Memory boxes
Small containers for what you can hold.
A memory box is a physical place for small things that held the person. It doesn’t have to be a box — it can be a tin, a drawer, a basket under the bed. The point is that it has boundaries, and you know where it is.
Pick a container
It should be small enough not to become a project, and beautiful enough that you want to open it. A wooden box, a biscuit tin, a hat box, a simple cardboard box you line with a favourite cloth. Whatever feels right.
What goes in it
- A photograph or two
- A letter they wrote you, or you wrote them
- A small piece of clothing — a scarf, a tie, a hat
- Their handwriting on anything — a shopping list, a card
- A piece of jewellery
- A recipe card in their writing
- A concert ticket, a pressed flower, a boarding pass
- Something that smells like them
- A voice memo on a USB
Nothing has to be valuable. The small things are usually the most powerful.
Boxes for children
Memory boxes are especially powerful for grieving children. Let them choose what goes in. Let them decorate it. Let them open it whenever they need to. The box says: it’s okay to still love them, and it’s okay to close the box and go play again.
Going back in, gently
You don’t have to open the box often. Some people visit it on anniversaries. Others leave it untouched for months at a time. There is no right cadence. The box is just there — a small place the love can live.
See all 64 guides in Grief & healing →
From bluetulipco.com/library/grief/memory-boxes — printed 1 October 2026.
General information only — not a substitute for legal, medical, financial, or therapeutic advice. Read the full disclaimer.
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