How much ash does a keepsake urn hold?

From about two tablespoons up to roughly 30 cubic inches depending on the design. That is a token portion: one person's ashes can fill many keepsakes with most of the ashes still remaining.

How do you fill a keepsake urn?

At home with a small funnel or spoon, or ask the funeral home to fill it when the ashes are returned. Most keepsakes seal with a threaded closure, and some families add a dab of adhesive for permanence.

Can keepsake urns hold something other than ashes?

Yes. Families use them for a lock of hair, a ring, dried funeral flowers, or soil from a meaningful place. They are simply small sealed vessels.

Keepsakes

The Best Keepsake Urns

A keepsake urn holds a small portion of ashes, from a couple of tablespoons up to about 30 cubic inches. Families use them to share the ashes among relatives, or to keep a token close after the rest are buried or scattered.

Our picks

My Favorite Keepsake Urns

Small urns worth keeping in sight, from hand-blown glass to brass and flowers. Several family members can each have one from a single set of ashes.

Our favorite

Songbird Blown Glass Keepsake Urn (Azure)

$160

A hand-blown glass songbird in deep azure, a keepsake that reads as sculpture rather than urn.

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Pearl Songbird Brass Keepsake Urn

$160

The brass songbird in a soft pearl finish, warm and traditional on a shelf or mantel.

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White Rose Flower Cremation Keepsake Urn

$150

A single white rose whose stem holds the ashes. Quietly beautiful, and often bought as a set for siblings.

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Lavender Rose Flower Cremation Keepsake Urn

$150

The same rose keepsake in lavender, a favorite for mothers and grandmothers.

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Orchid Glass Cremation Keepsake Box

$80

A small glass keepsake box with a pressed orchid lid, holding ashes or small mementos like a ring or lock of hair.

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Floral Bouquet Glass Cremation Keepsake Box

$80

A glass box with a floral bouquet worked into the lid, gentle and inexpensive.

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Juniper Wooden Keepsake Urn Box

$150

A wooden keepsake box handmade from reclaimed barrel wood, for families who prefer timber to glass.

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Mini Eternal Flame Ashes Memorial Paperweight

$149

A mini glass flame with the ashes swirled inside it, visible in the light.

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Mini Fresh Flowers Biodegradable Urn

$75

A biodegradable mini for releasing a small portion on the water, often alongside a kept keepsake.

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Products link to You Are Forever, our sister memorial store, or to partners; we may earn from qualifying purchases. Prices shown were current when this guide was updated.

What a keepsake urn is

A keepsake urn is a miniature urn holding a token portion of ashes rather than the full amount. Because one person's ashes fill many keepsakes, they let every member of a family keep something, wherever they live.

They are also used alongside a main plan: many families bury or scatter most of the ashes and keep a small portion in a keepsake at home.

Filling and caring for one

Most keepsake urns are filled at home with a small funnel, a teaspoon at a time, and sealed. A funeral home will also do this for you if you would rather not. Choose a spot away from direct sunlight for glass pieces, and keep the seal closed once filled.

Choosing one

Think about who it is for and where it will live. Sculptural pieces like the songbirds sit in the open as ornaments, boxes suit a drawer or bedside, and rose keepsakes are often bought as a matching set so each sibling holds the same flower. If sharing among several relatives, order together so everything arrives at once.

FAQ