When you decide on cremation services, it can make certain things easier after the death in the family. However, there are certain times of the year that are going to pop up that will bring up the grief and emotions all over again, like the holidays. If you want to make the holiday season special the next time it rolls around, no matter what time of the year it might be now, consider making some memorial ornaments for your family to enjoy at that time. Here are some ideas to consider.
Memory Chains
As a child, did you ever make those chains out of paper, alternating between red and green, to indicate how many days there were left until Christmas? Instead of counting days, why not count memories instead? Have everyone in the family take a slip of paper and write a memory on it. You can even have these papers available at the memorial service, if you want. Then, string them together and as the season continues down its path, read a memory a day together as a family. Keep those papers and do it all again next year.
Photo Frame Ornaments
One of the easiest things you can do is find a photo frame ornament and place a picture of your loved one in it. You can get frames for everyone in the family and give these ornaments as gift, customizing the way your loved one appears in each picture for that particular family member.
Fabric Options
Everyone who passes on is going to leave clothing behind and some of those things will be special. Instead of letting them to go to waste, find ornament options that can be made from fabric. Take one of your loved one’s favorite shirts and make ornaments from it so everyone in the family has something of your loved one that they can place on their tree. These ornaments can even be decorations at other times of the year. You can hang the ornament from a cabinet in the kitchen, for example, so your loved one’s item is always with you.
Scroll Ideas
Write your loved one a letter or jot down some memories of them and thoughts of their life. You can then roll that list up like a scroll and tie a bow on it. Hanging it on your tree is a way of including your loved one’s memory in special ways. You can unroll the scroll any time and look over the things you wrote. Otherwise, you know it’s there and that means a lot as well.
Jewelry Made Ornaments
If your loved one had special jewelry items, you might take some of those things and wear the items yourself. But there are other things you don’t know what to do with. You could try making some ornaments out of the sparkly items and keeping them on the tree after cremation services can be special for the family. Contact the professionals at Hopler & Escbach Funeral Home for more grief resources and ideas.