Play “Ancestor Basket” instead of “Fruit Basket” by assigning everyone in the group the name of an ancestor (use three or four names only then repeat by giving that name to more than one person). Place chairs in a circle. Have enough places for everyone to sit except one person. The person in the middle calls out one of the ancestor’s names and everyone with that name changes places while he tries to get a chair that they left open. Whoever is left without a place to sit is now the “person in the middle.” You can add the option to tell a story or memory about the ancestor whose name you were given when you are in the middle.**
If you could ask a dead ancestor a question, who would you ask and what would your question be? Tell everyone why you would ask that question.
Ask all members of the group if any of them are named for (have the same name as) an ancestor.If so, ask them to share the name and something about that ancestor, or have a parent tell why he or she selected that name for their child.
Ask the oldest person in the room to do charades (actions with no words) about a way life has become easier in our modern world (cell phones, washing machines, computers, and have everyone guess what it is.
Find something in the house from your family’s history and tell the group about it (if you are playing the game in your home). If not, then tell about a family history item you have in your home.
Share what your favorite family food is that your grandmother cooks (or cooked)?Ask three more people to also share.
Tell an ancestor story or ask someone else in your family or group to share one.
Select an ancestor and have the group guess who you are describing (without giving the name).Can anyone guess in “one” clue? Two? The winner is next (repeat).
Alphabet game – start with the letter “A” and see if the group can go through the alphabet with each person in the group saying something about their family or their family history beginning with that letter.
Have each member of the group (or select a few members) share a character trait of an ancestor they hope to emulate.
Divide into groups and separate to plan a charade about a favorite family tradition or family history story —act it out using no words and have everyone guess the answer.
Share a favorite family memory, and ask two more people to do the same.
Ask each member of the group to say something nice about the person sitting to the right of them (or ask a few people to say something about another member). This is now in the memories of these people – so it is part of their own history!
Lead the group in a favorite song of an ancestor, or share a poem from the past. If you can’t think of a song or poem from an ancestor, share one of your own favorites.
Have everyone (or some group members) do the “Human Knot” – stand in a circle facing “in” with eyes closed, put hands out and hold each other’s hands – unravel the “knot” without letting go of each other’s hands. How is this like researching family history? If the group does not want to do the activity, just tell them about it and talk about unraveling the past, and staying connected as families.
Have everyone (or a few members of the group) share one thing they would put in a time capsule (to be opened in ten years) and why they would select it.
What do you hope you will be remembered for? Ask a few more how they would answer this question.
For small children – write simple activities on several slips of paper (and keep separately in the basket) such as “give your mom or dad a hug!” “tell us why you love your grandma or grandpa.”
**Note: A variation of “Family History Fruit Basket” is called “If, Then.”
To play this game prepare questions and answers from your family history. As a leader, have some “actions” in mind (jumping jacks, run in place, arm circles, etc.) and select one for a “true” answer, and a different one for a “false” answer. Everyone stands in a circle and the leader calls out the ancestor’s information and each person decides if the statement is true or false and does that action. For example, a statement could be, “Great-grandpa Clark crossed the ocean when he was 17 years old.” Then the choices could be “turn in a circle 10 times if he did” or do “6 jumping jacks” if he didn’t. Everyone learns what really happened as the leader gives the correct answer.
One last fun activity does take some time and preparation, but is a very engaging way to involve family members in family history. Take an ancestor’s history and re-write it so it includes the words, “right” and “left” in the story numerous times. Have everyone bring a white elephant gift wrapped for the occasion.
When everyone is assembled have them sit in a circle holding a gift. (It may or may not be the one they brought.) As the story is read have them pass the gift to the right every time the word “right is said and then pass the gift left every time the word “left” is said. When the story is finished, the gift that an individual ends up with, may be opened and is theirs to keep.
A note of caution: this story should be long enough to impart information about the ancestor, but not so long that it gets tiresome. 1200 to 1800 words is about the right range—depending on the age of the participants.
Below is a paragraph excerpted from the history I rewrote of my father’s life for this activity. It is obvious that some of the rights and lefts are a little strained, but that makes it all the more fun.
“The fall when Seth was 11, his father had an accident riding his horse. The horse reared up on her hind legs and fell right over backwards on his father breaking his pelvis and dislocating his hip. From then on, he was left with one leg two inches shorter than the other, and he was never left without pain the rest of his life. As a result, he was left unable to work for about a year and a half. That meant they couldn’t pay the taxes and so they lost their 320-acre dry farm, and had to move right in to town.”