Losing a person or animal that you love is one of the most painful parts of life. It’s so painful because of the love you have for the people in your life and how wonderful that feels; losing that feeling seems unbearable and you can’t imagine not making more memories with someone that was such an integral part of your life.
You’re not alone in that feeling; it’s the human experience. It’s part of what makes life so worth it – the ability to feel love.
So, when the hard times come, and you’re feeling as if you can’t go on after losing someone, it’s important to remind yourself that, while the pain may never go away, there are coping mechanisms and it will fade over time. It will be less of a sharp, constant pain and more of a dull ache.
Grieving is a process, and sometimes it can take years to fully grieve a major loss, and we want to be there to help. Let us help you memorialize and remember the ones you loved, making them feel just a bit closer to you in memory.
Like many things, humans have been trying to understand our capacity to love for a long time now. We ask questions like “Is love real?” or “Does love feel the same to everyone?” We inquire about what love means and how those bonds form in our brains. We wonder if you can stop loving someone as time goes on. And, ultimately, we try to understand if other species have the same capacity to love as humans do.
In recent years, science has actually proven love as a human phenomenon that has an impact on both the psychological and physical health of a person.1 This phenomenon lasts our entire lifetime, all the way from infancy to old age.
The ability to love and be loved contributes more than anything else to our level of happiness and life satisfaction.
This isn’t all romantic love, the love we feel for family, friends, and even pets all increase our quality of life. It’s the strangest happening that is so hard to explain but so common to feel.
Something that contributes so highly to our happiness and increased quality of life when it exists, must then detract and reduce our psychological and physical health when it goes away if a loved one dies. Your brain, body, and heart still love that person, but they are no longer with you, so it’s incredibly painful to then feel that level of love.
This is why the grieving process is so nuanced, complicated, and individualized: we are trying to process losing the thing that makes life so worth it. While losing one loved one doesn’t mean that love is ripped out of your life entirely, it makes you question the entire idea of love.
You may find yourself wondering if it’s safe to love or if you should spend time on love if you’ll just end up losing that person anyway.
Losing someone changes your life and can take a while to recover from. To make things harder, it usually happens multiple times in life. Maybe you lose a parent young, then a friend later in life, and maybe your spouse as an adult. All these losses in life feel different because all your relationships feel different.
While we can’t take away your pain, we can offer helpful articles regarding the grieving process if you’re looking for more information. There is no right way to remember someone, but here at Everlasting Memories, we want you to feel as close to your loved ones as possible.
We have spent years designing memorial keepsakes to aid in remembering a loved one.
We have memorial ideas ranging from photo engraved keepsakes to cremation jewelry for ashes. We know not everyone wears jewelry, so we wanted to create products that could be used by everyone, no matter what your style is.
Jewelry has been used for decades to act as a token of remembrance for many people across many cultures. No matter what jewelry one prefers, it’s easy to find the perfect piece to remember your loved one after they pass.
You can find rings, necklaces, bracelets, and more. You can choose to have a photo or text engraved in the piece, and even add ashes to some.
However, we know that not everyone prefers to wear jewelry for many reasons, and don’t want those people to not have tokens of remembrance for the people they love the most.
We listened to feedback and used personal experiences to develop memorial tribute products that are not jewelry. Whatever your reason for not preferring jewelry pieces, we have got you covered. Your loved one can live on through a personalized keepsake or remembrance gift that offers a different aesthetic or function than jewelry.
When developing different ways for honoring a loved one, it was important that we understood the reasons that people might not want to wear jewelry. This analysis helped us to decide what products might make sense to offer and how we can best make everyone feel supported during a hard time. Some of the major reasons that people don’t wear jewelry are:
Different religious beliefs or practices may discourage or prohibit certain jewelry. For instance, the Seventh-day Adventist Church criticizes jewelry as an unnecessary and frivolous adornment.
They think that one should not be focused on outward appearance and see jewelry as a culprit of vanity.2 Other times, people may wear jewelry that represents a religious meaning or purpose to them, and not believe it is right to wear other jewelry with that, as their belief system says that religion should be the main focus
In some cultures or religions, it may be frowned upon to wear nontraditional pieces of jewelry. It’s understandable that people want to stand by their beliefs and honor their traditions, but we believe everyone who wants to should be able to honor a loved one with a personalized memorial keepsake.
There are a number of jewelry allergies that can make trying to wear a piece of jewelry incredibly difficult for people. Even very high-quality metals can still cause some reactions in people with extra sensitive skin.
Common jewelry allergies are nickel, brass, and even gold. Some metals will have trace amounts of irritants in them and some people have incredibly sensitive skin.
While we pride ourselves in producing quality jewelry memorial gifts, some skin will just not love having any type of metal against it regularly. Common symptoms of a metal allergy are redness, tenderness, warmth, and even swelling in the area.
Usually, the reaction is localized to wherever the piece of jewelry is and appears 1-2 days after exposure, according to the National Institute of Health.
Purchasing jewelry can be expensive, and the upkeep of jewelry can cost money as well. Commonly, these types of purchases just aren’t in the budget for some due to the idea that jewelry can be frivolous or overpriced. Our jewelry is all incredibly affordable if you do decide you want to check it out. You can find our selection here to see if there’s a photo engraved keepsake that suits your needs.
We know that the costs of someone passing are often very high, and it can be hard to see through all of the necessary memorial arrangement costs and the priority of honoring a loved one. We aim to make all our pieces practical and special, at an affordable price point.
We also tried to make some very practical items such as a memorial knife. The last thing we want is for you to not be able to adequately honor your loved one due to finances or frivolity.
Remember, grieving looks different for everyone, and whatever will help make the process easier for you is worth it. If you are struggling financially with loss or funeral planning, we have a helpful article that offers some tips on how to honor your loved one without breaking the bank.
In many work settings, jewelry may be a bit cumbersome to wear and could get in the way of the work you do. For instance, employees working on an assembly line may find that jewelry makes their job harder or is a safety hazard. If you work in the food service industry, having cremation jewelry could be seen as unclean.
You know your work best, but it’s no secret that shiny items dangling from your body could get in the way of what you’re doing in many settings. With something like a fingerprint bookmark, you won’t have that issue. Your remembrance gift will stay tucked away, safe in your favorite book instead of at work.
Similar to work, jewelry can get in the way during physical activity. Many people don’t like to work out with jewelry on or sweat in jewelry, due to fear of damaging the jewelry itself.
We make high-quality pieces, but still, we recommend a lot of our jewelry isn’t submerged in water for long periods of time. If you’re an avid swimmer, kayaker, or any other water sports lover, we recommend thinking about skipping the jewelry and reviewing a different personalized tribute.
It may sound silly, but personal style also plays a big role in identifying the best personalized keepsake for remembering a loved one. You may love wearing jewelry and feel it’s best to add another necklace or bracelet to your collection.
You may also hate wearing jewelry, and we didn’t want to make you feel ostracized for that. We try to make everyone feel like Everlasting Memories is a safe haven for them during dark times, and if we only catered to one style, we would be doing everyone else a disservice.
In many places, our male customers shy away from jewelry purchases because they just aren’t in their aesthetic as strongly. We have female customers who don’t commonly wear jewelry, too, so we know there’s a large market for products that don’t have to be worn on your body.
We hear you; our number one job is to listen, and that’s just what we have done with our non-jewelry memorial gifts.
Even if you don’t have allergies to common metals, it’s common to dislike the way jewelry feels. Some hate the cold metal feeling on their skin and others may feel jewelry is scratchy or annoying on certain parts of their body.
It could be frustration with how the jewelry gets in the way, too. For instance, it’s common to dislike bracelets because when you type, eat or do something that forces you to rest your arm on a table or desk, the bracelets get in the way and cause discomfort.
There are also medical conditions that have a higher risk of sensory overstimulation or sensory overload, and jewelry can further antagonize those feelings. For instance, someone on the Autism Spectrum may not enjoy wearing jewelry, but still want a way to memorialize someone they love, and we wanted to provide that to them.
Adorning flashy jewelry, or even simple jewelry, can put a big target on you in the eyes of thieves or pickpockets. If you have a stunning bracelet, necklace, or ring on, it could give the false sense that you have many other items of value that could be taken.
If you tend to travel internationally, it is often recommended that you reduce the amount of jewelry you wear to avoid dangerous situations.
We never want to put anyone in danger with our products. There are plenty of keepsake items that can be left at home, hidden away, or are less attention-grabbing that you may find to be perfect for what you need.
Aside from getting in the way at work, it’s not uncommon for employers to prohibit jewelry or other items that are not part of the uniform. While we understand this decision, it would be disappointing to buy a new piece of jewelry that you want to wear at all times, only to be unable to do so.
There’s no shortage of memorial keepsake items available, even if you don’t wear jewelry. Many of the items below can be found on our website, but there are a few items that we don’t sell at this time. We wanted to make sure you saw all your options, so check them out:
If you’re a fan of old-school style or simply want a small token of remembrance, our personalized memorial coin offerings are the perfect keepsake item for you. We recommend getting this item photo engraved with a picture of your loved one or adding their fingerprint to the coin.
You can also get up to 5 lines of text engraved on the coin, and keep it tucked away in your wallet or pocket. Your loved one will always be close to you but in a subtle and private way.
We offer a couple of different memorial keychain options. Both are beautiful and sleek. One option is a photo engraved keychain that laser engraves your favorite picture of your loved one on the keychain. If you prefer, you can also get a keychain with initials engraved on it, which tends to have a simple look.
These are great options for adding to your keychain and ensuring you feel protected while driving, or for clipping on to a bag or backpack that you have with you often. Similarly, to the memorial coins, you can also choose to add an engraved fingerprint to any keychain.
More and more memorial items for yards are starting to pop up. A garden bench is a lovely idea when remembering someone as gardens tend to be peaceful areas of oasis. If you need a place to go sit while feeling close to your loved one, a personalized garden bench is perfect. You can add large quotes or photos to the bench and make it whatever you want it to be.
Once the product is created, place it in the perfect corner in your garden with lots of light, so when you sit on it you can feel the sun rays in your face and imagine a warm embrace.
Sometimes the best way to remember a loved one is with a classic full color memorial portrait. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a high-quality photo of someone we love will bring comfort to any room in our house or office. It’s something you can quickly glance at during the day when you’re feeling alone, and it’s a beautiful way to show your loved one off to others as well.
For a twist on a classic portrait, take a look at our Commemoration Memorial Portrait that is made to look like a painting, with brush strokes and all! This gives dimension and movement to your favorite photo of your favorite person.
A Photo Wreath is a wonderful twist on the classic wreath we all know and love. It can be put on display at the memorial service or even be buried with your loved one. It’s all about what works best for you and all those who are grieving, but a wreath can add some color and vibrancy to a dark time. The fact that pictures can be added makes it all the more special.
For those that spend a lot of time in the kitchen or have a locker at work or school, our memorial photo magnet can be a wonderful option. It has a color photo of your loved one and can adhere to any metal surface. These are also great to hand out at memorial services, as they come in packs of 10 and can be easily shared.
A vase is a very versatile item to have in your household. It can hold flowers or standalone, but a photo vase to remember a loved one is a beautiful way to honor the loss. We recommend keeping the vase fresh with flowers so that you’re always associated life with your loved one, even though they are no longer here.
For avid readers who are experiencing loss, a personalized memorial bookmark can be a perfect item. Reading is a very private, personal experience, and having a reminder of their belated friend or family member as part of their reading ritual can be very powerful.
The bookmarks come in three different styles, all of the styles include the name of your loved one, along with a gentle phrase such as “Forever in Our Hearts” or “Rest in Peace May You Find Your Way Home”.
These are also great if you want people to take something home from the funeral or memorial service. Fill a table with memorial bookmarks and people will leave with a small token that they will surely appreciate.
We have mentioned our memorial knives in this article, but it’s one of our favorite non-jewelry remembrance items. A knife is such a personal thing to many people, especially a knife that they carry around regularly. It’s something you usually always have one you, keeping your loved one as close as you want.
You can add the fingerprint or signature of your loved one to your knife, so it’s even more personalized. We love the look of the fingerprint on the knife and our customers love that option too.
An ornament doesn’t just have to go on Christmas trees. Ornaments can be created to hang as a small piece of décor anywhere in your house. Getting a memorial ornament can be a great way to honor your loved one in your home. They’re also great to place at multiple locations throughout your house, such as all bedrooms if the loved one was close to your whole family.
Many people love the rearview mirror pendant to give your loved one the role of guardian angel while you are driving. Just because someone can’t be here in person, doesn’t mean they can’t look over you. Our rearview mirror pendants are a great alternative to Jewelry because they have a similar look, but some with clear wire to attach to your car mirror instead.
You can get these pendants engraved with photos or fingerprints as well to add that finishing touch.
Some people believe that the soul of their loved ones travel through the wind and love having a wind chime to connect them to those in the afterlife. If you don’t subscribe to that belief, a wind chime can still be incredibly beautiful and soothing. You can sit on your porch, close your eyes, listen to the pattering of the chime, and feel at peace.
Sometimes during grieving, even just being able to focus on something else, such as a rhythmic sound, can work wonders in the healing process.
Instead of carrying an old picture around in your wallet and risking damage or loss, get an engraved wallet card from our online marketplace! These can have pictures or fingerprints added and they stay high-quality forever. Our metal wallet cards won’t fade or tear like a real photo will, but it still allows you to keep your late loved one near you at all times.
We love memorial candles because candles are so symbolic in different rituals and meditative practices. Whether you’re doing some yoga or meditating on remembering your loved one, a candle can act as your center flame and allow you to feel connected to the soul of your loved one, in a way nothing else can.
If you aren’t into rituals or meditations, a candle can be put up in your house to smell nice and look beautiful, and our memorial candles do both.
If you don’t carry a wallet regularly, a wallet card may not be the right selection for you. We recommend opting for our photo engraved money clip instead! Just like the wallet card, it can be engraved with a photo or fingerprint, but doesn’t require a wallet.
A keepsake box can be whatever you want it to be. It can have photos, small trinkets, or even clothing from your loved one. Any item that was special to them that you’d like to encapsulate and protect can go in the keepsake box.
Understandably, many people decide to turn to DIY (Do-it-yourself) options when it comes to memorial items. Not only is this approach very affordable and accessible, but it allows each item to be hand-crafted with love and feels that much more personal. If you’re a DIY fan or just want to experience creating something to remember your loved one by, here are a few great remembrance keepsake craft ideas:
Nothing memorializes like the written word. Perhaps your loved one left you a note on the bathroom mirror declaring their love for you, or perhaps they wrote you a long letter during a big life moment that you never want to forget. Framing these things is easy, affordable, and incredibly personal. It’s an exchange that happened just between you and your loved one and it will remain yours forever.
A newer, yet very popular, way to memorialize a person is to take old shirts from their lifetime and turn it into a quilt or pillow. T-shirts are a great option for this because they are soft and will be cozy to wrap up in, and they come in so many different colors and styles.
You can make this yourself, or, if sewing isn’t your forte, you can box up all the old shirts you’d like included on the pillow or quilt and send those to a professional.
Similar to a keepsake box, a memorial shadow box can be whatever you want it to be. You can collect photos or tokens from your loved one’s life, or you can add in little things that make you think of them. Some people do this with the memorial service items such as dried flowers from the service and the funeral program. Like any good DIY, a memorial shadow box allows you to create from the heart, with only your memories in mind.
During a time of grief, flowers are often around. Whether they are flowers from the memorial service or a beautiful bouquet that was sent by someone offering condolences, drying the flowers and preserving them is a wonderful way to stay connected to your loved one. Not only are dried flowers beautiful, but you can do many things with them. There are places that can turn dried flowers into beautiful serving dishes or wall art, and you can do that DIY, too!
Photo luminaries surround your favorite pictures with warm, glowing light, making that special photo even more beautiful. This is something you can easily make yourself.
Additionally, there are some people who love to have lanterns in remembrance or even release lanterns at a memorial. If you plan to release the lanterns, we recommend buying those from a reputable source, so no damage is caused when they are released.
It might sound odd at first, but urns can be made out of anything, and making it yourself allows you to have full control. If you’re into pottery or glasswork, you are more than equipped to make an urn for your dearly departed.
There is no right or wrong way to display memorial gifts or personalized keepsakes, just like there is no right way to grieve. If you want to remember your loved one indoors, then display your items indoors. If you have a special place outside, find something that goes well there. Or, if you want it to be personal and kept close to you, get a small token that can fit in your wallet or pocket.
Another great way of honoring a loved one is online. You can share photos or memories with a broad audience or offer support in helping others grieve. The online community continues to strengthen over the years, and there’s no reason you can’t honor a loved one virtually.
While it’s wonderful that you have endless options to choose from, we know that can be overwhelming. We have a few guidelines that will help when trying to decide on remembrance gifts or personalized keepsake items. Our top four things to keep in mind when you don’t know what to pick are the size of the item, location or display, style, and the audience or gift receiver.
Think about what you want to size of the item to be. If you want a small portable item, that will be a much different list of options than if you want a big item to display for all to see.
Think about where you want the item to be, or, where you want to remember your loved one. If you feel like you’ll want to remember them while you’re driving along the ocean, perhaps a car trinket or pocket item is right for you.
Finding a token that fits the style of the person that is remembering a loved one can be difficult. It’s hard to know if you want something photo engraved or just text engraved. Do you want something big and flashy or something subtle? Maybe you want cremation remains included in the keepsake item.
Think about these questions when trying to pick. If you go the photo engraved route, this article will help you find the perfect picture to choose.
Who is the gift for? Maybe it’s for yourself, or for one person. Or, it could be for a larger group such as all funeral attendees or the immediate family of the person who has passed.
Yes! You can find a ton of ways to honor a loved one without jewelry. We have an extensive list above that can help you narrow in on what you might want.
A memorial keepsake is an item that is used to remember a loved one or honor their memory. It’s something that can be looked at or touched and help you feel a bit closer to someone who is no longer here to hug. Memorial keepsakes come in all shapes and sizes, and they can and should be incredibly personal. What you may see as a wonderful memorial keepsake may be different than what your friend wants as a keepsake.
Photo engraved memorial keepsakes are incredibly popular. There’s something powerful about being able to add a forever photo onto an item of your choosing. These items can range from jewelry to keychains, to portraits. In this article, you can find photo engraved jewelry options. If jewelry isn’t your style, the list above will be incredibly helpful.
Anything that honors a loved one and makes those mourning feel a bit closer to the person they lost is a great remembrance gift. It’s not about how much money is spent on the gift, or how fancy it is, it’s about how it makes you feel. If you’re giving a gift, no matter what you decide to give, anyone experiencing loss will be grateful for your thoughtful gesture.
Yes, there are lots of ways to include personal items from your loved one in special keepsakes, whether you are making or buying them. If you’re making them, explore creating a shadow box or t-shirt quilt; both of these are great options and allow for an intimate creation process.
Memorial keepsake items can make great gifts. No matter who is experiencing loss, people want to feel seen and supported. Whatever gift you give will do just that – offer a touch of love and energy during a very hard time.
While losing someone is heartbreaking, remembering them can be a beautiful and joyous experience. The feeling of your loved one being close to you even after their passing is one that will provide comfort for eternity.
Here at Everlasting Memories, we pride ourselves in not only being a provider of memorial remembrance keepsakes, but also a resource and web of support for those who have lost someone. We have many helpful articles to assist in navigating funeral planning as well as navigating grief, and more! We don’t want to be just a merchant that sells a product, we want to be a partner to you and your family through one of the toughest life experiences.
Above all, we are here for whatever you need. If looking online is overwhelming or you’re just not sure where to start when buying a remembrance gift, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We are glad to sit with you, help answer any questions, and ensure you get the perfect item to help honor your loved one. Your memories are what you have left after someone leaves the earth physically; let us help you preserve them.
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September 13, 2021 by Frances Kay