A sympathy or memorial gift is usually meant either for the person grieving, or as a lasting way to remember someone who has died. The designs below reflect both purposes — personalized plaques for a family to keep, and cards or smaller gifts meant to be given directly to someone in mourning.
Below are 33 real, downloadable designs from the Atomm community for sympathy and memorial gifts, organized by category so you can find a plaque, a symbolic keepsake, a design specific to the loss of a baby, or a card.
- All 33 designs below are real, currently published Atomm projects — not mockups.
- Most plaques and keepsakes can be personalized with a name and dates rather than being used as-is.
- A small, dedicated section covers baby loss specifically, for families who need a design built with that particular grief in mind.
- Designs are available from French-, Spanish-, and English-speaking makers.
Memorial Plaques & Signs
Plaques and signs for remembrance, in wood, slate, acrylic, and metal, several built to be personalized with a name and dates.
1. Memorial Gift
- Type: Keepsake
A general memorial keepsake, left open enough to be personalized with a name and dates rather than following one fixed motif. It suits a family who wants a straightforward remembrance piece.
2. Acrylic Memorial Plaque
- Type: Plaque
- Material: Acrylic
A memorial plaque made from acrylic rather than wood or slate, giving a remembrance piece a clean, modern finish. It can be personalized with a name and dates.
3. Memorial Slate Plaque with Portrait and Text
- Type: Plaque
- Material: Slate
A slate plaque combining an engraved portrait with a personalized text message, giving a memorial gift a photo-realistic element rather than a symbol or text alone.
4. "With Deepest Sympathy" Floral Keepsake Plaque
- Type: Plaque
A plaque combining a floral border with a "with deepest sympathy" message, suited to sending directly to a grieving family rather than as a standalone memorial for display by the family themselves.
5. Heart-Shaped Slate Plaque, Personalized Text
- Type: Plaque
- Material: Slate
A heart-shaped slate plaque that can be personalized with your own text, offering a softer silhouette than a rectangular memorial plaque.
6. Metal Sign with Butterfly Motif and Sympathy Quote
- Type: Sign
- Material: Metal
A metal sign pairing a butterfly motif with a sympathy quote, using the butterfly's association with transformation and remembrance rather than a religious symbol.
7. Memorial Serving Tray with Feather and Bird Sympathy Quote
- Type: Tray
- Material: Wood
A serving tray decorated with a feather and bird motif alongside a sympathy quote, giving a memorial gift a genuinely usable format rather than a purely decorative plaque.
8. "In Loving Memory" Keepsake
- Type: Keepsake
A general "in loving memory" keepsake design, left open enough to serve as a flexible base for your own personalization rather than following one fixed layout.
Symbolic Keepsakes
Designs built around common remembrance symbols — cardinals, angel wings, and a military medallion for Memorial Day.
9. "Cardinal in Smoke, Angels Are Near"
- Type: Wall Art
A design pairing a cardinal bird with the folk saying "when a cardinal appears, angels are near," a common symbol of remembrance in grief. It offers a nature-based symbol rather than a religious or text-only approach.
10. Memorial Ornament with Angel Wings, "Papa"
- Type: Ornament
- Material: Wood
An angel-winged memorial ornament made specifically for a "Papa" (grandfather or father figure), kept here as a real example of a finished piece. It shows how the angel-wings motif can be personalized for a specific family role.
11. "In Loving Memory" Keychain, Angel Holding a Baby
- Type: Keychain
A keychain combining an angel-holding-a-baby illustration with a changeable date and name, aimed specifically at commemorating the loss of an infant or young child rather than a general memorial keychain.
12. Red Cardinal Design
- Type: Wall Art
A red cardinal design, tying into the same folk symbolism of the cardinal as a sign of a loved one's presence used elsewhere in this collection.
13. Military Commemorative Memorial Day Medallion Keychain
- Type: Keychain
A medallion keychain featuring armed forces personnel and symbols, built for Memorial Day and military commemoration specifically rather than a general civilian memorial design.
Baby Loss Memorial Keepsakes
A small, specific set of designs for families remembering the loss of a baby or a pregnancy.
14. Memorial Ultrasound Frame
- Type: Picture Frame
A frame built to hold an ultrasound image as a memorial, meant for a family remembering a pregnancy loss rather than displaying a living baby's ultrasound.
15. Baby Loss Memorial Gift
- Type: Keepsake
A memorial keepsake made specifically for the loss of a baby, giving families a dedicated design for this particular kind of grief rather than a general memorial gift not built with this loss in mind.
Sympathy Cards & Gifts
Cards and gift-format pieces meant to be given directly to someone who is grieving.
16. Condolence Card, French
- Type: Card
A condolence card from the French-speaking maker community, giving this collection a card-format option in addition to the plaques and keepsakes elsewhere on this list.
17. Memorial Plaque with Cross, Spanish
- Type: Plaque
A memorial plaque combining a cross with an "eternal memory" message, from the Spanish-speaking maker community, for a family who wants a faith-based remembrance piece.
18. 8x10 Painted Canvas Memorial Poem
- Type: Canvas
A canvas piece sized 8x10 inches, carrying a memorial poem rather than a plaque-style engraving. The canvas and paint format gives it a softer, more traditional home-decor look than an engraved wood or metal design.
19. Memorial Flower Box with Tea Light Holder
- Type: Box
A flower box combining a tea light holder with an engraved sympathy message, giving a memorial gift both a lighting element and a place for flowers rather than a flat plaque alone.
More Memorial & Sympathy Gift Ideas
A second pass through the Atomm community turned up more real designs, expanding into new formats and materials — a coaster, a photo album, a bookmark, illuminated crystal blocks, and additional pieces for baby loss, faith-based remembrance, and specific relationships or professions.
20. Memorial Keepsake Coaster
- Type: Coaster
A round coaster-format memorial keepsake, giving a smaller, everyday remembrance option instead of a wall plaque. Its compact size suits a bedside table, desk, or shelf, and the open layout leaves room to add a name and dates for a personal touch.
21. Baby Loss Memorial Bookmark
- Type: Bookmark
A bookmark made specifically for the loss of a baby, offering a small, portable way to keep a memory close instead of a wall-mounted piece. It suits a parent who wants something quiet and personal, like a name kept inside a favorite book.
22. Baby Memorial Plaque with Footprints and Angel Wings
- Type: Plaque
A baby loss plaque combining footprints with angel wings, adding a second design to this collection built specifically around the loss of a baby or a pregnancy. It can be personalized with a name and date for a dedicated family keepsake.
23. Memorial Wallet Card with Portrait and Quote
- Type: Card
A wallet-sized memorial card carrying a portrait alongside the line "I will carry you with me," made to be kept on hand rather than displayed at home. It suits someone who wants a small, personal remembrance to carry day to day.
24. Memorial Card for a Father-in-Law
- Type: Card
A memorial card made for a father-in-law, kept here as a real, finished example rather than a generic template. It shows how the card format used elsewhere in this collection can be adapted for a specific family relationship.
25. Illuminated Memorial Crystal Block with Portrait
- Type: Crystal Block
- Material: Glass
A glass block engraved with a portrait and a memorial inscription, set on an LED base so the design lights up rather than staying flat and unlit. It gives a photo-based memorial a display option distinct from a plaque or picture frame.
26. Memorial Crystal Block with LED Light Base
- Type: Crystal Block
- Material: Glass
A crystal block memorial with an LED light base, kept here as a real finished example rather than a template. It pairs a laser-engraved portrait inside the crystal with a lit base, a display option beyond a flat plaque or frame.
27. Personalized Wooden Memorial Photo Album
- Type: Photo Album
- Material: Wood
A wooden memorial photo album for gathering multiple pictures in one keepsake, rather than framing a single portrait. It works well for a family who wants to keep several photos of someone together in one lasting piece, personalized on the cover.
28. Memorial Tile with Jesus Holding a Child
- Type: Tile
A memorial tile depicting Jesus holding a child alongside commemorative dates, giving this collection a faith-based image distinct from the cross design used elsewhere. It suits a Christian family who wants specific religious imagery paired with a name and dates.
29. Heart-Shaped Garden Memorial Stone with Scripture
- Type: Garden Stone
- Material: Slate
A heart-shaped slate stone meant for outdoor placement, such as a garden or grave site, rather than display indoors. It pairs the heart shape with an Isaiah 40:8 scripture verse, suited to a family who wants a faith-based marker outside the home.
30. Firefighter Memorial Plaque with Helmet Motif
- Type: Plaque
A memorial plaque built around a firefighter's helmet, made for honoring someone in that profession rather than a general civilian design. It suits a family or department wanting a tribute tied specifically to that person's service, personalized with a name and dates.
31. Heart-Shaped Memorial Plaque for Mum
- Type: Plaque
A heart-shaped wall plaque carrying an "I will always love you" message, made specifically for the loss of a mother rather than a general family member. It offers a softer, heart-shaped alternative to the rectangular plaques used elsewhere in this collection.
32. Memorial Keychain with Tulip Motif
- Type: Keychain
A memorial keychain built around a tulip motif with commemorative text, adding a new symbol to the keychains already in this collection. It suits someone who wants a small, carryable remembrance rather than a plaque or frame kept at home.
33. Tree of Life Memorial Design
- Type: Wall Art
A design built around the tree of life symbol, adding a third symbolic motif alongside the cardinal and angel-wing designs already in this collection. It offers a nature-based image of growth and connection rather than a specific religious or military symbol.
Final Thoughts
A memorial or sympathy gift is often kept for a long time, so personalizing it with a name and date gives it more meaning than a generic message alone. Pick a category that fits the situation, and personalize it where the design allows.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sympathy and Memorial Gifts
What is an appropriate sympathy gift?
A card, flowers, or a simple keepsake sent directly to the grieving family are all commonly appropriate. A personalized memorial plaque or keepsake is usually better suited to close family, since it's a longer-term, more significant piece than something sent as an immediate condolence.
What do people commonly do to support someone who is grieving, besides sending a gift?
Bringing a meal, helping with practical tasks like childcare or errands, and simply being present or available to listen are all common, valued forms of support. A physical gift is one part of showing support, not a replacement for direct contact and time.
Should I make a memorial gift myself instead of buying one?
A handmade or personalized memorial gift can be more meaningful than something generic and store-bought, since it reflects real time and thought during a difficult period. A DIY laser-cut plaque or keepsake is a practical middle ground between a fully homemade piece and a mass-produced item.
Where can I get a personalized memorial or sympathy gift?
Memorial gift shops, custom engraving services, and marketplaces like Etsy all offer personalized memorial and sympathy items. Laser cutting communities such as Atomm are another source, where makers share free, ready-to-cut designs you can produce yourself or have made locally.
What do certain symbols like the cardinal or butterfly mean in memorial gifts?
Both are common folk symbols associated with a loved one's presence after death — the saying "when a cardinal appears, angels are near" is widely used, and butterflies are often associated with transformation and the soul. Neither carries one single fixed meaning across all cultures or faiths, so it's worth considering what would resonate with the specific recipient.
Ready to make your own memorial gift?
Explore more memorial designs from the community, or try AImake to create something custom.