Ahhh, sweet summer time.

A time where everyone feels more relaxed, more open, and more in touch with nature (at least we hope so!).

Why not invite those sweet summer vibes into your funeral home, so that your families can benefit from this healing energy?

Here are 17 summer-inspired funeral personalization ideas we have for you to get started:

 

1. Offer their favorite summer foods and beverages

Instead of the standard coffee and water service at a funeral, why not surprise your families by offering the loved one’s favorite drinks or snacks? Try to ask in a subtle way what kinds of foods or drinks the loved one enjoyed the most during the arrangement meeting, and take notes. They’ll be surprised and delighted by how much you pay attention to detail.

 

2. Transform funeral flowers into beads

Why let all those beautiful funeral flowers go to waste when the service is over when you could create a keepsake with them instead? In this easy tutorial, families can learn how to create funeral beads and make necklaces, bracelets and even earrings with them. It’s an easy, affordable way to turn what would be waste into a beautiful treasure to be kept forever. And, it’s a beautiful way to get the family bonding together even after the service is over.

 

3. Offer a memorial stone station

Set up a station with small stones and permanent markers. Then, create a sign that instructs every guest to write their names and a brief note on a rock to honor the loved one. The family can choose to keep the rocks in their home, garden, or to scatter them somewhere that’s meaningful to the deceased.

 

4. Send family & friends home with a tribute video

For those rainy summer days, give your your families and funeral guests a chance to revisit their memories with the loved one and heal in the comfort of their own home. If the  family decided to create a tribute video for their loved one, burn a few extra copies and offer them to the family and guests, free of charge.

 

5. Put together a memory capsule

While the weather is warm out, offer families to create a“memory capsule” for their families, either with the casket, or in a space that’s meaningful to them. Put together items like photographs, memories, notes, cards, etc. and put them all in an airtight container. This could be a service in it of itself, inviting family and friends to each bring one item to put in it.

Source: Etsy

 

5. Designate a memorial tree

Decorate a tree at your funeral home to be your official memorial tree. Keep a frame, chalkboard, string and some clothes pins around for this simple but beautiful personalization hack!

Source: Pinterest

 

6. Get crafty with windchimes

Use that sweet summer breeze to help your families remember. Help them create wind chimes in honor of the loved one so that when you. Families can also put photographs or remembrance quotes on them as well.

SOURCE: Pinterest

 

7. Create customized memorabilia

To extend your support to all of the funeral guests and not just the families, offer complimentary bookmarks, prayer cards or thank you cards to funeral guests. All you need to do is grab a photo of the loved one, have the family choose a prayer or quote that represents the deceased, and choose an appropriate color scheme. It’s really that easy on programs like Life Tributes.

 

8. Make celebrating life fun with bubbles

If the loved one was a young spirit at heart, have everyone find their inner child and celebrate the loved one with bubbles. This is a perfect way to get the kids involved too!

 

9. Host a picnic

Invite families to share memories with a picnic. Pack the loved one’s favorite dishes, snacks and drinks. If you’re a cemetery owner, this is a great way to use all the beautiful tree and grass filled spaces you have to offer families a space to celebrate.

 

10. Put together a memory book with fresh flowers

Create a memory book with photographs and stories about your loved one.  Ask family members, friends, neighbors and colleagues to contribute. To add some summer vibes, be sure to include the funeral flowers in the book as a keepsake they can cherish. These can also be easily created with Life Tributes.

 

11. Help families plan a trip in honor of the loved one

In the summertime, tap into your community network and find a reputable travel agent to help your family spend some time together honoring the loved one by traveling somewhere that they always wanted to travel to and couldn’t, or go to their favorite place that they frequented. You could offer them a little travel package with print memorabilia, photos, or a little travel urn to spread the loved one’s remains if they’d like.

 

12. Have a campfire service

Set-up a space at your funeral home or cemetery to host an out-of-the-ordinary campfire celebration of life. This intimate setting will allow families and friends to feel more relaxed and open up the space to share memories, creating lot of potential for some serious healing to occur.

 

13. And don’t forget the s’mores!

What’s better than s’mores in the summertime? Keep s’mores supplies at your funeral home for these campfire services as a little extra “WOW” touch to their service.  Trust us, your families will definitely appreciate it!

 

14. Play the loved one’s favorite game

Does the family have fond memories of playing Frisbee or Bocce Ball or other fun summer games? Why not host an honorary game night in their honor? Games are a great way of bringing people together and reliving happy memories.

 

15. Celebrate with live music

Did the loved one have a love for music? Find some local talent, or a family member, to gather round at your funeral home at sunset and play some of the loved one’s favorite songs. Keep it simple with just one ukelele or acoustic guitar, or even find a public piano in the city you’re living in. This will create an effortlessly fun time for everyone to come together in the name of love and remembrance!

 

16. Make everyone happy with ice cream!

Everyone knows ice cream is the ultimate summer treat (a close tie with s’mores). Keep a little ice cream bar at your funeral home during the summer as an add-on for families who want to add some sweetness to their loved one’s service! Or, just simply offer ice cream to families coming in to plan their loved one’s service too.

17. Instead of lighting candles, light a sparkler!

In the winter time, we light candles. But in the summer time, why not light sparklers in honor of the loved one? This is a super simple and small way to to create a fun and light atmosphere for families in one of their darkest times.

 

The best idea yet…

Everyone knows offering families a meaningful celebration of life starts with the right personalization software. Get a 30-day free trial of Life Tributes, the all-in-one personalization software by clicking here or giving us a call at 800-798-2575, ext. 5.

 

Ps. Check out our Summer Funeral Inspiration Board for these ideas and more to get inspired this summer!

 

What are your favorite summer-inspired funeral personalization ideas? Did we miss any? Tell us in the comments below!