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Home / Home Slider / How to have a vintage family slide show

How to have a vintage family slide show

July 7, 2017 by Gretta Schifano 15 Comments

Family arriving. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Family arriving. Copyright Gretta Schifano

For the last decade or so, my cousins, siblings and I have been getting together all of our extended family (on my dad’s side) for lunch at one of our houses every two or three years. There are now 28 of us, ranging from my parents, uncle and aunt, who are all in their seventies, to my niece’s three month-old daughter. We take it in turns to host, everybody helps with the food, and it’s always great fun catching up with everyone’s news, sharing memories and seeing how much all of the children have grown.

This year, for the first time, my parents said that they’d like to host us at their house in Surrey, because it’s 70 years since our family first moved there. They thought that it would be interesting for my cousins’ children, who live in other parts of England, to see where their grandfather grew up.

Food for our family party. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Food for our family party. Copyright Gretta Schifano

My grandparents moved to what is now my parents’ house in a small village in the Surrey countryside with their three young sons just after WWII. Before that, they’d lived in various cities, including Coventry, where their house was destroyed during the Blitz. We (my parents, my brother, my newborn sister and I) moved in with Grandma when I was five years old – she was by then a widow and was finding the house too much to manage by herself. My brother, sister and I grew up there, going to the same village school that our dad and his brothers had been to before us. I moved out at 18 to go to university, but now live just a few miles away from my childhood home, as do my brother and sister.

These days it’s hard to get the whole extended family together, but it’s wonderful when we do manage it. When we met up this time I was actually testing out a really smart new gadget, a BenQ GS1 outdoor projector, which turned out to be the perfect thing to use for a family slide show.

BenQ GS1 projector. Copyright Gretta Schifano

BenQ GS1 projector. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Mum and I trawled through our old family photos. We found some crackers from the 1960s and 1970s involving dubious hairstyles and clothing choices. Our matching outfits are quite cute in this one, but I’m not so sure about our haircuts:

1970s matching outfits and dodgy haircuts. Copyright Paul Young

1970s matching outfits and dodgy haircuts. Copyright Paul Young

My daughter put the photos together in a slide show, saved it to a memory stick, and we were ready to share it with the whole family, using the projector.

Preparing the Pimms. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Preparing the Pimms. Copyright Gretta Schifano

BenQ GS1 outdoor projector

The BenQ GS1 projector weighs just under a kilo and is very compact and portable. It comes with a rubber cover which makes it splash proof, and it works with both mains and battery power, so it’s fine to use outside. We had a marquee in my parents’ garden for our gathering, and so we used the projector in there, as well as inside the house. I’d charged up the projector’s battery at home so that we didn’t need to worry about tripping over cables while we were using it. I hadn’t thought to take along a tripod (I was focusing on Pimms, puddings and chairs), but the projector worked fine just resting on one of the tables. It was wonderful being able to look at the photos all together, and sharing the memories, stories and laughter which they evoked.

Using the BenQ GS1 projector. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Using the BenQ GS1 projector. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Family slide show with a BenQ GS1 projector. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Family slide show with a BenQ GS1 projector. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Apart from showing material from a USB stick you can also connect the projector to wifi and watch content from there (within minutes of me unboxing the BenQ GS1 at home, my son was showing us YouTube videos of people falling over). You can also use Bluetooth to connect to other wireless gadgets to watch a film or listen to music – my dad and uncle were on the case with the music at our party though!

The projector comes in a tough, nylon bag with a handle and so is very easy to transport. And once you’ve charged the battery you can also use it as a power bank for your other mobile devices – very handy!

Music provided by the grandads. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Music provided by the grandads. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Verdict

The BenQGS1 is a fun and versatile gadget which we’ve enjoyed trying out. It was great having it at our family party, and I can see that we would enjoy using it both at home and on our travels. My teenage kids are very keen on it and friends have asked to borrow it already – although I’ve had to decline as it’s a review sample and is to be returned.

More on outdoor projectors

My fellow Family Travel Collective members are also trying out the BenQ GS1 projector this summer, so do pop over to their blogs to see how they’re getting on.

Cathy Winston and her four year-old daughter took their projector on a trip to Port Lympne animal reserve. They spent the night in Rhino Lodge and had an al fresco movie night – you can see how it all went in Cathy’s post Films al fresco: testing the BenQ GS1 portable projector.

Kirstie Pelling and family used theirs for a pop-up cinema evening on the shores of Lake Windermere. It looks like it was a wonderful evening – you can see how they did it in their post How To Create Your Own Pop Up Outdoor Cinema Night.

Nichola West and her family took a projector along on their cruise around the Canary Islands and used it to watch their holiday videos – you can read about their trip in Nichola’s post Sharing Real Family Time On Our Cruise With The New BenQGS1.

Ting Dalton tried out her projector at a friend’s barbecue and it sounds like it was a hit with the kids – find out more in her post The Perfect Ingredients For The Ultimate Barbecue.

Disclosure: I’m working with the Family Travel Collective and BenQ to promote the BenQ GS1 Outdoor Projector, but all opinions, words, images and dodgy haircuts are mine and my family’s.

Do you look at old photos of your family and of your travels? We put together a vintage family slide show of some of our favourites and shared it at a family party, using a BenQ GS1 outdoor projector. Click through for full details of how we did it and how it went.

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Related

Categories: Life in General, Reviews, What to pack
Tags: BenQ GS1 projector, travel gadgets

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

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Comments

  1. Kostas says

    September 25, 2018 at 5:10 pm

    Brings tears of joy to my eyes, Greta. It is so rare to see this these days as we are all caught up in social media and checking everything on there. Plus the projector idea is great!

    Reply
  2. Jennifer says

    August 21, 2017 at 8:41 pm

    Nobody ever does this anymore! I love it! I want to do slide show party now:)
    Jennifer recently posted…Visit Vancouver Like a LocalMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      August 23, 2017 at 12:41 pm

      It was really fun – the kids enjoyed it a lot!

      Reply
  3. jonny says

    August 14, 2017 at 12:02 pm

    An article worth reading. Thanks for sharing it with us.

    Reply
  4. Kirstie says

    July 10, 2017 at 3:37 pm

    I’ve had a projector for a few years and never thought about a family slideshow at a party. But then the one we’ve been using is large and clunky and needs mains. The BenQ is more versatile it seems…

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      July 14, 2017 at 6:37 am

      It sounds like it definitely is – the BenQ is very light and portable.

      Reply
  5. Ting at MTM says

    July 8, 2017 at 7:56 am

    This is such a lovely idea and a great way to use the Ben Q projector. It must have been quite a nostalgic time for you – such wonderful memories and even better you were all together to enjoy it
    Ting at MTM recently posted…The June Digest: Heat waves, BBQs and British GardensMy Profile

    Reply
  6. Jenny (Mum) says

    July 7, 2017 at 6:36 pm

    Yes we had a wonderful day and being able to show the old photos as a slideshow was a great idea. Far better than having a memory board with little photos to look at. Thanks for all your hard work on the day and to my lovely Granddaughter for being so patient with us oldies. !

    Reply
  7. Cathy (MummyTravels) says

    July 7, 2017 at 1:02 pm

    I love this idea – how fun to have the family reunions as well and what a perfect way to entertain. Old photos are always fabulous, equally mortifying and wonderful, I am so tempted to raid my parents’ photo albums and create something similar. Thanks too for linking to my post.
    Cathy (MummyTravels) recently posted…Films al fresco: testing the BenQ GS1 portable projectorMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      July 7, 2017 at 4:14 pm

      You’re welcome Cathy, I really enjoyed reading it. I reckon you need to trawl through your old family pics now!

      Reply
  8. Jenny says

    July 7, 2017 at 12:03 pm

    What a lovely idea!

    Reply
  9. Nichola - Globalmouse says

    July 7, 2017 at 10:17 am

    Oh Gretta, what an absolutely lovely family event. I love the music being supplied and I think the idea of having a family slide show is just genius, I would love to do that with my dad and cousins etc This is so inspiring!

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      July 7, 2017 at 4:15 pm

      Thanks Nichola! It is lovely to get everyone together every once in a while, and the slide show was a definite hit!

      Reply
  10. Nell (Pigeon Pair and Me) says

    July 7, 2017 at 10:00 am

    Gretta I love the sound of your family parties! I have to say, your family did look very glam (in a 70s kind of way) in the old pics….
    Nell (Pigeon Pair and Me) recently posted…#CulturedKids July 2017My Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      July 7, 2017 at 4:16 pm

      Thank you! Our haircuts though! And I can’t believe how short our dresses were as children!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Films al fresco: testing the BenQ GS1 portable projector - mummytravels says:
    January 1, 2020 at 8:51 pm

    […] more inspiration, check out the family reunion slideshow from Mums Do Travel and recipe for a perfect summer BBQ from My Travel Monkey… Or how about making your own […]

    Reply
  2. Sharing real family time on our cruise with the new BenQ GS1 – Globalmouse Travels says:
    April 29, 2018 at 9:07 pm

    […] Gretta Schifano from Mums Do Travel had a nostalgic evening showing vintage photos at a family party. […]

    Reply
  3. The Perfect Ingredients For The Ultimate BBQ - My Travel Monkey says:
    August 7, 2017 at 8:44 am

    […] You can always use it to share memories as Gretta from Mums Do Travel did in her vintage family slide show. […]

    Reply
  4. How to Make Your Own Pop Up Outdoor Cinema with an Outdoor Projector says:
    July 17, 2017 at 12:34 pm

    […] Gretta Schifano from Mums Do Travel had a nostalgic evening showing vintage photos at a family party. […]

    Reply

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