THOUGHTFUL IDEAS FOR A NON-TRADITIONAL FUNERAL MEMORIAL
When someone passes away, it’s a tradition for the family to immediately plan a funeral ceremony in their honour and celebration of their life. This normally occurs within a week of the death, and whether held in a church or a funeral home, the service follows a set format and is highly formal.
If you don’t want a traditional funeral ceremony, you don’t have to have one. A farewell to a loved one can represent the uniqueness that they were when they were still alive. There are no restrictions on funeral memorials, so the possibilities of preparing one that will celeberate your loved one fully are unlimited.
Below are some thoughtful and creative ideas to get you thinking about how you may organise a unique memorial for a loved one.
Remembering Your Loved One though a Meal with Family and Friends
A simple memorial can consist of asking friends and family to eat at one of your loved one’s favourite restaurants. You can reserve a table, room, or the entire venue for a large gathering. Make a toast, tell stories, and even have an open mike session where everyone must share a story. Since it’s a small number of people, you maintain an informal and intimate tone in remembering the deceased.
Setting Up an Open House Memorial
Set aside a day or evening to host an open house at your home. Through this, people are free to come and leave as they like. You and other family members are free to converse with folks as they arrive.
You can play slideshow on loop for people to look at old photos, have photo albums set out for them to glance through, and put up a table for people to jot downfond memories and testimonials. Honouring your loved one in the comfort and safety of your own home with those that matter to them is a wonderful way to say goodbye.
Placing Your Loved One’s Memorial at Their Favourite Place
Consider a special area that your loved one liked to go to. Maybe there’s a place that meant a lot to them like a holiday destination or. If that’s the case, you can plan a send-off there.
Plan a picnic in their preferred park, a beach day at their favourite beach, or a barbecue in the woods. You’re not obliged by any rule to host a memorial ceremony in a funeral home, so you can host a small service or do something less formal.
Scattering Their Ashes
You may like to establish a memorial that includes the scattering of your loved one’s ashen remains after cremation. The site will be highly personal to you—whether it’s a beach, a park, your back garden, or a boat cruise. You can ask a family member to do the scattering service for you, or you can do it yourself.
Organising a Live Music Memorial
Make a reservation for a group to see your loved one’s favourite musician or band perform live. Alternatively, you can host a private event with a cover band. If your loved one liked dancing when they were still alive, then you can arrange for a dance party with a venue and a band or DJ. The concept is to represent a person’s life by getting together and doing what they enjoy.
Serving the Community in Your Loved One’s Name
If your loved one was known for their willingness to help others, then you can pay tribute to them in a way that benefits the community. You can have a blood drive, a tree-planting day, a neighbourhood clean-up, or even a get-together to cook meals for the needy.
There are many options, and if you want to honour your loved one by giving back, you can reach out to the local organisations in your area. They’d be ecstatic to be offered assistance for a portion of the day by a group of folks who wanted to give back.
Conclusion
When your loved one dies, a cremation service allows you to plan the cremation and then put together the appropriate memorial ceremony to honour their life. Do not feel compelled to attend an expensive, cookie-cutter funeral. Instead, take your time and create something that truly symbolises the uniqueness of the person you loved.
You can trust Holmes Funerals’ funeral directors in Farnborough to execute your funeral memorial plans for your loved one’s send-off. We are a family-owned and run funeral service and cemetery that also regularly carry out funerals in many other areas.
