Ways to Personalize a Funeral

When people are planning funerals at funeral homes in Kettering, OH, one of the things that they can do to highlight the lives of their deceased loved ones is to personalize the funeral. Your loved one had a unique personality.

Your loved one had things in their life that they were passionate about or that they loved to do. Your loved one may have had hobbies that they were known for throughout the community and, perhaps, throughout the country or the world.

Capturing those aspects of your loved one is something you can do by personalizing their funeral and making it more meaningful to everyone who attends.

Here are a few ideas on how you can personalize your loved one’s funeral.

One way that you can personalize your loved one’s funeral is by setting up one or more memory tables that show different aspects of their life that were important to them. For example, if your loved one was an artist or craftsperson, you can set up a memory table that displays some of their artwork or some of their crafts.

If your loved one was involved in volunteering to meet other’s needs, such as in disaster relief or doing missionary work, you can set up a memory table of photos showing them involved in those activities.

If your loved one served in the United States armed forces, you can set up a memory table with photos of them during their time of service and with medals and other honors they received while they were in the military.

The ideas for memory tables are virtually endless, so you can take almost anything from your loved one’s life that was important about them or important to them and make a moving display for the funeral.

Another way to personalize the funeral service for your loved one is by making a video tribute to them. You can either do this yourself – or have the family techie do it – or the funeral home can do it. Include two or three songs that either describes your loved one or were favorites of theirs. Arrange pictures of your loved one that complement the songs you’ve selected.

You can play the video tribute at any time during the funeral. You may want to play it before the funeral service actually begins. You may want to play it as part of the funeral service itself. Or you may want to play it during the funeral reception.

Having a funeral reception is another great way to personalize your loved one’s funeral. The funeral reception is held after the funeral service. It combines food, drinks, and a relaxed atmosphere where you and those attending the funeral service can mingle and exchange stories and memories about your loved one.

Funeral receptions don’t have to be elaborate, nor do they have to be expensive. You should, however, handoff planning the funeral reception to someone who wants to help you and your family as you cope with the death of your loved one.

Foods that are served might be just light refreshments that can be purchased, or they might be a potluck of your loved one’s favorite foods and dishes. The kind of food served is often dependent on the time of day that the funeral takes place.

If the funeral starts just after the main meal (breakfast or lunch), then light snacks are usually served. If the funeral ends just before the main meal (lunch or dinner), then a heavier meal might be more appropriate.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of ways you can personalize your loved one’s funeral.

If you’d like guidance about personalizing funerals at funeral homes in Kettering, OH, our compassionate and experienced staff at Glickler Funeral Home & Cremation Service can help.