A gift for grandparents who have everything
Grandparents who have everything rarely want another object. A MemoriesBox gift gives them 380 questions about their life, answered in their own voice and kept for the family. Three months is $39, twelve months $139, delivered by email as a code they redeem.
Facts on this page verified
Why another object is the wrong gift
By eighty, most people are giving things away, not collecting them. The sweater goes in a drawer, the frame joins the others on the shelf, and the hamper is eaten by the visitors.
What a grandparent who has everything usually does not have is someone asking. Not "how are you", but "what did your mother cook on a Sunday" and "how did you meet him" — and then waiting for the whole answer. Most families mean to have those conversations. Very few record them, and the voice is the part nobody can get back later.
What the gift actually is
MemoriesBox interviews a person about their life, over many short sessions, and keeps the answers in their own voice.
- 380 questions in 21 chapters, from the house they grew up in to what they want to say to each grandchild by name.
- Their real voice, not a transcript. The way they say your name, the laugh, the phrase they always use.
- Follow-up questions, so "we didn't have much" becomes the story of how they managed.
- The family decides who gets a key. Children and grandchildren can listen later, and ask questions of their own.
Nothing is deleted if the gift runs out. Everything recorded stays readable and downloadable, and the export is free.
What it costs
| Gift | Price |
|---|---|
| 3 months | $39 |
| 6 months | $78 |
| 12 months | $139 |
| Lifetime | $659 |
Twelve months is the usual choice, because a life is told in short sittings spread over a year, not in one afternoon. If several of you are giving it together, the lifetime gift is easier to share between siblings than a subscription somebody has to remember to renew.
How giving it works
- Choose the length on the gift page and pay once.
- The gift arrives by email as a code. Print it, put it in a card, or forward it.
- Your grandparent redeems the code and answers the first question.
- Sit with them for the first session if you can. Twenty minutes is enough; the follow-up questions do the rest.
Who it suits, and who it does not
It suits the grandparent who tells the same three stories at every dinner, the one who has outlived most of the people who knew them young, and the one who says "who would want to hear about that?"
It is harder for someone who does not use a phone, tablet or computer at all. We are building a small device for exactly that person, which asks a question out loud and records the answer, but it ships in 2027 and is not a gift for this year. Until then, the honest answer is to do the sessions with them, on your phone.
Questions families ask
Do they need to be good with technology?
They need a phone, tablet or computer with a microphone. If that is a stretch, do the first sessions together: you hold the phone, they talk. Most people stop noticing the screen within a few minutes.
Can several of us give it together?
Yes. One person manages the account, and the others can add their own questions and listen in later, wherever they live. The lifetime gift is the easiest one to split between siblings.
What happens to the recordings when the gift runs out?
Nothing is deleted. A lapsed account becomes read-only: everything already recorded stays readable and downloadable by your grandparent and by the people they gave a key to. Only an explicit request deletes anything.
Where are the recordings kept?
In the European Union. Your grandparent owns them, decides who gets a key, and can export everything at any time without paying for it.
Related: A Christmas gift for grandparents · Questions to ask your grandmother · Questions to ask your grandfather · Questions to ask your parents
Give MemoriesBox. From $39, delivered by email.