MennoNet.com

Hope Chests

i began learning about Hope Chests, or hope chests, as a young girl, from my mother+grandmothers.
Informal family traditions, young girls, preteens and teens, learning about sewing and home arts, would do practice pieces, and set them aside for when they would later marry and set up housekeeping. The contents could vary, linens and kitchen things, even baby clothes. Knitting, embroidery, crafts, anything that might be useful, decorative, sentimental.

i began talking with my granddaughter, now 16, about these a few years ago. for fun.
for a fun way of saying marriage is something to think about, to prepare for. also, to say, i hope to be present.
most of all, i hope it will be someone who loves you as i do.

i’ve given her a few things, a pie bird, a tea towel, recently, some demitasse spoons and pretty dessert plates.
this, without having a physical chest. but thinking about one. (space is tight.)

Thoughts on hope chests?

Amish Handcrafted / What is a hope chest? Fascinating Truth About the Hope Chest: History, Purposes, and Legacy
https://amishhandcrafted.com/what-is-a-hope-chest/

Brides / What Is a Hope Chest and What Does It Represent?
https://www.brides.com/what-is-a-hope-chest-5078181

i gave her something like this bag below. (there were discounts+credits, not costly.) she likes it a lot.

we’re putting our own spin on the tradition.
it’s far from filled, she can keep it in a closet or under her bed. space is limited!
easy to move-transport.

in time, if a more traditional chest is wanted/needed, no problem.
for now, we’re happy with this pretty, useful little bag. it’s special to us.