CELEBRATION OF LIFE IDEAS: 8 WAYS TO COMMEMORATE THE LIFE OF A LOVED ONE

In some cultures, funerals are often portrayed as sombre, serious events. Attendants wear dark colors, solemn speeches are made, and there’s an intense air of sadness. In other cultures, funerals are a completely different story.

Instead of focusing on the devastating effects that the person’s death had upon those attending, funerals in some parts of the world celebrate their life and all the happy memories the deceased created while they were on the planet. Funerals like these can be more enjoyable for everyone involved and help ensure the final memories people hold onto of the deceased are joyous ones filled with happiness and laughter.

If you’d much prefer your loved one to leave this life on a happy note, here are eight celebration of life ideas you can take inspiration from to commemorate the positive impact they had on the world.

FUNERAL REPAST

You can bring some lightness to a traditional memorial service by including a funeral repast at the end. Also known as a funeral repass, this special event is a meal shared by the friends and family who attended the main memorial service and provides them with the opportunity to collectively share stories about the person they loved.

There’s no true definition of a repass funeral, so you can turn it into something the person you want to remember would have loved. You can have a casual buffet at home while playing the deceased’s most listened to music if they were the stay-at-home type, or invite everyone out to one of your loved one’s most favourite restaurants if they preferred to eat out.

CREMATION DIAMONDS

Ensure the memory of your loved one is never forgotten by turning their ashes into stunning cremation diamonds. You can create a single diamond and personalize it, so it accurately reflects the personality and visual aspects of the person you want to remember. This way, every time you see it, you’ll be reminded of all the fantastic memories you created together.

Alternatively, you can create several cremation diamonds and give them to family members as part of a loving memorial. This way, everyone can feel connected to the deceased and have a personal keepsake they can turn to whenever they feel lost.

ACHIEVEMENT REENACTMENT

Relive the greatest achievement your loved one ever made by recreating it on your own or as a group. Not only will this help you feel closer to the person you’ve lost, but it will give you a new sense of appreciation for them and all the hard work it took for them to do it.

You could recreate a meaningful trip they made, a fear they conquered, or a physical goal they reached. Copying anything challenging that was important to them will help remind you what an incredible person they were.

MEMORIAL TREE

Close the circle of life by scattering the deceased’s ashes with the roots of a young tree. By doing this, you’re helping your loved one live for generations and provide shelter and life for countless others.

Instead of planting the ashes of your loved one in your own backyard, from which they’d have to be dug up if you move, consider planting them in a public space. As long as you get permission, you can plant them in a park they used to visit often, along one of their favorite walks, or at a beautiful viewpoint. This way, any of their friends or family can visit whenever they like. 

DINNER PARTY

If the person you’ve lost was a big foodie, a fitting tribute is to throw a lavish dinner party with all their favorite foods. Invite a generous selection of friends and family and have a huge celebration in their honor. After dessert, you can go around the table and each person can tell their favorite memory of the deceased.

If you’re not great in the kitchen or the person you want to remember was too laid-back for dinner parties, consider throwing a casual BBQ for friends and family instead. This is easier to cater for and is likely a more fitting memorial.

MEMORIAL SCRAPBOOK

A great way to remember all the happiness the deceased brought into the world is by friends and family coming together to create a memorial scrapbook. Ask anyone who knew them to roundup a beautiful selection of keepsakes from the deceased — photos, drawings, newspaper articles, letters, notes, anything that has a connection.

When you’ve gathered all the materials, stick them into a scrapbook and share it with everyone who helped put it together.

A digital scrapbook is a fantastic alternative to a physical one. Instead of physically handing you keepsakes, ask everyone to email them to you or upload them somewhere safe online. Then you can create an online memorial to your loved one that close friends and family can look at whenever they want to.

VIDEO MONTAGE

Although photos are wonderful to look at, videos can really help you remember the way a lost loved one was. Make sure no one forgets what an incredible person they were by creating a beautiful video montage.

As with the memorial scrapbook, ask everyone to send you all the videos they have of the deceased. If you’re creative, you can put the video montage together yourself to their favourite songs. If not, you can find a video editor to do it on your behalf.

Upload the montage online so everyone can watch and share it. Not only will the video montage be available for everyone to see, but it will also help your loved one’s memory live on forever. 

WILDLIFE RELEASE

A wildlife release is a wonderful celebration of life ideal for animal lovers. Choose a local animal charity in need of funds that organizes wildlife releases and make a donation in the deceased’s name. When it’s time to return an animal to the wild, invite friends and family to the release and have it form part of your memorial.

This way, the memory of your loved one will live on in generations of animals and you’ll be doing something wonderful to help your local wildlife.

SAYING GOODBYE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE SAD

There are many different ways to cherish a loved one who’s no longer around. 

Using a funeral as an opportunity to celebrate the life of someone instead of mourning their death helps take away the fear and mystery which surrounds what happens to us after we die. This can be incredibly comforting for everyone left behind and helps put family and friends’ minds to rest about what will happen to the deceased now they’re no longer around.

Celebration of life ceremonies bring people together to reflect on all the wonderful things the deceased brought into the world and the way they touched everyone’s lives in special, unique ways. If you want to truly honor your loved one and let the world know all the amazing things they did in their lifetime, choose to celebrate their life over mourning their death.