Celebration of Life

How to Arrange a Celebration of Life? Our Complete Guide With Ideas & Benefits


For those looking for unique and personalized alternatives to funerals or memorials, celebration of life services are the best option. Below, we  explain how we can help with celebration of life planning. We have also provided a few benefits of life celebrations as well as some celebration of life ideas.


Why Choose a Celebration of Life?

Many families today want a service which celebrates the life of their loved one. We introduce them to the concept of a celebration of life, and provide support in designing a celebration of life that is as unique as the life of their loved one.


We always enjoy working together with families in
planning a celebration of life  for their loved one. While it can be a challenge to put together an event that both pays tribute to and celebrates the life and spirit of a complex individual, it's also one of the most rewarding things any one of us can do for someone we've loved and lost.


Sarah York opens her beautifully-crafted book, Remembering Well, with the very personal story about how her family chose to pay tribute to her mother. "My mother died in April 1983... She didn't want a funeral. 'Get together and have a party,' she had said when the topic was allowed to come up." However, she was quick to tell readers that the survivors did not honor the request. "We needed the ritual. We needed to say good-bye, but we also needed a ritual that would honor her spirit and would be faithful to her values and beliefs."


When Ms. York acknowledges the position of her family—that they needed not a party but a ritual—she teaches us all something important: the celebration of life ceremonies we plan with families should be shaped as much by their own emotional and spiritual needs as their desire to celebrate the life lived.

Funerals vs. Life Celebration Ceremonies

It's interesting; funerals and celebration of life services have much in common, yet they often appear very different. Each is a ceremony; a gathering of people who share a common loss. It's just that one is more rooted in tradition, while the other is the result of recent changes in social values. But both serve to do three things:
  1. Help the bereaved family, and their community, publicly acknowledge the death of one of their own
  2. Support the grieving family by surrounding them with caring friends, co-workers, and neighbors
  3. Move the deceased from one social status to another
Yet they achieve those things in very different ways. First, let's take a closer look at what most of us commonly see as very traditional funerals.

What Makes a Funeral

It's not surprising funerals have been around for a very long time. Composed of three activities, the visitation, the funeral service, and the committal service, performed at the graveside; this funeral is the one we'd easily recognize from contemporary literature and film.

  • The Visitation. Held prior to the funeral, often the night before but sometimes on the same day, the visitation (or viewing) is a time when people come to support the family and, more importantly, pay their respects to the deceased. This often involves stepping up to the casket to view the body; either in the company of a member of the surviving family or on your own.
  • The Funeral Service. Commonly held in the funeral home or church, the traditional funeral service is led by an officiant of one kind or another; most commonly a pastor or the funeral director. This individual follows a very predictable funeral order of service which includes the singing of hymns; and invocations, Bible recitations, Scripture readings, and prayers led by the officiant.
  • The Committal Service. This takes place at the cemetery, after a slow and respectful automobile procession from the place where the funeral was held. The committal service ends when the casketed remains are lowered into the ground, and final prayers are said.
If you'd like to know more about the history of funerals in the United States, you may like to visit the website of the National Museum of Funeral History. But for now, it's enough to know that a funeral service traditionally has these three distinct components. Now let's look at a celebration of life service.

So, What are Celebration of Life Services?

Author Barbara Kingsolver, in her book The Poisonwood Bible, wrote “To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals really know.” We think this reflection is at the heart of a celebration of life. While a funeral, as we've described it above, has more to do with the orderly and often spiritually-defined, a celebration-of-life is more concerned with telling the story of the deceased. Celebration of life ceremonies are just that: a time people come together more to celebrate the unique personality and achievements of the deceased than to merely witness or mark the change in their social status.

Celebration of life ceremonies are similar to memorial services, which can be described as a hybrid event: combining the flexibility of a celebration of life with many of the activities of a traditional funeral order-of-service.

There's more room for creativity in a celebration of life service than a funeral. Since celebrations of life are commonly held after the individual's physical remains have been cared for through burial or cremation, there is much more time available to plan the event. And without doubt, this allows you to make better decisions about how you'd like to celebrate the life of someone you dearly loved.

While celebrations of life services are not burdened by social expectations—they can be pretty much anything you want them to be—it's important to realize that the event you're planning should meet the emotional needs of the guests. So, think about exactly who will be there, and what they're likely to want or need. Then, bring in those unique lifestyle and personality characteristics of the deceased; perhaps add live music or refreshments, and you've got the beginnings of a remarkable celebration of life.
Learn about Memorial Services

3 Benefits of Celebration of Life Services

A celebration of life offers many benefits to your family. Just as each person is unique, each celebration of life service is personal and unique as well. As you explore ideas for a service, consider what the deceased would enjoy, but also what the attendees will enjoy and what will meet their emotional and spiritual needs. Below are the three most cited reasons to plan a celebration of life. 

Personalization 

Many families no longer want the traditional funeral services of years past. Instead, they want a service that is personalized and reflects their loved one. A celebration of life service can include practically anything you want. Say for instance your loved one enjoyed hunting, the service can be planned to have a hunting theme to it. Celebrations of life are all about personalization and making the service something meaningful that truly reflects the deceased unique personality. 

Convenience 

Another benefit of a celebration of life service is convenience. If a family wants to have a funeral, they need to make the arrangements, invite guests, and attend the service. All of this must be done in about a week’s time all while dealing with the grief and stress of losing a loved one. However, when you hold a celebration of life, the remains are often cared for beforehand giving your family more time to plan. Instead, you can deal with the initial grief before coming together with loved ones to plan a service that is special and unique. 

Get More People Involved 

Since timing is more flexible, it allows families to get more loved one's involved in the process of planning celebration of life services. The service should be about sharing memories, so it is important to get as many friends and family members providing celebration of life ideas as possible. Some families take months to plan out the perfect life celebration. Planning a unique memorial for a family member takes a great deal of time and effort. It is important to make a loved one's services special.

More Ideas to Your Life Celebration

As we’ve said, there are many different things you can include in a celebration of life service. To help get you inspired, we’ve compiled a collection of celebration of life ideas. Remember, a celebration of life doesn’t have to be complicated. There are many ways to plan a service that is meaningful and special. Please keep in mind, these are strictly ideas you can plan and are not services offered by our firm. 

The Sports Fan 

Whether it's watching every game or participating in rec leagues every week, sports can be something you invest a lot of time into. If this was the case for your loved one, honor them with a sports themed celebration of life. For this theme, consider decorating the venue with memorabilia and decorations of their favorite team.  

If you want to take this theme even further, organize a tournament in memory of them. Whether it’s a softball tournament or golf tournament, you can have guests gather to spend time playing the sport that the deceased loved. You could even collect donations at the event and make a charitable donation in memory of the deceased.  
celebration of life ideas sports
celebration of life ideas time capsule

The Time Capsule 

A great way to help the family long after the service has ended is to create a memory time capsule. For this idea, invite guests to bring small mementos or keepsakes like photographs, cards, books, letters, and other small items. As guests add their item into the capsule, they can share the memory with everyone in attendance. Afterwards, the family can choose to bury the capsule or lock it away. On the first anniversary of the deceased’s passing, the family can open the capsule and revisit all of the memories shared. They can even put the capsule away again and hold annual celebration of life services or remembrance ceremonies.

Arts and Crafts 

If your loved one enjoyed working with their hands and was crafty, include that in their celebration of life. For this idea, consider setting up a craft station at the venue. During the service, guests can then spend some time at the craft station creating a one-of-a-kind keepsake to take home with them after the service. 
celebration of life ideas - art supplies

Are You Undecided About Celebrations of Life?

We've got years of experience listening, brainstorming, and advising families how they can best pay tribute to a beloved family member through a number of different end-of-life celebrations. That means we're the perfect people to help you decide between a  funeral  and a celebration of life service. We'll explore your options with you in detail, taking all the time you need.


In the book Chocolat , by Joanne Harris, you'll find this fundamental truth: “Life is what you celebrate. All of it. Even its end. ”As funeral professionals we help families express reverence for life. Let us do that for your family. Call our funeral home  to speak with a member of our staff.

Sources: 
  1. Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible 
  2. Joanne Harris, Chocolat
  3. Sara York, Remembering Well: Rituals for Celebrating Life & Mourning Death
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