I still have my hope chest but it holds quilts now. I had mine full of Tupperware (my big sis kept having parties), a quilt from mom, silverware etc. Then when I graduated high school I bought more things. Then after college I got married and had so much. It was fun to sit and look thru it too. I think I will start one for my granddaughter.

Well, there really is no hope left for my chest. The girls are heading steadily South. lol

I had a very nice one with a padded seat. My boyfriend bought if for me. Later he became my husband. I had it filled with glassware and dishes, none of which I still own. I dont even have the hope chest anymore. Had to sell it when times got bad. But now I have 2 more that are much more beautiful.

Yes I had one. My DF built me a wooden box covered in upholestry fabric and I packed it full with dishes, a coffee maker and anything I could find at yard sales for the kitchen. When I got married I think I had everything needed for the kitchen.

My sister did, but I guess my parents thought there was 'no hope' for me! To be honest, I wasn't interested in getting married at all...ant the thought of having kids turned my stomach.

So what happened? Married twice - the second time I got it right. 3 kids, 1 stepchild.

And still no hope chest!

Yes I had one. And loved filling it a little at a time.

a dear family friend with no children gave me her grandmother's cedar chest with brass bands on the top when I was 16 years old. It was 50 years old then. I filled it with chrochet doilies, embroideried dresser scarfs, tea towels that came in detergent and free glassware from the grocery store. It was full when I got married in 1964. I gave it to my daughter when she turned 16 and she still has it!It is full of stuffed animals and barbie dolls she can't part with. (She is 40 now)

I had a few pieces of tupperware and a couple of Holly Hobbie dish towels that I kept in a box in the closet. A few short months after I got married my dad's mother died. She was in a nursing home. Her things were in storage. They cleaned out the unit and gave me most of the house hold goods. Glasses, flatware, pots and pans, and some furniture. I teased my dad that he sent me off with a dowry, especially when he used to tell me he was giving me $20 and a 20ft latter when I wanted to get married.

When my step-son went to college, the whole family rummaged through their stuff and we all donated to help him. That started us on a hope chest for the youngest son just like the girls. He married while still in the Navy, and his hope chest sure did help with the household supplies. We had learned our lesson well, and provided him with lots of stuff that we found here and there, and from older family members we got unused, lovely real linens for all the kids. Most of the younger ones want older stuff, they see the cheap stuff that does not hold up in use, especially for half a life time like the real fabrics.

As a Christmas (I believe) present, my sister and BIL gave me a beautiful cedar hope chest. I didn't get the items in it, but I still have the chest! I love it! For a wedding present, my (same) sister and BIL gave me a new sewing machine because I complained that she had two (from grandmothers) and I didn't have any.