Many people hold a loved one’s memory alive after they have passed and strive to do so in their absence. Having a focal point to refer to in lieu of the actual person can bring times of comfort in those hard days and allow you to keep the connection you once had open.
There’s no one way to memorialize a person you loved and still do. The beauty of this lies in the flexibility and customization you can achieve when determining a fitting memorial.
It’s a highly personal thing to do, and it should be something synonymous with the relationship you lost and your relationship together. It needs to be something that respects your relationship and offers respect to a person’s memory.
If you would like to create a memorial that truly honors a loved one, these ideas can help you find something that is respectful of their life and their importance in your life, validating your feelings and providing reassurance.
Read on for some truly special memorials you can create.
Memorial Cases and Products
If you want something you can display but still retains that connection, choosing a memorial case or product you can add something to can be a source of joy and allow you to create something unique to your life.
For example, if they were in the military, you can choose from different Veteran Memorials, such as flag cases or medallion cases, to showcase this part of them and their commitment to their country.
You might find an urn with a picture of them works better for you, an ornament, or another item you can keep with you at home so they are still there with you.
Memory Jars
Memory jars are a therapeutic way to revisit past experiences with your lost loved one. You can fill them with any type of memory, from joyful moments to seemingly insignificant details that others might have overlooked. The act of writing down these memories can be healing, helping you to recall the good times and find solace in them. You can include stories or intimate moments you shared. You can even create a memory jar from a funeral service for others to leave memories. Whether you choose to keep the memories folded up in the jar or readily accessible, the jar serves as a comforting reminder of the precious memories you shared.
Memory Quilt
A memory quilt, like a memory jar, is a comforting way to remember your loved one. Instead of writing down thoughts and memories, you use clothing or blankets to stitch together a quilt. You can start by collecting their favorite t-shirts, blankets, or other items. Then, you can either learn how to sew or find a professional to help you stitch them together. It can be a comforting project to work on during cold nights or times when you feel lonely and miss them. The quilt serves as a warm and tangible reminder of your loved one, sparking memories and providing a talking point in your home.
Photo Books
Photobooks are ideal ways to help you collate all the visual memories immortalized in photo form. You can print them out or create a digital book, and you can flip through them whenever you want or need to. You can include pictures right from childhood until their final days. You can create different books to tell different stories. You can have a book relating to who they were as your child or a sibling. It can be a friendship book that shares all the good times you had, or it can be about them to explain their passions and hobbies. You can create one book or multiple books that cover all sides of who they were.
Story Jars
Again, very similar to memory jars, story jars are places where you write down stories that mean a lot to you. You then share these with others so you can reminisce, remember the good items, and even learn something new about them. The story jar can be created on themes, i.e., craziest adventures, the best advice they gave out, or their funniest moments. It can be on any topic or everything, but it’s a great way for you to connect with others who are feeling the loss and hear your favorite things about the person you collectively lost.
Plant a Tree
Tree planting has long been a popular way for people to memorialize their loved ones. It’s not just a way to help protect the environment; although this is an added benefit, it’s a simple life and growth that provides you with an everlasting simplicity you can treasure for many years to come. The tree can serve as a living memorial, a place to visit and remember your loved one. You can plant the tree in a meaningful location, or you can choose for it to be planted in a far-off place where trees are in desperate need. But regardless of where it is, it’s a long-lasting reminder of the person you love from afar.
Donations
Memorial donations are where money is collected on behalf of the deceased and their family to donate towards a worthy cause. The cause can be anything you wish or what they wanted, and it can be a meaningful and helpful way to really make a difference to others.
You can donate to a charity that helped them in their time of need. A charity in their honor, i.e., a veteran charity if your loved one was a vet. It can be an animal or humanitarian charity, etc. It simply needs to be something they loved or were passionate about or a cause close to your heart, and you can make a more significant improvement in others’ lives with a donation in their name.
Jewellery
Memorial jewelry is a great way to create a piece of jewelry that is tied to your loss. You can wear it and keep it close to you at all times. You can create memorial jewelry using pictures, fingerprints (paw prints for pets), locks of hair, and even cremation ashes. You can have these keepsakes turned into rings, bracelets, necklaces, lockets, and more to give you a stunning piece of jewelry to wear that you can treasure due to its significance.
Books
If you have young children who are grieving with you, a great idea can be to create a book in your loved ones’ names, whether it is their parent, sibling, grandparent, or other family member or friend. A book featuring their loved ones can bring them comfort. It can relive fun adventures they had or tell fictional stories with themes featuring their loved one as the main character, or it can be a picture book sharing details of their relationship. You can feature your child too in it if you wish. There are dedicated companies that specialize in creating books that interweave lost loved ones into fabric mementos you can treasure.
Memorial Bench
Do you have a special place you walked to, a location you enjoyed just sitting at and talking in the surrounding area? If so, then installing a memorial bench with a plaque can give you a way to still enjoy this activity in a place that holds a lot of meaning for you. It also allows others to see the person who enjoyed frequenting that space, sharing your love with others. Whether it’s along a coast, in a favorite park, or in a green space, talk to your local state to find out what your options are for installing a bench and a plaque in loving memory.
Name A Star
Naming a star via a company that offers this service can give you an extra special focus point that can help make the transition that little bit easier. An ever-shining light in the sky watching down on you can bring you a sense of comfort and a place to direct your thoughts and feelings while they’re immortalized in a truly unique way.
Memorial Website
If you wish to or if your loved one lived a voracious life online, forging connections with those they hadn’t met face to face or with those who became close friends with others in a digital space, a memorial website can allow you to bring together people from far and wide to pay their respects and have a central location others can view online to help them remember a special person in their life. You can fill the website with pictures and videos, write blog posts, share stories, and invite others to leave postings. Your funeral home might offer this service, or you can create a website from scratch that encompasses everything you need it to be so it’s a true representation of the person in whose memory you are creating it.
These are just some ideas you can use to help you create a memorial dedicated to your lost loved one. It should hold a physical place for you that has meaning and represents them in the right way.
