Christmas 1965 – yes I AM that old – my sister, Dad, Mom, and me (brother was taking the photo)
I have a confession to make. You see, my family is from the US and I have these vivid memories of gathering together as a family every Thanksgiving to watch the Macys parade together, followed by my favourite Christmas movie of all, Miracle on 34th Street. So, when my daughter was little, even though we live in Canada every American Thanksgiving I used to take a personal day from work and I’d let her play hooky from school so we could stay home to carry on that tradition. We’d snuggle up together, drinking hot chocolate and eating popcorn while we watched. We would talk and laugh and really connect. We’d share memories of holidays of the past and we’d talk about our hopes and dreams for the future.
My daughter the Christmas when she was 3 1/2 – she still gets that excited to receive a book!
Now, most of my relatives live in the US and my daughter is currently living in the UK, so Thanksgiving isn’t quite the same these days. I miss getting to hang out with everyone and especially to see all the new little members of our family as they grow up. It makes me want to freeze time, but of course, that’s not possible. Or is it??? I recently discovered the One Day app and it’s as close a way to freeze time with my family as you can get!
Me, my mom, my daughter
The One Day app is an instant movie maker that allows you to record yourself and your family sharing their thoughts and memories in short little videos. There are questions on a variety of topics for adults and kids to get you started. It’s super easy to use! The prompt (question) pops up on the screen and you just press the button to record the person answering it. You can record several different answers in little video snippets and the app will take those, put them together seamlessly, and add some lovely music so you have a beautiful video to look at again and again and to share with the rest of your family. Did the dog start barking in the middle of your video? Or maybe a loud truck went by? Or maybe, like me, you suddenly had a coughing fit as you were recording? No worries. The One Day app gives you the opportunity to rerecord until you’re satisfied.
Now, I have to say, I’m not crazy about having my picture taken and video – well that’s even worse! But as the family genealogist and historian, I know how important and how treasured these videos will be to my descendants. I’ve asked my family to take some time while they’re together on Thanksgiving next week to record themselves and the kids using the One Day app. It’s a great way for us to keep in touch, share our memories, and maybe even learn something new about each other.
So, what are you waiting for? Go grab yourself the FREE One Day app and start recording your family!
Oh and while you’re here, be sure to enter this fantastic giveaway presented by the amazing team at One Day. You could win a $150 Amazon gift card – wouldn’t that be a big help during this holiday season? And for all of you fellow Americans out there, I hope you and your family have an amazing, memory-filled Thanksgiving!
Disclosure – I received compensation for providing my honest opinion of the One Day app. As you can see it’s a fantastic app and I truly can’t wait for my extended family to start using it.
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