Articles and Advice

Celebration of Life Ideas: 30 Ideas for Honoring Your Loved One

It’s perfectly natural to feel upset or depressed after a loved one passes on. You miss them, wish you had more time with them, and are sad to see them go. And while you mourn and plan a funeral and memorial services, you still might not feel that sense of closure you long for after everything is done.

So how can you achieve this closure? We believe mourning is a necessary part of the process, but so is celebrating. You have the opportunity to celebrate the life of your loved one, including friends made, things accomplished, and love shared. 

How do you celebrate the life of your loved one? There’s a lot of wonderful ideas! Take a look at this list of our 30 favorite celebration of life ideas.

When to Celebrate

The timing of your loved one’s celebration of life largely depends on how many people you want to attend. Here are a couple of ideas of when to hold the celebration and the benefits of each option:

1. After the Funeral/Memorial Service

You may choose to organize the celebration of life directly after the funeral proceedings or memorial service. In this case, friends and family who traveled for the funeral can also be present at the celebration of life. If you want a lot of people to come and share their cherished memories of the dearly departed, this may be the best time to do it.

2. On the Anniversary of Their Death

Another option is to celebrate the anniversary of your loved one’s death. This option may help some with the healing process, as it allows more time to process emotions. It also offers time to reflect on your relationship with the departed so you can ponder cherished memories and more fully celebrate their life. Plus, it won’t be bogged down by the stress of planning the funeral.

Where to Celebrate

The venue of the celebration can be focused on convenience, allowing you to think primarily about size and proximity. Or, you could prioritize sentiment, opting for a place that carries some significance to the life of the departed. Either option can still offer a wonderful celebratory experience—here are some celebration of life ideas of where to memorialize your loved one.

3. A Church They Attended

If your loved one was religious, ask to conduct the celebration of life at their place of worship. Churches usually have enough space and parking for anyone who would want to attend. The clergy may even offer to conduct the event, allowing you to focus more on the celebration.

4. Their Favorite Outdoor Destination

Did the dearly departed love the outdoors? Maybe they have a favorite hiking trail, a fishing spot, or just a place they would go to relax. Consider gathering your group and heading out to that spot. Then, you can share fond memories while standing where they stood.

5. A Park in Their Old Neighborhood

Set up your celebration in a park near their home or, if it’s close enough, where they grew up. Whether or not they frequented a particular park in their neighborhood, you can still spend time in their neck of the woods, which adds some sentimental value to their celebration.

6. The Home of a Family Member

If you opt for a smaller gathering, the home of a family member of the dearly departed is perfectly adequate. This offers a more intimate setting where everyone can easily join the conversation.

7. A Large Rented Venue

A large indoor venue may be necessary if you plan on inviting a lot of people to the celebration. These venues are often specifically designed for large gatherings, so there will be plenty of space for seating, refreshments, and any activities you plan.

8. At Their Favorite Restaurant

Whether it was a local steakhouse or McDonald’s, many restaurants will allow you to utilize a portion of their floor space for medium-sized events. You can celebrate your loved one as you eat his or her favorite meals.

9. Over Video Call

If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a venue, or the people you want to come are too spread out, you can always opt for a video call celebration. This way, anyone can join in on the experience.

How to Celebrate

Once you’re all gathered, what should you do? Should you just talk about the dearly departed or do something in their memory? If you’re stuck on what you should do, here are some celebration of life ideas that can help cherish the memory of your loved one through your actions.

10. Create a Cookbook

Did your loved one love to cook? Did they hand out recipes for their favorite meals before they passed? You can gather these recipes from friends, or your loved one’s notes, to create a cookbook in their honor. Then, you can hand this cookbook out to all the guests of the celebration.

11. Give Money to Their Favorite Charity

A simple way to celebrate what the dearly departed stood for is to donate to one of their favorite charities. Everyone can participate in the celebration—either collect money at the party or start an online fund to go towards the chosen charity.

12. Release Paper Lanterns

Releasing paper lanterns is very symbolic of letting go of your loved one and allowing them to pass on into their next plane of existence. You may even write a message to your loved one on the lantern before sending it off.

13. Make a Quote Board

Buy a large whiteboard, blackboard, or corkboard and let everyone put up their favorite things your loved one would always say. Whether it was a life motto, some advice they gave, or a joke they loved to tell, seeing those phrases written on the board can spark joyous memories.

14. Create a Memorial Stone Jar

Have everyone take a small rock and write a memory of your loved one on it. You could put all of the memories into one large jar or divide them into smaller jars so everyone can take some shared memories with them.

15. Assemble a Bouquet

Buy bunches of flowers of different varieties and create a bouquet crafting station. Everyone can gather flowers into their own unique arrangements and bring them home as a reminder of the dearly departed’s life.

16. Bury a Memory Capsule

Gather some cherished belongings of your loved one, like CDs, clothing items, or favorite books. Supplement with items that remind you of them, like photos or other memorabilia. Then put it all in an air-tight container, bury it in the ground, and set a day when you will unearth it.

17. Craft a Memory Scrapbook

Have everyone come to the celebration with a photo or written quote of the departed and put it all together in a single scrapbook. You can also create a digital scrapbook so everyone can have a copy.

18. Commission a Memorial Plaque

Whether it’s on a park bench, a water fountain, in a cemetery, or a tree in your backyard, a memorial plaque can remind you and passing strangers about the impact your loved one had on the world.

19. Plant Flower Seeds

Assemble bags of flower seeds to hand out to everyone who attends the celebration. They can bring those seeds home and plant a small flower garden to commemorate your loved one.

20. Plant a Memorial Garden

Instead of a separate flower garden, your celebration could include starting a community vegetable garden in honor of your loved one. While this does require you to find and purchase designated land, this garden will persist for a long time, thus continuing your loved one’s legacy.

21. Create a Quilt from Their Clothing

If you know people who are into quilting, include a quilting circle as a part of the celebration. You can use their old clothes no one wants as the squares to create the quilt. While only one person can hold onto the quilt, everyone can feel involved while they help make it.

22. Give Their Clothing to Charity

If you don’t want to destroy their clothing, you can always give it to charity. If you don’t have a donation center in mind, visit this website to see clothing donation sites in your area.

23. Name a Star in Their Memory

You can easily buy the naming rights to a star visible in the United States using the Star Name Registry. To make it a part of the celebration, bring a star chart to hand out to the guests so everyone can find your loved one’s namesake. 

24. Craft Personalized Jewelry in Their Memory

Memorial jewelry, which has risen in popularity over the years, can include the cremated remains of the dearly departed or simply hold a reminder of their presence, like a name or their fingerprint. You can create affordable jewelry for everyone at the celebration or allow everyone to create their own memorial jewelry.

25. Scatter Their Ashes

Perhaps the most traditional way to celebrate someone who’s passed on, scattering ashes allows you to physically let go of your loved one and take one step closer to closure. While some laws restrict where you can scatter ashes, most places will allow you to do so after asking permission.

26. Watch Your Loved One’s Favorite Movie

Did your loved one have a movie they made everyone watch when they came over? Watch that movie again together. If you remember things the departed loved about the film, share them with the group.

27. Listen to Their Favorite Music

Was your loved one always listening to a certain kind of music? Play their favorite music at the celebration and have everyone sit down for a moment of silence or even get up and dance while listening. You could also consider hiring a live band to play some of their favorite songs.

28. Take a Picture at Their Favorite Place

If you decide to go to one of the departed’s favorite places for their celebration of life, don’t forget to take a picture with all the guests! This will serve as a reminder of the day and the life of your loved one.

29. Host a Memorial Sporting Event

If your loved one had a favorite sport or game, organize an evening for everyone to get together and play. Alternatively, you could pool money to sponsor a youth sports team of your loved one’s favorite sport.

30. Set Off Fireworks

What better way to celebrate life than with fireworks? If you want to take a creative spin on it, some companies have started offering cremation fireworks, letting you incorporate your loved one’s cremated remains into the fireworks.

Honor Your Loved One the Best Way You Can

There’s no single perfect way to honor the departed—all you can do is create the celebration you think they would appreciate. Hopefully, this list of celebration of life ideas gave you some inspiration or sparked your imagination.

If you ever need more information about cremation or how to celebrate your loved one after they’ve passed, don’t hesitate to give All California Cremation a call. We want to do whatever we can to guide you towards a celebration that inspires cherished memories and offers you closure.