Meaningful ways to remember your loved one
Many people find comfort in keeping the memory of their loved one alive through meaningful actions and traditions. Remembering someone doesn’t have to involve grand gestures - often it’s the small, personal things that help you feel connected and bring a sense of peace. Here are some thoughtful ways to remember a loved one and honour their memory.
Plant a tree or flower
If you or a friend or family member has a garden, you could choose to plant your loved one’s favourite tree or perennial flower in their memory. Watching it grow and blossom every year can be a truly life-affirming way of celebrating how much they meant to you - especially if they had a green thumb. Lots of people choose rose bushes as memorial flowers because of their beautiful blooms and fragrance - creating a perfect atmosphere for sitting and remembering.
Choose a place to remember them
Choosing a plaque for a bench at a favourite beauty spot, or even a stone outside their team’s football ground, can be a lovely way to publicly remember your loved one. It also gives you and other people who miss them a place to visit and reminisce. Many local attractions or beauty spots offer ways for you to memorialise a loved one, or you can ask your local council about how to arrange a public bench.
Create a virtual tribute
An online Tribute Fund is a wonderful way to create a simple, beautiful webpage where you and friends and family can come to share stories, memories and photographs, as well as raise money for charity in their honour. Age UK Tribute Funds are quick and easy to set up - and you can celebrate the life of your loved one while helping to support people in later life.
Celebrate the anniversaries that mattered
Whether it's marking their birthday by raising a glass to their memory, or remembering the day you met by visiting a favourite place, many people find it helps to have moments where they think about their loved one and all they meant to them. You could also visit your Tribute Fund on special days to light a virtual candle or share a special memory.
Create something in their memory
There are many beautiful objects or keepsakes that you could commission or create to help you remember your loved one. A memory box can be as simple as an old shoe box filled with special momentoes - a favourite handkerchief, photographs or tickets from trips you took together, perhaps. There are also lots of craftspeople and makers who are able to turn objects and images from their life into artwork, jewellery or even a patchwork blanket.
Write about them
You might enjoy sharing stories about your loved one - or just writing them down as a way to remember what they and their life meant. Writing can also be a good way to process your feelings and cope with grief. You could buy a special journal, use an online Tribute Fund or share a memory on our Dedication page.
Keep their traditions alive
Perhaps there was a special recipe they were known for, or maybe they liked to watch a specific film on Christmas Day. Continuing with the little things that made them who they were can be a lovely way to take comfort in their memory and preserve their legacy for others.
Talk about them – Telephone Friendship Service
Sometimes we just want someone to talk about the person who's died. Other times, they may have been the person we shared our day with, so we feel lonely after they've gone. If you're over 60 and struggling with loneliness, you might like to consider joining the Age UK Telephone Friendship Service. We'll match you with a friendly volunteer for a weekly chat. Lots of bereaved people have joined the Telephone Friendship Service and gained comfort from being able to talk to someone about their loved one.
Offer ongoing support for their favourite cause
If you’d like to do something longer-lasting to support a charitable organisation in your loved one’s memory, setting up a regular gift is a great choice. Every month, you make a donation to a special cause - how much is up to you. If there’s a charity that particularly supported your loved one towards the end of their life, it can be a great comfort to you to know you’re able to ‘give back’ on their behalf. Lots of people choose to give regular donations to Age UK because they’ve seen how difficult later life can be and want to help us continue to be there for other older people.
Why donate in memory?
I gave to Age UK in memory of my Grandma
‘I hope the funds can go to help elderly people like her live their best life.’
We wanted to give back
‘When my mother-in-law passed away we wanted to give back to a charity who supported her when she needed it most.’
Give a gift to help others
A charitable donation in memory of your loved one is a lovely way of letting their kindness live on. By making a one-off donation to Age UK in memory of someone special, you’ll be helping to make sure more we can provide the information, support and friendship many vulnerable older people are relying on.
