Although most of the following ideas can be used to strengthen ties with anyone you miss, they are especially good for family members, young and old.

Create a Cookbook

“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, 12 years ago, I thought, Oh my God, the kids will never know how to cook my special things,” says Lynne Gordon of Hartford, Connecticut. It took her about two years to compile her favorite recipes into books for her two daughters, Emily and Lori, but the result is a treasure that she hopes will last for generations. “I want my daughters to be able to carry over traditions that are true to our family and that will connect us with my parents and grandparents and the family that will come after,” says Gordon, who remains cancer-free. “When my daughters use my recipes to entertain their friends and new families, I feel a tremendous sense of pride in their desire to stay close.”

Other Ideas

Make a recording of yourself reading a favorite children’s book for a niece, a nephew, or a grandchild — or for your own child, if you’re leaving for a long business trip or a hospital stay. End the recording with a sweet good-night message for the child (and all her dearest stuffed animals).

Give your long-distance grandmother a window into your family’s daily life by assembling an annual scrapbook of your adventures. Include Polaroids, postcards, newspaper clippings, travel brochures, and handwritten anecdotes you’ve collected over the course of the year.

For computer-friendly family members who are far away, create annotated online photo albums on Kodakgallery.com, Shutterfly.com, or Snapfish.com, adding pictures from birthday blowouts, weekend trips, and impromptu dinner parties so they can put faces with the names of all the friends you regularly mention over the phone. Or share personal video clips of these occasions on sites like Vimeo.com and DropShots.com.

Send someone who may be homesick a few clippings from or a subscription to her hometown newspaper.

When you move into a new home, channel your inner Jackie Kennedy and create a video tour of the house. Show folks around room by room, describing how you’ve decorated and where all the furnishings came from. If the video recipient sent you a housewarming gift, be sure to point out where you’ve put it and how much you’re enjoying it.

Embark on a joint project. If you and your mother share a passion for crochet, make a blanket together. (Select a pattern and yarn, then trade off on the job every week or two.) Or work a tough puzzle with your sister: When one of you gets stumped on that Sunday New York Times crossword clue, mail it to the other, and continue until you have completed the whole puzzle together.