For the next few weeks I will be focusing on what items you can put into your hope chest. I hope you will join in and share some of what’s in your chest or what you plan on putting in it in the future. There are so many and for all different purposes like tools, books, handmades, heirlooms and so on. There is a never ending list! I know this will be so much fun as I share some of the items I have in mine and give you ideas for yours…. this week we’re just focusing on a few ideas.
BOOKS
A family Bible is a wonderful item to add to any hope chest, one passed down or one just for keeps. My family has a couple of family Bibles from way back, and it has inspired me to someday either have one of them for myself or save up some money to buy my own. Devotionals and journals are another great item to add as well along with the books.
Also, I recommend books and or curriculum that would be useful for educational purposes for when you teach your children, though one could fill their entire chest up with books for this purpose! Because I have quite a few books I would like to keep for my future homeschooling purposes, my mother and I tucked them away safely in the garage for now.
HEIRLOOMS
Heirlooms are another amazing thing to have in your hope chest as every item has been passed down from generation to generation and all, if preserved well, can still be very useful! I wish I could hear all of the lovely stories some of my heirlooms hold from throughout the years. I feel the same way when walking into an antique shop.
The Lord has blessed me with some special heirlooms in my hope chest. I have some baby clothes that my mother wore and when she had me I wore them. They were made by my great grandmother and they are in such good condition that I have kept them for (Lord willing) my children. I have kept some of my favorite dresses growing up that my grandma sewed for me. I even helped her make some of them. As well as some sweaters that my great Nan, great grandmother from England, and Nanny, my grandmother, knitted for me! Pillow cases, crocheted doilies, linens, and quilt tops made from my great, great grandmother’s era, fill my chest. Some of these items, like the quilt tops are in such good condition that I even use some of these items now around my room.
I know that some of you will be starting your hope chests from scratch, possibly not having any special heirlooms in your family, so I have three great ways to still have those special heirlooms in your own hope chest:
Start your own. Now is the best time to start your own heirlooms by making some. Dress up pillow cases by adding some nice lace on the edge or hand embroidering something on the end, Make quilts of any size you wish, how about cloth napkins, tablecloths, bags, etc. the list is endless as to what you can make. When you get older you can pass those items down to your children for them to use and their children after them! Heirlooms have to start somewhere right?!
Other ways to collect heirlooms….
Antique Shops are one of the BEST ways to buy heirlooms from someone who no longer wants them, and can be very practical and useful for ladies like us who want them for our hope chests! Antiques can get quite expensive sometimes.
Thrift Stores/Yard Sales. You can find some really neat heirlooms, books, quilts, and so on for so little, which may turn out to be more of a treasure than if you would have bought it else where for more. I have found some wonderful things at the thrift store before and I am always so thankful to the Lord for providing wonderful items for my hope chest!
Well, I hope this has been another encouraging post and that it has inspired you to start your own heirlooms. I would really do recommend for those who (like me) already have heirlooms to still make your own. They are wonderful to have and it creates memories of when you made it, and they can be just as useful and sentimental or even more so as they are brand new. I hope you will join me next week when I will discuss other ideas for your hope chest contents!
Grace and Peace,
About The Author
I *love* antique shops! what treasures you can find there. I hadn’t thought about curriculum, but that would be a very good idea.
Thanks so much, Antoinette, for this post!
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Great post Antoinette! Thank you for sharing that! :) I too have been saving books, but I don’t keep them in my hope chest either, but in boxes or on my shelf in my room. I have found children’s books that were favorites of mine when I was little at a good price and bought them. We have also gotten accidental copies of some of our books and I have those. Most of my books are on the shelves though, as they are actually my mom’s and in use right now! Lol! We plan on someday using all the books that we have collected through the years to homeschool our children (I have 2 brothers and a sister who also want to use them all!).
I don’t have many heirlooms, mostly because my great-grandparents and grandparents weren’t sentimental with things like that really and because they were poor (both sides) and went through the depression, their things got used VERY well! :) But I do have my grandmother’s (on my dad’s side) china set! It’s so lovely! It has gray and very light pink roses and a gorgeous teapot (I guess that’s what you’d call it! Lol!). I treasure that so much! It’s packed aways right now so it’s kept safe, but I have used it for special occasions before. :)
Thanks for all your tips and ideas about the heirlooms! I’ll have to try that lace on the pillows and making my own heirlooms. :)
Blessings!
~Miss Rachel~
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You are really doing a tremendous job with this column Antoinette! I am really enjoying hearing all your ideas and what you have and have done for your hope chest! Thank you!
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Well, I am now the proud owner of a hope chest! What splendid timing!
We’ve been going through a room that we’ve previously used as storage and cleaning it out so that my dad can use it as an office, and came across a cedar chest that used to belong to my paternal grandparents.
I asked if I could have it, and my parents said yes! It’s not in the best of condition, but I still love it. And Mom says we may stain it later so that the outside will look nicer. The inside of the lid is probably my favorite part, though, because one of us kids wrote in green marker “I didn’t do thiz” on it! We’re not quite sure who the culprit was.
Anyway, I’m enjoying your articles as I figure out what to put in my own. Thanks for the great ideas!
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This is a great column – keep it up, Antoinette! I love antique shops. I especially like old jewellery, cameos in particular.
Do you know where in England your Great Nan was from? I am from England too.
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I have one question about hope chests. What if you make a bunch of things in a particular style/color scheme, and when you get married, your husband really doesn’t like that style/color scheme? I would want to please my husband and defer to him. I have a baby quilt I made, but not much else.
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Donna (Antoinette's Mother)'s reply:
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Michaela ~
I am impressed by your thinking already about your future husbands likes and dislikes.
Anything you happen to tuck away in your hope chest that your future husband doesn’t care for could be used to give away as gifts to friends and family on special occassions. In this you will still be blessing your husband by saving him money on future gift purchases for others and by blessing your family and friends with special handmade gifts that could become their future heirlooms.
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Michaela's reply:
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:59 am
Thanks, that makes sense! I may have some more things in my hope chest soon…
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Jade~ My great Nan was from a place called Harrow, just outside of London! :)
Yes, I have a really neat family heritage! My Father is half English, and half Cheklesovokian (I think that is how you spell it?) and my mother is half German and half Scottish! I think it is pretty neat!
Michaela~ You ask a very good question!
Really you will never know exactly what you future husband’s color schemes for certain things will be. I try to stick with things that are not too foo fooey (if you know what I mean) and stick to more basic colors (green brown white etc.) not knowing myself what my future husband (Lord willing) will like! I do find that praying for these certain things (the right color schemes and such) really helps me when I am looking for things to put into my hope chest as well! I hope this was helpful to you, if anyone else has something they would like to share concerning this subject, feel free to respond!
Love in Christ,
Antoinette K.
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Jade's reply:
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Antoinette, you have such a cool family history! I am from Eastbourne, which is on the south-east coast of England.
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Michaela's reply:
September 3rd, 2009 at 7:00 am
Thanks Antoinette! That’s very helpful.
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This is wonderful, one thing I would remind mothers of sons out there, is that boys need their versions of a hope chest. I have a almost 17 yr. old son, and have started making him blankets and things that he will be able to use for his family. He also has things that are handed down, for instance his baby blanket crocheted by his great grandmother is put away for him. I still have my baby quilt, which I will repair the back of and hand down to him…I wore it out. So just remember mother’s of sons, they need this also. Especially as it is a lost tradition, and many young women no longer have hope chests. It’s wonderful to see it coming back.
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Miss Jocelyn's reply:
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:12 pm
I have also heard of making boys hope chests in toolbox form – instead of household items they are filled with tools.
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I love the hope chest section ! I am starting to collect some things, and I love the idea about books , although I’m pretty sure my collection wouldn’t fit in any hope chest :-) It’s so encouraging to hear from feminine young ladies who are already preparing for the future!
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What wonderful memories this post has brought up for me! I was blessed that my father’s mother left to me her cedar hope chest. It is very special to me because it was hers. My family thought I was silly but I filled it with linens, cookware, dishes, recipes and cookbooks, baby clothes, and things I had made especially for it. I had found most of my kitchen items at yard sales and second hand stores. I sewed some baby items (a dress and headband), and crocheted some booties and hats, and I now have two children who have worn those things. They were all the more special to me because I made them with love for my future children before I ever MET them! Before I was even married. I was so thankful for those items in my hope chest when I got married. Not just because of the nice homey start they gave me, but also and especially because my husband was in the military and I moved far away to be with him! I had no friends or family except my brand new husband and it was a comfort to me to use those special hope chest items around my house.
Speaking as a mother, I am excited to help my daughter fill this heirloom chest with things for her future! I would have loved it if my mother had made things with me to fill my hope chest! Alas she did not think it was important so she did not help me, but I as a mother now know how special it would have been if she had, and I know that working on items for it with my own daughter will be a special sweet time we spend together. And if she has a husband who is far away from me she will have to follow him, and the memories of working on the items together will comfort her when she uses them like my special items comforted me in the first lonely months of my new life.
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Antoinette's reply:
September 4th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Thank you so much for sharing your story with me Mirage! Yes, I cherish the memories (and the ones still being made) with filling my hope chest with my mother, and speaking to you as a daughter it really does comfort me even now (not knowing who my future husband is, of I f I will ever marry) knowing I have so many memories of me making things for my hope chest, and my dear mother knowing what kitchen utensils I should look for (and having some of her baby clothes I think is so precious!) .
I am so glad everyone is enjoying my column on FF! I am really enjoying writing these as I LOVE to share my memories, and ideas with you all!
Blessings,
Antoinette K.
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