We have all known from a young age that death is part of life, yet when someone we know and love sadly dies, we feel bereaved and emotional. Of course we feel bereaved and emotional, if we’ve spent a lot of time with someone over the years that we’ve known them, we should feel saddened by the loss, and we should look for ways to remember them.

Regardless of what relationship you had with the deceased person, if you were close then you will most likely want to remember them as well as possible, and a “memory box” is the perfect way to achieve this.

Memory boxes are most commonly used for a mother when either her child dies, or she has a miscarriage or a stillbirth. The memory box in this case wold most likely be filled with items that reflect how the child would have been or was.

Typically, most memory boxes will contain the following items; fingerprints on paper & ink, finger and hand moulds in clay, a lock of hair, clothes that were going to or did belong to the child and the child’s birth details, among other things.

Although that is the most, common, it is not the only time that memory boxes get used. Recently it is becoming quite common for people who know that their time is near to make one for themselves to give to their friends and family.

Memory boxes are made in this way if a parent knows that they are dying but their children are still quite young and need them around still, or if someone simply has lots of close acquaintances and wants to be remembered, then age doesn’t necessarily matter.

Things that are usually included in memory boxes include any personal belongings for which they are noted for having, for example if someone always wore the same watch, they would include that, lots of pictures are usually included and are mostly of the deceased person with the people who will be receiving the box. Fragrances also work well because they stimulate people’s minds to jump to whatever they associate with that smell.

Memory boxes will always be personalised with the deceased persons name and possibly pictures on the outside and will be something that the people who knew them can hold on to and cherish until the sad day comes when they make their own.