When my daughter left for college, I was missing her a great deal. I was so happy she was doing great things but such a big part of me went with her when she left. She began sending me an email every week with one of these memories. She usually fit it in between her homework, who knows maybe I was her homework. These memories helped me get through my missing her. Whenever I missed her, I would reread those emails and know she was thinking about me and all the times we shared together. It was so comforting and such a gift. I can’t even begin to tell you the impact it had on me.
I then turned around the next year and did it for my mom because I hoped to let her experience those same feelings. Funny thing, with each memory, I was able to relive them as well. Because my mom is older, instead of email, I had a letter sitting on her plate every week at Sunday dinner. Sometimes she waited and took them home to read, other times we read it right away and then we all got to share in the memory and add our thoughts. I then gave her a copy and kept one for myself so I had those memories too!
It's more than a gift for your loved one, it is also a gift for you. It was also a way for me to create the beginning of a personal history for her and the rest of my family. Gratitude for the person you are writing to is another great benefit you will receive doing this and you can share that with them at the end of your memory each week.
You can do this alone for an individual or gather your children and have them contribute too. You could get all your siblings to participate and each week have everyone add a paragraph to the topic for a parent or grandparent. Make it work for you.