Family Recollections Video
Here is a project that you may want to take on. If not, maybe a teenager in your household could do it.
If you have family reunions, prepare for the next one by setting up a $25 tripod holding a smartphone set in landscape mode. Buy an inexpensive microphone that can plug into the smartphone. Here is one for around $15.
Test the system at home. Make sure it works.
At the reunion, set up the system in a quiet room. This could be a bedroom. Get a chair for you to sit in, and a second chair for the person being interviewed.
Interview relatives, one by one, about memories they have of growing up. It does not matter if you are not wearing a lapel mic, but you can. Buy two mics. Use a Y-splitter
Edit out your questions in the final version. Just get the relative talking. If you are a good interviewer, keep the questions on the video.
Drop a note to everybody you want to interview. Let them know in advance that you want to interview them about some of their favorite recollections. Tell them that you want to keep the recollections to about 10 minutes. It depends on how many people you want to interview. The final video should be no more than an hour long.
You can edit the video with free video editing software. It probably came with your smartphone. But if you cannot find a product, this is quite good.
Cut out the trivial material. Interview people for 10 minutes if you want to get five minutes on the video. Interview them for 15 minutes if you want to get 10 minutes.
Post your video on YouTube. If you do not want the general public to have access, then close it to the public. Send everybody a password to view it.
The final product will be terrific for grandparents.
You can also do a video with grandchildren. This would be a great Christmas present. Put it on a DVD. Also post it on YouTube.