8 Unique Funeral Themes for the Most Meaningful Send-Off
There's plenty of beauty and meaning in a traditional funeral or memorial service, but that doesn't mean the usual funeral style is right for everyone. If your loved one had some specific interests or just a unique perspective on the world, we have some awesome ideas for funeral themes to make your tribute super personal.
Everything from the decorations to the eulogies can follow the theme or relate to it, and you'll find this actually makes it easier to plan and create a really meaningful event. For many people, having a theme makes the event even more special and lets you really show what was important to your loved one (or how they loved to have fun).
Things like birds and balloons can be very important symbols of letting someone go or fly away, and you can use these symbols as a theme for the entire funeral. Choose decorations that emphasize the air, such as bird cut-outs or ribbons that can move in the breeze if you're outside. Select readings that touch on the subject of birds or other things that fly. You may even want to fly kites together after the service.
For someone who valued nature and the environment, a touching tribute can be a funeral with an environmental theme. Choose natural, local decorations that can be reused (living plants, for instance). Serve farm-to-table food that is locally sourced. You can ask guests to donate to an environmental charity or organization instead of giving flowers.
If you're hosting a themed funeral, be sure to communicate the theme to everyone who is involved. The time after a loss can be challenging, and no one wants to be surprised.
The night sky and all the points of light in it can be very comforting when you're facing the loss of a loved one. Let the stars inspire your funeral theme by decorating with star cut-outs, asters and other star-shaped flowers, and even star charts or space telescope photos. You can use the stars to inspire your readings and also host an evening star-gazing event after the service.
Funerals are already formal, but you can take your formality to the next level with a black-tie attire service. Have people dress in gowns and tuxes as a way to show their respect in the most stylish way possible. This is especially fun if the person you're honoring loved dressing up. For an added touch, host a formal cocktail party as a reception after the service.
Related:
Most funerals are held during the day, but you could host an evening event by candlelight. This can be very touching, especially if you pass candles around and let everyone light theirs. After the service, release sky lanterns together in a safe place to give your loved one a beautiful send-off.
It may sound like a weird funeral theme, but centering the whole event around your loved one's favorite movie can be a light-hearted but still very personal tribute. You can use cardboard cutouts of characters from the movie (like Star Wars, for instance), have guests dress in costumes if they wish, and even do readings from movie scenes that seem especially fitting. You could also show a small clip or the entire movie after the service.
A special funeral theme for a book lover could involve all things reading related. Have book-themed decorations or flowers made out of book pages. Read parts of your loved one's favorite book at the service, and have guests bring books to exchange with one another. You could also ask for children's book donations to take to a local library or school.
Another wonderful and unique idea is to let their cultural heritage inspire your themed funeral. If they're Irish, for instance, you could decorate with flowers like bells of Ireland, read an Irish blessing, sing an Irish song, and serve Irish food. Your loved one's cultural heritage is a rich source of inspiration for everything from the funeral flowers to the food.
There are so many wonderful unique funeral ideas to choose from that it can seem a little overwhelming to pick one. This can be even more challenging if you're in the midst of dealing with grief. These tips can help you keep the stress to a minimum and choose a theme that's perfect:
Think about what your loved one really appreciated in life. Let that inspire you.
Ask a few friends or family members for ideas if you're not sure what you want to do. It can be healing for people to have input.
Don't choose a theme that's going to make things more complicated for you or that involves a lot of set-up. One of the great benefits of funeral themes is that they can make the whole process easier.
Consider the formality level you want at the service. Some themes are casual, and you may want a more traditional event. Your wishes matter here.
Remember that the theme you choose is to honor your loved one, but it's also to comfort the people at the funeral. If you think a theme might be upsetting, consider tweaking it a little so everyone will be comfortable.
A memorial service or funeral doesn't have to be totally traditional. There's no rule that says you can't have an event as unique as your loved one. The perfect funeral theme will make the whole event more meaningful and special for everyone involved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
39 minutes ago
- Forbes
‘Ginny And Georgia' Finally Dethroned In Netflix's Top 10 List By A New Show
Ginny and Georgia Outside of a brief brush with the WWE, Ginny and Georgia has remained on top of Netflix's top 10 list for a full two weeks since it released on June 5. Fans waited years for it to return, and they were not going to miss its arrival at last. But now, at long last, Ginny and Georgia has fallen down Netflix's top 10 list, dethroned by not just one but two new shows. It's now in third, and second place is America's Sweethearts: The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, the reality series following the auditions for the famed cheerleading team and their performances and drama behind the scenes. This is season 2, which my wife has already watched, and I'm struck by how little drama there is behind the scenes, as all the girls feel like best friends, for the most part. Top 10 The new number one show on Netflix is The Waterfront. Here's the synopsis: This very much reminds me of a previous Netflix series, Bloodlines, and then sprinkling in a bit of Ozark as well. I suppose, given that most people liked those shows, Netflix is trying to find another hit in that vein, as neither are airing anymore. I am interested in the series not because of its concept but because of its cast. First, it stars Holt McCallany, Netflix royalty as one of the two stars of Mindhunter. In giving interviews about The Waterfront, he made news that it was possible that Mindhunter may return for a third season in the form of three two-hour movies, which would essentially be six episodes, but it's all down to David Fincher. In another lead role is Melissa Benoist, who was the CW's Supergirl for multiple years, and she'll always have a special place in my heart for that, even as she's about to be replaced by Milly Alcock in the DCU (star of another big Netflix show in the past month, Sirens). I also know Humberly González, as she played the lead role in a recent video game, Star Wars Outlaws. Oh, and she's in 18 episodes of Ginny and Georgia, the show she just dethroned here alongside her cast. It remains to be seen how The Waterfront will perform. A top spot debut like this is a big deal. It has a 67% critic score, but that's only with six reviews in. There isn't enough data for an audience score yet, so we will wait and see. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
In pictures: Behind the scenes of ‘Jaws'
From left, Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, Spielberg and Richard Dreyfuss share a moment of levity while filming on the open water, shortly before the actors' characters face off with the shark. Snap/Shutterstock Shaw, who plays the gruff, shark-hating veteran Quint, lies on the stern of the Orca, Quint's boat. The veteran actor's troubles during the film's production were documented in the play "The Shark is Broken," written by his son Ian. Universal Pictures/MichaelRichard Dreyfuss smiles from the diving cage where his character, shark researcher Matt Hooper, gets up close with the toothy villain. To make that scene feel more real, the crew shot real footage of sharks from a cage in Australia. Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock Susan Backlinie and Spielberg prepare to shoot the film's iconic opening, which doesn't end well for the skinny-dipper played by Backlinie. During production, the crew wasn't sure if the film was "going to flop on its face," Backlinie told CNN in 2010. Louis Goldman/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock Left: Jay Mello, center, who plays Chief Brody's son Sean, displays a hand covered with fake blood. Right: Onlookers watch artificial shark fins cut through the water during a tense scene. Pamela Schall/WWD/Spielberg, left, and Dreyfuss consider a shark carcass, brought to shore by Amity Island fishermen who believe they've caught the murderous culprit. Dreyfuss wasn't Spielberg's first choice for Hooper, but he was convinced after watching the actor in "American Graffiti." Courtesy Everett Collection Scheider, left, and Spielberg examine footage from the day's production. Spielberg said he cast Scheider after running into the actor at a party, and Scheider recommended himself for the part. The Legacy Collection/THA/Shutterstock
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
NYT ‘Connections' Hints And Answers For Saturday, June 21
Connections hints and answers are here. Looking for Friday's NYT Connections hints, clues and answers instead? You can find them here: Time for your first weekend Connections and I will admit, I found this one rather difficult. Though that may be some amount of brain fog given that I am on no sleep with a two-week old… How to Play Connections Connections is the second-most popular NYT Games puzzle game outside of the main crossword itself, and an extremely fun, free offering that will get your brain moving every day. Play it right here. The goal is to take a group of 16 words and find links between four pairs of four of them. They could be specific categories of terms, or they could be little world puzzles where words may come before or after them you need to figure out. And they get more complicated from there. There is only one set of right answers for this, and you only get a certain number of tries so you can't just spam around until you find something. There are difficulty tiers coded by color, which will usually go from yellow, blue/green to purple as difficulty increases, so know that going in and when you start linking them together. You pick the four words you think are linked and either you will get a solve and a lit up row that shows you how you were connected. If you're close, it will tell you that you're one away. Again, four mistakes you lose, but if you want to know the answers without failing, either come here, or delete your web cookies and try again. If you want to play more puzzles, you can get an NYT Games subscription to access the full archives of all past puzzles. So, onto the hints and answers: FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder What Are Today's Connections Hints? These are the hints that are laid out on the puzzle board itself, but after that, we will get into spoiler territory with some hints and eventually the answers. The hints for the Connections groups today are: What Are Today's Connections Groups? Alright, the full spoilers follow here as we get into what the groups are today: What Are Today's Connections Answers? The full-on answers are below for each group, finally inserting the four words in each category. Spoilers follow if you do not want to get this far. The Connections answers are: Connections Well, this felt like a puzzle that was going to be all about alcohol with different types of liquor and wines. But that is not at all what happened here, with the only drink being Brandy in the blue category with a bunch of other non-alcoholic apple productions. Well I guess cider can be alcoholic too. In college I may have put alcohol in apple sauce. Yellow group I thought was pretty straightforward albeit I thought that 'Firm" could be in there too, though I guess you would not call someone stocky that term, exactly, despite being in a similar category of words. I was confused by the green group as I just am not familiar with the term 'concern' used when it comes to the formation of a company. Turns out it's a type of business popular in Europe, which leads to the final group. Purple group had us going to some big and small European countries, albeit only half of them. We have Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and Portugal in a category that again, I thought had at least two words that had to do with wine. Tricky tricky. How did you fare with the puzzle today? Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
