Unique Funeral Ideas & Themes

Grieving over the loss of a loved one and trying to say goodbye make a funeral a difficult time for many people. In fact, we often have a predisposition attitude towards a funeral because of past experiences and how television shows and movies portray funerals. Funerals do not have to be a depressing time though, by personalizing the service to something that reflects the life the deceased lived, it becomes less about saying goodbye and more about celebrating the way your loved one lived their life.

unique funeral theme

If the thought of a traditional funeral is uninteresting or unappealing to you, the staff at our Manhattan funeral home will work with you to plan something that is creative and unique. We understand that the baby boomer generation doesn’t want just another funeral because it’s just that, another funeral. Instead, they want something that makes them the star of the show and celebrates how they lived their life. By working with our funeral home, we’ll help set the stage to celebrate your life.

funeral ideas

Unique Themes

The first step in planning a personalized funeral service is by working with our funeral home staff to decide what you are or your loved one was, genuinely passionate about. By having an understanding of this, we can begin to plan the details about how we’ll celebrate your life at our Manhattan funeral home.

As the cremation with memorial service or celebration of life services grow in popularity, many are choosing to depart from the traditional funeral and create themed events that help the mourners feel close to the departed by celebrating something that they were passionate about or by celebrating with symbolism that brings some closure into the grieving process. Below we provide a few examples of these themes.

1. End Credits Celebrate the book lover by bringing their love of words into the service. Incorporating quotes from their favorite books into the service both spoken and printed to be read during the service is a great way to bring the words they celebrated into the epilogue of their own story. Bring the theme further by mixing copies of the books into memorial displays and around the service and provide a suggested literacy charity for donations.
2. Farm to Table Planning a service for an environmentally conscious individual can celebrate the bounty of local foods available in New York City. Taking advantage of the Union Square Greenmarket* and other farmers’ markets, a selection of fruits, vegetables and artisan bread and cheese can easily be served at the reception. You can also choose a catering service that avoids the use of disposable products and makes use of sustainable items like cloth tablecloths and ceramic or glass plates and cups. Donations can be made in lieu of flowers to plant trees or to environmental causes.
3. Taking Flight Many are familiar with the dove and balloon releases common at funerals today, but why not build the symbolism of taking flight into elements of the service. You can incorporate bird images into the stationary for the service, origami birds and taking flight quotes around the service to help mourners come together around the feeling of the soul of the departed taking flight in a majestic and dignified way.
*Click to find more information about Union Square Greenmarket

Unique Ideas

If you want to make the funeral personalized without choosing a specific theme, consider planning one that uses unique ways to celebrate memories and is interactive for guests.

unique funeral ideas and themes photos 1. Create A Memory Board
By having a dedicated item people can write down their favorite memories of the deceased, it will encourage guests to share stories. Once everyone has written a memory down, it will help showcase how many lives the deceased impacted and left a mark on.

unique funeral ideas and themes dessert 2. Serve Their Favorite Food and Drinks
Rather than serving the traditional foods like sandwiches and coffee or tea, serve the food your loved one enjoyed the most. This doesn’t mean you have to go all out and serve everyone a steak, just try to incorporate snacks or easy dishes that they loved to eat.

unique funeral ideas and themes bench 3. Plant a Tree or Adopt a Bench in Honor
In cases where you make not be establishing a formal place to visit to honor your loved one like a grave plot or cemetery niche, New York City offers the opportunity to dedicate a tree or adopt a bench*. Identifying the specific place for this as part of the service can provide an opportunity for mourners to take comfort in having a future place they can visit to be with their memories and counsel their grief.

*Click to find more information about Adopting a Bench

These are just a few examples of the countless number of ways you can pay tribute to your loved one and celebrate the unique life they lived. A personalized funeral not only creates a more positive mood for your guests but also gets guests to begin sharing stories and feeling a connection with the deceased.

If you’re interested in learning more about funeral personalization and how we can help you plan a unique Manhattan funeral service, please contact us for details.

unique funeral theme