Celebrations and festivals, like Easter, are of course times of fun but when someone is missing from that celebration there can be an underlying feeling of sadness.
Remembering loved ones at the time of celebrations and festivals can help and also allows us to enjoy the celebration and remember that joy and laughter are allowed too.
Making an indoor memory garden gives a focus for your celebration.
What you will need:
- Branch, twig, bamboo skewer or similar and wire (if you have a garden you may have a budding branch that you can cut to bring indoors or if you are able to go on a walk you may find a fallen twig. If neither of those is possible, get creative with whatever stick you may have available e.g. a pencil and some wire)
- A small tray/container e.g. a plant pot dish, an old plate, a food container
- Moss from your garden – do not take any moss from anywhere other than your own garden. Or pebbles, glass pebbles, sand or soil
- A small vase, blob of plasticine or similar
- Coloured tissue paper or greaseproof paper and coloured pencils
- Cotton thread
- All-purpose glue
- Flat stone if you have one or a shell collected from the beach
- Craft paint or similar
- Half an egg shell
How to make your indoor garden:
Step 1: Cut out circles from your tissue paper or greaseproof paper approximately 7cm in diameter. If using greaseproof paper, colour the circles with wax crayons.
Step 2: Put two circles on top of each other and pinch the centre at the bottom to make a flower (see photos below) wind thread around the pinched part or sellotape. Tie or glue these flowers to your branch or tie them to the wire and wind it round the skewer.
Step 3: Place your twig in the vase or stand your skewer up by sticking it into the plasticine on your chosen tray.
Step 4: Cover the tray with moss, pebbles, sand or soil.
Step 5: Paint your stone or shell using the craft paint. You could write the name of the person who died on it or paint a picture of their favourite flower or favourite colours. Place the stone/shell in your garden tray.
Step 5: Take the half egg shell and wash it. You can fill it with water for a pond or compost if you have some and sow some seeds in it – any small flower seeds will do.
Step 6: Hang from the branch any small decorations to help with the event you are celebrating such as Easter eggs, Christmas/Hanukkah decorations, mini fairy lights, Ramadan stars and moons, birthday treats etc.
Step 7: If you have access to a garden you can also put real flowers in a vase in the garden.
You can remake this garden in a different way for any festive celebration.