Some of my friends have lost loved ones recently, including beloved pets. We discuss intangible as well as tangible memories of them. They speak of nuggets of memories and happy or funny stories they remember about them. They hold tight to those memories as they grieve.
My friends and I honor the loss of their loved ones by gathering together to enjoy each other’s company, laugh and cry with them and lift a glass to their loved one. We also give them gifts in the form of tangible memories, something that won’t create clutter.
Some time ago, I wrote a blog post titled Organizing a Lifetime of Memories. This blog post was created with ideas to store, and some to display tangible memories. These precious memories that we hold so dear can quickly become lost, damaged, or piles of clutter if we don’t have an organized solution for them.
Some tangible memories come to us in the form of an inheritance. Some of these can quickly become clutter if we don’t have the room in our homes for them. This blog post I wrote some time ago titled, Inherited Items Can Quickly Become Clutter, provides solutions for these tangible memories.
Today’s post is intended to provide ideas for gifts of tangible memories to show our love and sympathy for the loss of their loved one without creating clutter in their homes. I encourage you to see if any of them make sense to give as a gift of a tangible memory for the loss of a loved one.
Gift ideas for tangible memories
- Plant a tree in their yard and include a sign or plaque with the name of their loved one
- Wind chimes are a musical way to remember your loved one as the breeze blows
- For those with gardens, there are a variety of stepping stones or other garden decorations you can get with sentimental sayings
- A piece of jewelry engraved with a favorite saying that you shared with one another
- An engraved paver stone at their favorite charity organization
- A trip to a mutual favorite location that you both enjoyed – this one is not really a tangible memory but it will not create clutter in your home
