Treasure Box of Memories

One holiday season, as Christmas was approaching. I wanted to do something meaningful for our mothers. Gone were the days when they needed things. Plants and flowers get repetitive. What our mothers had done for us through the years was treasured, and I wondered what we could give them that would convey our love and gratitude for them.

These are the kind of images I think of when I hear the word treasure.

So I set out to make our own treasure box. I found small boxes that resemble a treasure chest (see below – pretty close, right?). From a gold colored posterboard, I cut circles small enough to look like coins, but big enough to write a message on. The family came together at the table. We thought of favorite memories and things we appreciated and wrote them on the circles.  

We glued pictures on the other side of some of the circles, and gold foil covered chocolate coins on others.

It was fun to make the coins. When they were all done, we put them in the box.

We put a note on the top to explain the contents. It read:

“Life’s true treasures are the priceless memories we hold in our hearts. They shape us, strengthen us and motivate us. Thank you for the memories you have created in our lives.”

We mailed the boxes across the miles and imagined our mothers opening the boxes on Christmas morning and reading the memories.

My mother-in-law passed from this life last year. When she had moved from her home, we found the box on her dresser, just as we had given it to her. I hope she felt loved by the box she received that Christmas years ago. It’s not the price of the gift or the wrapping, it’s the thought put into it.

To make a box like this, you will need:

– 1 Box (Hobby Lobby has a good selection)

– Poster board – I used two-sided silver and gold (found at Staples). We made about 50 circles 2 1/2″ in diameter (I used a drinking glass as a template).

– Gold foil covered chocolate coins (I saw them at Big Lots this year).

– Scissors. glue, glue gun and markers

– Pictures to cut