A funeral is so much more than a way to say goodbye; it’s an opportunity to celebrate the life of someone special.

Nowadays a funeral can be as unique as the individual being remembered. From simple touches like displaying personal photographs or events created around a favourite pastime, funerals can reflect any aspect of a person’s life and personality.

Take the time to honour, remember and celebrate a loved one’s life. After all, together you have found joy, shared laughter, dealt with disappointment and faced the many challenges which come through the years. Those accomplishments, experiences and relationships should be recognized and celebrated.

How would you celebrate life? What might your loved one’s funeral look like? Here’s some food for thought:

1. Comfort in Tradition:
Familiar rites and rituals give everyone peace of mind. A traditional funeral looks and feels like it did years ago and this brings comfort to all. Would this be appropriate for your loved one?

2. Value of Coming Together:
Bringing family and friends together to share memories and to support each other can be done simply and elegantly. Give everyone, by their presence, an opportunity to collectively begin the healing process.

3. Comfort Hearts and Nourish Connections:
Throughout their lives, they cared for those they loved with good food, lovingly prepared. Now celebrate that love by sharing their favourites in a relaxed gathering afterwards. A curry or seafood feast? Maybe desserts and puddings were their speciality? Whatever it was, gather together, savour the memories and stimulate the palate!

4. A Last Ride:
There is often a special connection between someone and their vehicle. Maybe it’s the motorcycle they loved to ride on weekends, maybe it’s the 4 x 4 they drove off road? It might even be the love of a fine horse or classic vehicle.
Bring that love to life by somehow including that special relationship in the funeral. We give you some ideas in the ‘Funeral Transport’ tab on this website.

5. Coming Home
There is no place like home. Bringing family and friends together in a home or private garden focuses emotions and creates comfort in the surrounds of a familiar setting. There may be no better place to say goodbye than home because that’s where the heart is.

6. A Sporting Celebration:
Consider the sports fan. No matter what the sport, there’s an energy and excitement to being part of a sporting ‘tribe’. Bring that energy into the funeral by surrounding everyone in a favourite team’s colours.

7. A Treasured Keepsake:
Bringing home such a gift of love can make a funeral truly memorable. Gather together a beloved collection, whether teddy bears, tea cups, toy cars or trains, and share them with guests after the funeral ceremony to let everyone leave with a memory they can keep forever.

8. Playing the Game:
Poker, Blackjack, Roulette or Chess. Whatever game they enjoyed bring it into the reception by staging a fun casino or card party in their memory.

9. Taking the Stage:
“All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.” For the thespian, some kind of theatrical event would be the perfect end to a perfectly brilliant life. Bring up the lights and remember the actor and the life they so enjoyed.

10. Reach for the Stars:
“Fly me to the moon; let me sing among those stars.” Many of us long to be able to travel among the planets of our solar system and out amongst the stars. Become part of the cosmos by sending your loved one’s ashes into space; it may prove to be the perfect send off for someone special.