Funerals are the last time we have a chance to say goodbye to someone. For the most part, they are solemn occasions where people cry and hang their head in sadness. But there are some funerals that celebrate the person’s life more than mourning their death. These are the ones that personalize the ceremony to make it more meaningful. Here are some suggestions for making a funeral more of a personal goodbye instead of the heart-wrenching occasion that it usually is.
• Bring in your deceased loved one’s favorite song or songs on a CD. Most funeral homes will have equipment to play this over the speakers in the room so everybody can enjoy it.
• Have some helium balloons that mourners can release at the grave. Ask somebody to say a few words about the deceased before letting the balloons fly into the air.
• Put together a picture board that includes the deceased having fun with various friends and members of the family. There’s no better way to personalize and celebrate a person’s life than to have pictures of them having fun for everybody to see.
• If your deceased loved one was a classic car enthusiast, ask the funeral director about renting a couple old cars to use instead of the traditional funeral cars. If you have a family member with classic cars, that’s a good option, too.
• Read their favorite scriptures at the ceremony or a particularly poignant passage from one of their favorite books.
• Hold the funeral somewhere unique. If they enjoyed the sea, have the funeral at a marina. If they were a church member, have the funeral at their church.
• Ask the funeral director about passing by your loved one’s favorite local place on the way to the burial site.