier chapters with their help or the help of people who know those years. Invite contributions from the people they actually spend time with.
A 70th book can start with a normal week: work, a class, friends, a garden or a regular visit. Choose what this person does, without assuming retirement or grandchildren.
A current-life opening gives contributors a clear task: one recent photograph and the date, place and activity it records. Earlier decades can follow in a separate section.
Make the memory book together
Invite people to send photos and their own words, then choose what goes in the book.
Questions about the seventy-year-old's life now
- What does a good week look like for them at the moment?
- Which activity have they taken up or returned to recently?
- Which skill from their working life do they still use?
- Which part of their working life would they choose to include?
- Who do they spend time with in an ordinary week?
- What do they make or do with those people?
- Which place do they keep going back to?
- What are they learning at the moment?
- What did they do at twenty that they still do now?
- What would they like to do in the next few years, in their own words?
Photograph an ordinary week first
In the month before the birthday, ask a partner or a close relative to take one photo a day of what they actually do: the walk, the class, the shed, the school run.
Choose a few activities the person wants recorded. A week is a possible structure, not a requirement to photograph them every day.
Mark the end of work without ending on it
If they have stopped work, give it one spread: the last day, the leaving do, the empty desk or van, a colleague's few lines. Then show what the skill turned into afterwards.
A retired joiner building a grandchild's bed or a former teacher running a reading group puts the two parts of the life on one page.
- Photograph the cover of a leaving card, not the messages inside.
- Ask a former colleague for one photo nobody at home has.
Contributions without a writing task
A child, friend or relative can contribute a drawing, photograph or recording instead of a written page. Ask what they prefer, and keep their words as they gave them.
- Photograph something they made together, whether a cake, model or repair.
- Add the maker's name, the date and an age only when relevant.
- Give each contribution its own space without comparing contributors.
Keep the earlier decades to their best spreads
Check the birth year from a reliable family record before using it. Select a few well-supported earlier chapters rather than assigning an invented event to every decade.
Pages to make
A week at seventy
Seven small photographs in a strip, Monday to Sunday, each with the day and a few words on what is happening. Use the photos taken in the month before the birthday.
A skill in use
A photograph of them using a skill now, beside an older photograph showing where it began. Include work or retirement only if it belongs to their life.
People they spend time with
A shared activity, a contributor's drawing or photograph, and the date it was made. Include friends or relatives without requiring grandchildren.
The page they fill in
A spread with a recent portrait and empty lines for their own plans. Hand them the book with this page blank and let them decide whether to fill it.
Questions
What should a 70th birthday memory book include?
Current activities, earlier chapters they want included, photographs with dates and contributions from people they know. Retirement and grandchildren are optional subjects.
How can very young grandchildren contribute?
A drawing, a handprint or something they made together, photographed flat. A parent writes down what the child says and adds the age.
Can a 70th memory book be shown at the party?
Pass the printed book round after the meal, or show a few spreads from a digital copy on a television. Keep the read-through short and let them see it first.