When you are my nine year old daughter you get a really big present. A hope chest made of solid cedar and made by an Amish woodcrafter and shipped all the way to AZ. I obsessed with finding the perfect chest - durable, practical and beautiful and similar to mine. Something to survive a 100 years or more. The fun of filling it through the years is just beginning. Filling it with things that are useful and full of love to connect a new home with an old home.
So far there are Sue Gregg cookbooks and hand knit dishcloths made by my daughter - her first precious knitting projects.
My hope chest was once filled with things for the future and now it is holds precious memories - baby shoes and first outfits, letters and letterman jackets. It once belonged to my grandmother and when she went to her final home it came to me. Someday when I go to my final home it will go to my grandaughter or great grandaughter, Lord willing.
This is a wonderful tradition that is being lost. A great resource by Rebecca Wilson on the hows and whys is a good starting point to begin building a hope chest for yourself or your daughter.