25 questions to ask your grandparents

Grandparents carry a living history of the family: the towns, the jobs, the love stories, and the world as it used to be. These questions work for a visit, a phone call, or a holiday table. Bring the grandkids, and let them ask a few too.

Where it all began

1.Where did you grow up, and what did your street look like?
2.What did your parents do, and what were they like?
3.What was a typical Saturday when you were a kid?
4.What did things cost back then that would surprise us now?
5.What chores did you have growing up?

The world back then

6.What big news event do you remember most clearly?
7.What was your first car, radio, or TV?
8.How did people stay in touch before phones in every pocket?
9.What did you do for fun as a teenager?
10.What invention changed your life the most?

Love and family

11.How did you two meet, and what was your first date?
12.What was your wedding day like?
13.What do you remember about becoming a parent?
14.What was my mom or dad like as a child?
15.What family story should never be forgotten?

Work and wisdom

16.What jobs did you have over the years? Which did you love?
17.What was the hardest thing you ever got through?
18.What’s a lesson you learned the hard way?
19.What do you think is the secret to a long marriage or friendship?
20.What skill would you like to teach your grandchildren?

For the grandkids

21.What do you love most about being a grandparent?
22.What do you hope we remember about you?
23.What advice would you give me at my age?
24.What were you like when you were my age?
25.If you could relive one day, which would it be?

Keep their stories together, in their own voices

Give your grandparents an Afterlife Album. Simple screens let them write or record their voice right in the browser, with no app to install. Need help getting them started? Call 714-559-4979.

Give a grandparent an album Request a gift card

Want to see one first? Look inside an example album.

More conversation starters

Questions? We’re here.

Call 714-559-4979 or email memories@afterlifealbum.com