A Thanksgiving family activity: map ten family stories in one afternoon

Why does this work at a family gathering?

Because everyone is already telling the stories. A map gives them somewhere to go. It also changes the question from "tell us about the old days," which nobody can answer, to "what was on this corner?", which everybody over sixty can. And when three people remember the same house, they correct and add to each other, which is where the best details come from.

What do you need?

• A laptop or tablet. Connect it to the TV if you can, so the whole room can see the map.
• A free Here My Story account, made beforehand. It takes a minute and needs an email address.
• One person to type. A teenager is ideal.
• The names of the towns your family comes from.

How do you run it?

1. Pick the moment. After the meal, before the football, while people are still at the table.
2. Open the map on the oldest person's hometown and zoom in until they recognize the streets. Hand them the room: "Show us where you lived."
3. Add a pin. Choose "Add a story," move the map until the pin sits on the house, and confirm.
4. Type what they say, in their words. Two or three sentences. Read it back to them.
5. Set the year and save. If someone has an old photo on their phone, add it.
6. Ask the next question and move to the next place. Let other relatives take a turn.
7. Stop at ten pins, or when people drift away. Ten is plenty for one afternoon.
8. Invite the family by email using the "Share map" button, so everyone can read it on their own phones on the way home.

Which ten places should you ask about?

1. The house you grew up in
2. Your school, and how you got there
3. Where you went on Sundays
4. Your first job
5. Where you met Grandma, Grandpa, Mom or Dad
6. Where you got married
7. Your first home together
8. Where each of your children was born
9. The place the family went every summer
10. The place you'd most like to see again

For more, there are 60 questions to ask your parents about the places they've lived.

How do you include the children?

Make them the reporters. Give each child one question to ask and let them choose where the pin goes. Children are often better interviewers than adults, because they ask what the adults assume they already know: what did you eat, where did you sleep, did you have a dog.

Can you record their voices too?

Yes, and it is worth doing. StoryCorps has run the Great Thanksgiving Listen every year since 2015, encouraging people to record an interview with an elder over the holiday weekend using its free app. The two fit together: record the conversation with StoryCorps, and pin the written stories on the map where they happened.

Does it have to be Thanksgiving?

No. It works at any gathering where several generations are in one room: Christmas, a reunion, a milestone birthday, the evening after a funeral. Thanksgiving is simply the day when the most families are together with nothing they have to do.

Common questions