Maybe your shopping is finished. Chanukah, after all, is already in progress. If you’re searching for a few final things, I’d like to suggest two meaningful gift-giving ideas that will help keep the memory of your loved one alive.
Make a Game of It
Given how much we can do with technology these days, it would be a shame to not harness its benefits for children. Personalize a deck of cards with photographs of living family members and those you’ve lost. By integrating all your loved ones, children are seamlessly taught to value every relationship in their lives.
The same sense of recognition can come from customizing a board book for a toddler or designing your own memory game. There are many companies you can use, but I particularly like Paper Culture because it plants a tree in recognition of every purchase — giving customers the opportunity to dedicate that tree to whomever they wish. It’s a double gift! And no; I do not have any financial gain by making this suggestion. I just like the idea!
Give Objects Away
There are likely many people who knew and cared about your loved one, but not everyone will have a tangible memento. Maybe you have too many. Items that no longer give you pleasure may make somebody else incredibly happy. Gifting sentimental objects is a lovely and poignant way to share memories.
These ideas are called Forget Me Nots, and I share many more like them in my book Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive. My goal with every Forget Me Not is to provide concepts and strategies for remembering that will also amp up your joy.
It is possible to look forward, to live a rich and joyful life, while keeping the memory of loved one alive. I’ll show you how.