A great way to spend time with your kids is to juxtapose old pictures
Juxtapose Old Pictures:
While researching date ideas, I discovered juxtaposition photography. Juxtapose means “to place or deal with close together for contrasting effect.” A quick Google shows many example images of this photography concept. My idea is to take your old family pictures, return to their exact locations, and recreate them. By focusing on returning to the site, this date becomes similar to a treasure hunt.
You can play with many different variations of this concept on your date. One example is to take a picture in your grandparents’ house, such as one outside the church on their wedding day. Ask to borrow a copy of the photograph, or use that one, and return to that church on your date. Try your best to stand in the exact place as the photographer to recreate the shot. Another option is to stand in the new picture holding the old one. If the location has changed significantly, the recreation will make for more of a challenge – but that just means more fun and adventure!
Don’t worry if you don’t have many pictures like this, or don’t live in the same town. There are still great opportunities for this date! One option is to Google old pictures of your town and print your favorites, or find some at your local library, then take these pictures and recreate them. There are even helpful websites such as What Was Where and Dear Photograph (links provided below).
WMTDS (What Makes This Date Special):
This date can be exceptional, depending on how you approach it. There’s something unique and compelling about standing in the exact spot where a meaningful event happened in the past. You may have a favorite grandmother or aunt who worked at a local factory and has an old picture of her there. Return to that location with that photo to give new meaning to the image, while also strengthening your relationship with her. Or a significant historical event may have happened in your town that means something to you. Obtain a copy of a picture that embodies your connection to the event and return to that place. That’ll make your association with or interest in that event even more special.
Teachable Moments:
Using maps and GPS to find locations
Research of historical events
Relationships and family history
The teachable moments lie in the adventure of finding the exact location. At the same time, this date allows for good conversations with your child about what took place at that location. Depending on your approach, you can talk about particular family members or the historical event.
Variations:
My favorite among the many possible variations on this date is returning to the location with a close friend or family member in the original picture and recreating that picture with the original subjects. This could be a unique gift that would be of no expense to you while also being extremely fun and meaningful. My other favorite is taking a historical event you’ve always been interested in and recreating a picture of it at the original location.
Once you understand the concept, the endless possibilities for adventure and unique photographs are there for your mind and creativity to discover for this date.
Expense:
This can be a free date! There may be small costs to develop pictures if needed, but, even with that, this date is close to free!
A great way to spend time with your kids is to juxtapose old pictures
Planning:
The planning will depend on the image you are recreating. You’ll want to identify which pictures to use, as well as doing a little research online for locations. Google Maps helps identify and plan for the exact location of the photograph. Grab a selfie stick to take with you. We use one for our dates and love the images we take with them. This is a great date to begin using one!
Reference Websites:
Amazon Resources:
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Alternatives:
#5 Visit Your Childhood Places
#6 Capture Your Memories On A Map
For a list of other ideas on how to spend one-on-one time with your child, see the full list here.
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