How to Make a Dementia Memory Box

A dementia memory box is more than just a collection of personal belongings – it’s a valuable tool for evoking memories, stimulating brain cognition and providing a sense of comfort for people living with dementia. The box can hold a thoughtful selection of items that resonate with a person’s past life experiences, such as photos, keepsakes and sensory triggers.

Dementia memory boxes are often used in reminiscence therapy, with the aim of connecting a person with their personal history to foster moments of happiness and comfort. Making one for a loved one experiencing memory loss or confusion is a wonderful way to engage with them and share special memories.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to choose items for your memory box, organising them in a meaningful way and how you can use it as part of your loved one’s long-term dementia care plan.

What to put in your dementia memory box

There’s no specific formula for what you should put in your dementia memory box. One of the things that makes a gift like this so special is that it’s been designed by you, with your loved one in mind. Every dementia memory box is unique to a person’s life experiences, family and friends, and interests.

However, there are certain things that can be placed in your memory box specifically to stimulate memories and trigger emotions. The five senses are incredibly important when jogging memory, so include things that can be smelled, touched, heard and touched as well as seen.

Here are some of the most common things to include in a dementia memory box:

Music

Music is so effective at bringing back memories of events, people and places from our past that it’s known as music-evoked autobiographical memory (MEAM). Add a tape, CD or vinyl of your loved one’s favourite piece of music to aid memories and hopefully help them remember when they first heard it.

Examples could include:

The song they had their first dance to at their wedding
An album by their favourite singer or band
A playlist of nursery rhymes they used to sing to their children
Their ‘special song’ they shared with a loved one

Photographs

Photographs can trigger memories of the people and places within them, so adding an album of loved ones and family events to your dementia memory box is a great idea. Try to keep all the photographs positive, as you want to avoid triggering negative emotions.

Photographs you could add are:

School photos of their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews
Wedding photos
Pictures taken on family holidays
Photographs with famous people, such as their idols
Pictures from their childhood of their parents and siblings

Some people with dementia experience a symptom called ‘time-shifting’ where they feel younger. Including photographs of big life events can help them remember pivotal life stages to prevent them from getting stuck in their younger memories.

Favourite snacks

Taste is a key sense, and certain snacks have the power to take us back to our childhood memories. Snacks can make us feel better even on really low days, so if your loved one is struggling with losing their memory or other symptoms of dementia, a happy trigger like food may help.

Newspaper clippings

Similar to pictures, newspaper clippings can also evoke memories of big life events and happy occasions. Seeing notable dates, such as their wedding anniversary or the birthdays of their children, on newspaper clippings can bring back memories of how that day was for them, encouraging them to remember why they have a connection with it.

Important events in history, such as a royal wedding, can also trigger memories of what your loved one was doing at that time. However, make sure you only choose happy events to avoid resurfacing negative emotions.

Mementoes

A long, happy life will have accumulated countless mementos, so it can be difficult to know which to put into a dementia memory box. Start with anything you think will trigger positive emotions, such as a milestone birthday card or key to their first house.

Adding several mementos is a great way to include different textures to see which is the most effective at jogging your loved one’s memories. Here are some examples:

Travel tickets to their favourite holiday destination
Hobby utensils, such as paintbrushes or knitting wool
Snow globes, or other trinkets that they enjoy collecting
Dried flowers from their wedding
Baby hats from the hospital

Scented products

Scent is another one of the strongest memory aids. We often only need a quick scent of a loved one’s perfume or aftershave to think of them. Effective scents to include in a dementia memory box are:

Soap or body lotion
Their favourite perfume or aftershave (or that of a loved one)
Flower petals
Scented candles
Talcum powder

Familiar textures

Feeling certain textures may be able to bring back strong memories and stimulate emotion in dementia patients. For example, a fuzzy or knitted baby blanket could evoke how they felt when bringing their baby back from the hospital for the first time.

Other examples include:

Their key ring
Wooden spoons or cooking utensils they used every day
A loved one’s fleece or hat
A teddy bear they’ve had for decades

Interactive elements

Interactive things can also be added to a dementia memory box to encourage engagement and prompt memories of the past. For example, if you used to enjoy doing 1000-piece puzzles together, add a smaller puzzle to complete. Wordsearches, memory games and reminiscence therapy prompts may also be beneficial additions.

Updating your dementia memory box

A dementia memory box doesn’t have to be a one-time gift. You can continue updating it to use again and again, making sure each item remains relevant to stimulate memories effectively. You can also remove items that aren’t as evocative as you’d hoped, adding new things to try instead.

Here’s how you can update your dementia memory box to make it the gift that keeps on giving:

Review the items regularly: Regularly review the items in your memory box to ensure they remain relevant and effective, and remove any that no longer work.
Change the theme seasonally: Update the box with seasonal items throughout the year, such as your loved one’s favourite baubles at Christmastime or pumpkin-scented candles around autumn.
Rotate the items: When you take something out of the memory box, there’s no need to get rid of it entirely. Rotate the items with new ones to keep them fresh and engaging, and introduce older favourites at a later date to spark a resurgence of happy memories.
Add new memories: Include new photos and mementos that relate to recent experiences and milestones, creating a blend of past and present memories.
Ask loved ones for personal contributions: Including personal touches from friends, family members and carers is incredibly special and holds significance for your loved one, hopefully evoking positive feelings of love and appreciation.
Engage in active memories: The memory box can be used as a tool to enjoy activities together, such as reminiscing and telling stories of the past. This can leave you with new fond memories with your loved one to carry into the future.

What is reminiscence therapy, and how can it help dementia patients?

Reminiscence therapy is an effective treatment for dementia patients, using sensory prompts like photos, objects, sounds, smells and music to recall comforting memories. Dementia often impacts short-term memory first, leading to feelings of disorientation and isolation, while long-term memory remains intact. Focusing on past memories may bring a sense of belonging and reduce dementia-induced anxiety.

Sometimes, talking to someone with dementia about your shared past experiences is enough to boost their mood. However, a dementia box often uses sensory items to trigger stronger memories and emotions. Reminiscence therapy can be encouraged by anyone through a memory box, including loved ones and a professional carer.

How Trinity Homecare can help

Whether your loved one requires live-in or visiting support, Trinity Homecare’s friendly carers are here to help. We’ll match them with a fully trained carer with experience in dementia and its stages to ensure they get as much support as is needed, all from the comfort of their own home. Both visiting and live-in carers can use a dementia memory box for reminiscence therapy and help collect items and curate the box.

The care we provide includes:

One-to-one support at home
Completely bespoke live-in care that has been tailored to you
Specialist care for a number of different circumstances
Home carers carefully matched to your needs
CQC rated ‘Outstanding’ live-in care services

We aim to assign a single carer to your loved one to prevent confusion or the mistaken belief that they’re in someone else’s house due to the presence of multiple unfamiliar faces. This allows them to form a strong bond with their carer, making reminiscence therapy with your memory box more effective. Our carers offer exceptional care to our clients, upholding dignity, safety and independence above all else.

Talk to us today

If your loved one requires home care, chat with one of our friendly care team today. We offer a free, no-obligation enquiry and assessment service and are happy to offer information and advice to help you find the perfect home care solution.

Call us on 020 4572 5583 in confidence for a free no obligation quotation. If enquiring outside of our opening hours, please complete our online form and we will contact you the next day.