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Copyright Grieving Parents 2009 |
Memorial Ideas & Keepsakes ~Ways to Remember and Honor Your Child~ |
In searching for my own ways to keep my daughter as close to me as possible and in as many ways as possible, I found lots of great ideas for remembering. I hope these ideas can help you or a loved one as well. *Funeral Service for your child. Honor them with songs, words, and memories. *Talk about your child. Tell stories, share your feelings and memories with those you trust and who support you. *Write about your child- in a journal, memorial website, blog, or just personal letters of love and loss. *Planting a garden in your child's honor. This can be at your house, a park, or the cemetary. You can include garden stones with their names engraved on them, statues, or garden stones like Angel Babies in Heaven or Garden Angel Art and Remembering Our Babies. *Memorial Jewelry, Keychains, etc. can be found at: La Belle Dame The Shining Light Fund My Forever Child Miscarriage Memories Jewelry * Create a memory box (we used one that we had already). After you have created this, you can put your favorite clothes, photos, and keepsakes in this box. *Make photo albums (if you have photos) or a scrapbook. You can check out Just a Cloud Away for a remembrance scrapbooking kit. *Get a portrait made of your baby. Here are a few people who you can check out: Portrait of an Angel Portraits by Dana Hanami Prints *Celebrate their birthday with cake, cards, and a balloon release. *Balloon release on holidays or birthday. *Have a memory bear made out of your child's blanket or clothing (or what should have been). Check out Daddy Bear Inc. where they specialize in memory bears. Or, you can check out Heaven Born for a memory pillow. *A Christmas ornament each year to hang on the tree just for them. This can have a photo, be a new angel ornament, or have their name. *Make a quilt (or have one made) with your child's clothing or blankets. You can even have a photo and their name put on it. *Have your child's name written in sand and photographed: To Write Their Names in the Sand Aloha Remembered *Have their photos retouched to not show feeding tubes, breathing tubes, discoloration, or bruises: Heartprints Photo Retouching *Make a donation to a charity related to your child's cause of death. *Participate in a local walk/run for an organization that raises money and awareness for your child's cause of death. *Create an organization to help find a treatment or cure or just for research for you child's cause of death. *Plant a tree. *Keep an angel statue in your house near their picture. *Create a photo collage. *Write a poem or story about or for your child. *Make a painting (or any work of art) *Light a candle for your child once a week, once a month, etc. - or just on birthdays. *Have a star named after your child. *Establish a scholarship in your child's name at a school they attended. *Release butterflies for their birthday or angelversary. (Check out Swallowtail Farms) |