Life is a celebration.
When a loved one dies, it can be very hard to cope, especially if it was sudden. Dolan Funeral Home in Chelmsford has been helping those coping with the death of a loved one since 1974. In our experience, we’ve found that it helps to remember the wonderful life your loved one lived and the memories you still have of him or her. We offer a wide variety of funeral products to help you do just that. We offer memorial jewelry that you can have engraved with your loved one’s initials or a special date. Doves are a popular remembrance item, as are prayer cards. To help you remember the wonderful like of your loved one, we’ve compiled some creative funeral service ideas. Contact us today for all your funeral planning needs, including pre-arrangement services!
CREATIVE FUNERAL SERVICE IDEAS
- Pepper the room with your loved one’s favorite things. At the memorial service or at the funeral, bring in favorite items of your loved one. If your loved one collected owl candles, bring those in to display. If your loved one played golf every day, put together a collage of your loved one’s favorite golf spots. Or if your loved one enjoyed flying, bring in model airplanes to display. You could even bring in small model airplane kits for the young people at the service to enjoy and put together. Just make sure to clear this with your funeral home of choice, such as Dolan Funeral Home in Chelmsford.
- Give away your loved one’s favorite items at the memorial service. It’s a sad fact that when your loved one dies, many of his or her belongings just end up either being donated or going unused in landfills. Create a lasting memory by giving away some of your loved one’s collectibles at the memorial service. This can be the previously mentioned owl candles, books, toy cars, trophies, blankets, paintings, or jewelry.
- Use color. Black is the traditional color of mourning. But would your loved one be the type for you to wear black for a week? Or would your loved one prefer multi-colored flowers, spring hats, or feather boas? You can even request all the attendees wear your loved one’s favorite color instead.
- Add music and dance. Traditionally, funerals are somber occasions. After all, everyone is sad that the loved one has passed. However, playing country music in the background during visitation may be just what your loved one would have preferred. Having a true celebration of life such as a party with dancing and music afterwards can be very therapeutic. If you wanted to go all out, try a fireworks display in honor of your loved one. Some people have even requested to have their ashes put into a firework to be spread out in the night sky. Truly, the sky’s the limit for whatever you wish.
- Change up the service. Traditionally, a funeral service consists of a few words by a pastor, a eulogy or two by family members, and a few prayers. Why not change it up a bit? It’s become popular to include a slideshow of your loved one’s favorite places, things, and pets. A live singer can shake things up, or even a band. Take this to another level by creating a unique program you can hand out that will become a remembrance instead of just something to recycle afterwards. A lot of funeral directors assist in printing up these pamphlets of remembrance so you can ask them for help in creating a remembrance book. Dolan Funeral Homes in Chelmsford offers this service as well.
- Personalize the coffin. Increasingly, coffins have become great ways to say good-bye by having a favorite saying painted on the side. Furthermore, more colored coffins are being sold that are bright and cheery such as red and purple. Patterns can be painted on the coffin, or even a portrait of your deceased. This has been popular since the ancient Egyptians carved the face of the deceased into the sarcophagus. You can also have a coffin that you can have people write on during the memorial service instead of a remembrance book. Permanent markers, stickers, crayons, and paints are great options and will make your memorial service truly memorable.
- A keepsake with your loved one’s ashes. Traditionally, urns have been used to hold the ashes of your loved one. Some people request for their ashes to be scattered in a special place, or ashes are simply interred in a vault instead. However, keepsakes with a bit of your loved one’s ashes in them are great ways to remember your loved one. Glass pendant necklaces are popular where ashes are incorporated into the glass making process as well as glass paperweights. Truly, this memorial option is customizable with hundreds of options. Perhaps you want an elephant with ashes made by a skilled glassblower. Having a momento of your loved one is a great option for remembering him or her. Many funeral directors are offering this service as well. Ask Dolan Funeral Home in Chelmsford about this option.
- Potted flowers. The fact of the matter is that funeral flowers are often just left on the gravesite to waste away. Instead of this waste, many people are now requesting potted flowers be given in lieu of traditional flowers. This enables them to take these home and remember their loved one even longer. In addition, giving away potted flowers, trees, or even seeds for flowers or vegetables is a great way to keep your loved one’s memory alive, especially if your loved one was into gardening. If you do receive traditional funeral flowers, you can recycle these by making them into jewelry using clay.
Funerals are never fun and are just plain hard to get through in the aftermath of a loved one’s death. However, by focusing on the amazing life your loved one did live, you’ll be able to cope better, and it will help you through the grieving process.
Dolan Funeral Home in Chelmsford offers top-notch funeral services, including pre-arrangement services, placing of obituary notices, and planning and coordination your visitation and funeral plans. We will coordinate with your church and the cemetery to make sure all of your funeral plans are met. We understand that in your grief, you need a helping hand. Take ours.
SERVICES DOLAN FUNERAL HOME OFFERS
Increasingly, catering for funeral receptions are becoming popular. Dolan Funeral Home partners with local food caterers to help you make your wake and reception flavorful. We provide everything needed, from the tables and chairs to the silverware and napkins.
Dolan Funeral Home serves the greater Lowell and southern New Hampshire areas, including Chelmsford, North Chelmsford, Tyngsboro, Westford, Dunstable, Dracut, Lowell, MA, and Hudson, NH, with funeral, burial, and cremation needs. We are a full-service funeral home, providing all the needs for your loved one, from embalming and hair dressing to restoration work and care of the body. We provide transportation to and from the cemetery, and after it’s all over, we provide aftercare services as well, which includes help with the paperwork and legal aspects of the death of a loved one.
Dolan Funeral Home in Chelmsford exists to help you when your loved one passes. Contact us today!