Start with three decisions
- Who will open it? You, your child, your partner, a class, a family.
- When? Five years is long enough to surprise you; ten to twenty is long enough to move you. Tie it to an event (a graduation, an 18th birthday, a 25th anniversary) rather than a random date.
- What form? Physical, digital or both. Physical things carry texture; digital things don't take up an attic. Many of the best capsules are one letter plus a few objects.
What to put in a time capsule
- A letter, the heart of almost every good capsule. Say who you are today, what you hope, and what you want the reader to know.
- A photograph of an ordinary day, not a holiday.
- A list of current prices: a coffee, a gallon of gas, a movie ticket, rent.
- Today's headlines, or a printed front page.
- A favorite song, show and book this year, and why.
- Something with handwriting: a child's drawing, a grocery list, a note on the fridge.
- One small object that will look strange in ten years.
- Predictions: what will have changed, what won't.
Time capsule ideas for kids
- Hand and foot outlines traced on paper, with the date.
- "All about me" answers: favorite food, best friend, what I want to be.
- A letter from each parent, to be opened on their 18th birthday. See letters to your child for what to say.
- A recording of their voice today: reading, singing, telling a joke. Voices change faster than faces.
- A small toy they'll have forgotten they loved.
Family time capsule ideas
- Each person writes a letter to the family as it will be in ten years.
- A family photo taken in the same spot you'll photograph again on opening day.
- A list of family sayings, rituals and inside jokes.
- A recipe written out by the person who always makes it.
- A floor plan sketch of the house you live in now.
Time capsule ideas for couples and weddings
See love letters and anniversary letters for how to write the letter inside.
- Letters to each other, sealed on the wedding day, opened on the fifth or tenth anniversary.
- Guest notes: "What I hope for you two."
- The vows, the playlist, a pressed flower, the menu.
- A prediction from each of you: where you'll live, what you'll be doing.
Time capsule ideas for adults
- A letter to yourself at a turning point: a new job, a move, a recovery, a big birthday. Our questions to ask your future self can help you start.
- A list of what you're worried about, to be read when you know how it turned out.
- Three things you want to have done by opening day.
- A note from a friend who knows you well right now.
Classroom and graduation time capsule ideas
- Each student writes to themselves at graduation, or to the class ten years on.
- Class predictions, superlatives and a group photo.
- A teacher's letter to the class. For graduates, see graduation letters.
Digital time capsule ideas
A digital time capsule is anything saved now to be opened later. It won't be lost in a move the way a box can be, but digital files aren't automatically permanent either: phones break, accounts close and file formats age.
- A voice recording, telling the story of this year in your own words.
- A short video: a walk through your home, your street, your kitchen on a Sunday.
- A folder of ordinary photos with a caption on each, saying why.
- Screenshots of the group chat on a day that mattered.
- A letter scheduled to arrive on a specific date, so no one has to remember to open it.
Keep a backup
For anything you'd hate to lose, keep at least two copies in different places, for example your computer plus a cloud folder or an external drive. Check them once a year, and save photos and recordings in common formats (JPG, MP4, MP3) that will still open years from now.
How SENTiment fits in
With a digital time capsule on SENTiment, you write a letter, record a voice letter or a video message, and choose the day it arrives. If the capsule should be something they can hold, the letter can be mailed as a real letter instead.
Keep your own copies of anything irreplaceable as well.
Where to keep a physical time capsule
These are general good-practice tips, not a SENTiment service.
Indoors beats buried. A closet shelf, the back of a drawer or a lidded box in a cool, dry place. Use acid-free paper or envelopes for letters and photos, and label the outside with an opening date.
If you do bury one, use a sealed waterproof container and write down exactly where it is somewhere you'll still have.
The one thing every time capsule needs
A letter. Objects remind; a letter explains. Write down why you chose each thing, and what you hope is true by the time someone reads it.
Open this when you've forgotten what this year felt like.
