Creating meaningful mementos and traditions are all great ways to honor your loved one and feel close to them. These can be passed down in your family from generation to generation, enabling your loved one’s story to live on. What follows are a few ideas to help you get you started.
Mementos
Mementos can be anything from a simple memorial craft to a more intricate tribute — both are just as special. You don’t have to be an avid crafter to make a memorial item to pay tribute to your loved one. The meaning by the memento is what truly matters, creating something to bring you comfort during your grief and celebrate their life story.
Below are a few mementos that you can make in tribute to your loved one:
- Decorate a memorial frame to place your loved one’s photo in.
- Make a scrapbook of your loved one’s trips, holidays, and other significant life events.
- Print your favorite photos of your loved one to place inside a photo album.
- Use their clothing to make a memorial blanket or memory teddy bear.
- Start a journal for expressing grief, sharing memories, or telling your loved one about your life.
Traditions
In addition to memorial items, you can gather your family members and friends of the deceased to start a meaningful tradition to honor your loved one’s memory. Or you also can create your own personal tradition to honor and remember your loved one by.
Below are a few memorial tradition ideas to get you started:
- Visit your loved one’s gravesite, cremated remains scattering location, or a memorial location to leave flowers, talk out loud to them, or sit and think about them.
- Cook your loved one’s favorite food or famous recipe. You can invite your family and friends over for a meal to share memories of your loved one.
- Plan a trip to your loved one’s favorite places or visit a place that they always wanted to go see.
- Honor them at holiday gatherings by making a toast, leaving an empty chair open, or another meaningful gesture.
- Spend time doing something that they loved, whether that was gardening or watching movies.
