Everyone writes a note. You open them at the next one.
The best family ritual takes five minutes: before everyone leaves, everyone writes. See you at the next reunion.
A family get-together leaves group photos, and almost never a trace of what people were thinking that day. Every Capsül account comes with one free capsül, dated up to 180 days ahead: enough to reach the next get-together if it's within six months. Below, two ways to organise the writing, and three family notes to borrow.
Before everyone leaves
Five minutes each, at the end of the meal. Delivered in a year.
The kids too
What they write at 8, read back at 18. Unbeatable.
One photo, one note
Add a photo from the day. The contrast does the rest.
The date
Set delivery for the day of the next reunion.
How do you organise writing as a group?
There are two options: one capsül each, or a single one for everybody.
One capsül each: every adult writes from their own account, the free capsül is enough, and the others only see their text on the planned date.
A single capsül: someone collects the notes on paper at the end of the meal, types them up, then sends it to the whole family. That needs a pack, to have several recipients. The upside is that children without an email address can dictate.
Either way, five minutes is enough. No more.
Which date should you set?
A certain date, not the supposed date of the next get-together. You always think you know when you'll see each other again. Then an uncle moves away, or Gran stops making the trip.
A capsül can't be moved. Pick a date that comes round by itself, like 25 December or the eldest's birthday.
Children's notes are worth keeping longer: what they write at 8, read back at 18, needs the Prestige pack. Some group openings have stuck in whole towns' memories. And a box put away in the loft often ends up lost, unlike a dated email.
What goes in a family capsül?
News from the day, bets, things dictated. Three examples, from longest to shortest.
To the family, This year, Phil managed the barbecue without calling the fire brigade. Noted. The little ones built a den behind the garage and won't say what's inside. I think it's the parasol that went missing. Nan asked three times whether we'd thought about pudding. We'd thought about pudding. See you next year, same place, same parasol if we find it. Jan
I'm Noah and I'm 8. When I grow up I'll be a firefighter or an ice cream man. I beat Grandad at draughts. He says he let me win but that's not true.
Zain, You lost the bet on the rounders, you owe me a chippy tea. I'm writing it down so you can't say you forgot.
Common questions
What's a good activity for a family get-together?
A group capsül takes five minutes and leaves something behind after the party. Everyone writes a few lines about the day, or places a bet, and the whole family finds them at the next get-together. Children join in too: those who can't write yet dictate to an adult.
How do you send the same capsül to the whole family?
You need a pack: without one, the free capsül has a single recipient. The number of addresses then goes up with the pack, all the way to unlimited on Prestige. Each member of the family gets their own link on the same day. The others can also write from their own accounts, each with their free capsül.
Can you open the capsüls all together?
Yes, if they share a date. Each recipient gets their email on the morning of the chosen day, and the link stays available afterwards: there's no need to read it the moment it arrives. The easiest thing is to wait for the meal and open the messages one by one, out loud.
What if the get-together is cancelled?
The capsül still arrives on the planned date, since it can't be rescheduled. That's not necessarily a bad thing: read separately, the notes from the last get-together often make people want to organise another. To avoid it, choose a fixed date rather than one tied to an uncertain event.