When you have someone in your family pass on, there are many different things you can do to honor them and to give your family the closure and final goodbye they need. Most people will turn to funeral homes to provide necessary final services, but you can also get funeral or memorial services from them. If your loved one didn’t want a funeral or memorial service, or if you want to do something for that special person outside of the traditional services, here are some of the things you might consider doing.
Many families will create a tribute video for their loved one for the service they have for them and that can be very special. But you can also create one after, or even in lieu of, those services. Add pictures, video clips, music, interviews from family, and anything else you might appreciate seeing. You can watch the video every time you want to think of your loved one and you can even send it to other family members so others can watch it, too.
Not everyone is comfortable sharing things online, but it you want to talk about your loved one in a manner that anyone can see and appreciate, posting a tribute to them online can be a nice way to go. You can simply state that they have died and post memories or pictures of them. You might revisit those posts when their birthday comes around, or even reshare things as the anniversary of their death arises the next year.
Trees are powerful parts of nature and you might want to plant a tree in your yard, perhaps using some of the memorial money people have donated to you, in your loved one’s honor. Dedicate that tree to them and watch it grow over the years. You can smile and think of your loved one when the birds build their nests, when the leaves turn color, and so on.
Your loved one had certain tastes and if you want to honor them with your family, you might consider cooking their favorite meal. No one made the dishes like they did, but you can try. Putting the effort into it can help you to appreciate them even further. And tasting the meal again can bring back even more memories about sharing it with them.
Many families will write obituaries for their loved one, and that’s always a nice tribute. Not only does it act as a death announcement to the community, but it’s something you can keep in the future so you are able to remember the way you honored them at that time.
If you are creative, you might want to make something after services with funeral homes. Create a piece of art, some crafts, a painting, or something else in your loved one’s honor to remember them by.