Christmas Tree of Memories

  • 30
  • 60
Time
+ -

Benefits
  • Bring Joy
  • Time Together
  • Embrace Identity
+ -

Participants
  • One to One or Group Activity

What you need

  1. Large sheet of green card, cut into a simple Christmas tree shape
  2. Coloured glitter (biodegradable if possible) to add a bit of sparkle to the tree
  3. Glue
  4. Photos

Intro

So many Christmases, so many memories… and a whole lot more in photos! It’s always lovely dipping into albums to re-experience the warm fuzzy feeling of seeing the family together opening presents – or funnier moments, like Aunty Gertie burning the turkey. 

Before Santa arrives this year, why not dig out your festive favourites and mount them onto a paper tree? The joy isn’t just in admiring your decoration – it’s also in the process of reminiscing over all those wonderful years

The Activity

  1. Set aside enough time or plan a few sessions with one person as this activity can take a while
  2. Lay out a small selection of photos onto the table
  3. Ask the person to look at the photos and share their memories
  4. If the person struggles to communicate, look for visual clues on how each photo is making them feel and talk to them about it
  5. Ask questions about the photos as you go
  6. Once they have chosen some photos, or indicated that a photo sparks a happy memory, put them to one side
  7. Keep looking at more photos in small batches and talking about them together
  8. When all the photos are ready, get your paper Christmas tree out
  9. Encourage the person to arrange their photos on the tree
  10. Once in place, glue them down
  11. Decorate the tree by scattering glitter around the images
  12. Pop the tree up somewhere nearby so they can feel happy and Christmassy whenever they look at it
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