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Memorial Ideas
Ways to continue remembering and celebrating their lives.
There is no need to break ties with the ones we love even if they are no longer with us.
Finding ways to remember and hold on to the happy memories we shared with our loved ones helps us to heal.
Forget, if you can the sickness or tragedy that took them from us, but give them a place in your life. Remember the fun, the love and the closeness and create future memories that came from doing things we enjoyed together.
I've made this ever-growing list to help give some ideas on how to go about gathering the memories that you, your friends and your family have of your loved one. These memories will be a reflection of their life, something that will give you and others a lasting legacy of their love.
Towards the bottom of this page, you'll find printable memory plaques that you can use as a starting point.
If anyone has other ideas on creating lasting memorials, please send an email to affinity@affinityfunerals.com, we'd love to add them to this page to help others.
'Remembrance' Teddies
This idea was kindly sent to us by Nicole:-
Gather together some of your favourite photos, even those odd photos that bring to mind some funny memories. Arrange them in an album and write the stories that these photographs tell.
Decorate the album with things you associate with them such as their favourite hobby, pets they owned, sporting teams they admired, certificates and acheivements they earned, careers they had, anthing that you feel is relevant and worth including.
Display your photo journal in a place where it can be seen openly and turn it to a new page each day or week.
Memory Box
Purchase a good size box and fill it with items that were special to your and your loved one. Items can be anything from jewellery, perfume bottles that remind you of a memorable scent, medals, ornaments, pieces of clothing, cards, teddies, concert tickets, hats/caps, photographs, trophies, hair lockets etc.
Decorate the box in your own special way.
Memory Quilt
Create a patchwork quilt like the one above using squares of frabric from some of their favourite clothes.
Remembering & Celebrating Special Days
There are certain times of the year that we feel the loss of our loved ones very deeply. Occasions such as Christmas, Birthdays, Mothers and Fathers Day, Anniversaries etc.
If you feel particularly fragile during these times, then it is probably a good idea to try and be with others who can help share your grief.
On these occasions, do something in memory of the person who has died. This can be something they enjoyed doing when they were alive such as going to the movies, eating at their favourite restuarant, going fishing, the zoo, have a picnic in their favourite park, listening to music, playing their favourite sport.
Continue special traditions that your loved one enjoyed to do during these occasion.
If it's a birthday, buy a cake and light some candles for them.
If it's Christmas, spend the day with other family members and friends. You could give gifts that once belonged to your loved one, jewellery, photos or hats are some ideas.
On anniversaries, buy yourself a gift to mark that particular milstone.
Pay a visit to the cemetery during the day and have a chat to them as if they were here.
Take photos of the day and keep them in your photo journal.
Memorial Garden
Create a memorial garden in your own backyard.
A memorial garden can be good for people who find it difficult to visit the cemetery.
You could sprinkle your loved one's ashes in your garden or if you live in rented premises, keep the ashes in a waterproof container so that you may remove them in the event that you move house.
Add flowers and plants that they liked. Place a happy photo (one that is in a waterproof enclosure in case of rain) in a prominent position in your memorial garden. Ensure it can't get blown away or damaged.
Include such items as garden ornaments, pebbles, windchimes, things that will give you a feeling of peace as you sit and reflect. A comfy chair or bench or even just a wooden log to sit on.
A waterproof box filled with items that belonged to the person can be kept in your memorial garden. Holding these items as you sit in your garden can help you to feel closer. Items of clothing often still hold the scent of the person and can be a good thing to keep in your box of memories.
Balloon Releases
Balloon releases are mostly held at a funeral or memorial service whereby family and friends each release a balloon into the air, quite often with a message attached to it. A 'balloon release' could be held annually to mark the anniversary of their passing.
Releasing baloons can symbolize many things such as sending prayers & messages to Heaven, the soul taking flight to Heaven, a sign of letting go of grief.
Fill the balloons with a small amount of flower or bird seeds.
Place a small amount of the cremated ashes in the balloon and release it over an area that was special to your loved one.
Some things to consider for the safety of our environment -
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Try to use something other than curling ribbon or anthing plastic or non bio-degradable. String, cotton or nothing is preferable.
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If releasing a large amount of balloons, do it somewhere away from rivers and oceans. This prevents the popped balloon remains from falling and harming aquatic life in the area.
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Latex balloons are normally 100% bio-degradable, foil balloons are not.
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Instead of attaching note cards to the balloons, use a black marker and write your message on the balloon.
Cremation Urns
After the cremation service, you will most probably want to keep the ashes in a decorative urn.
I suggest paying a visit to your local discount store, Gift Shop, or even your local nursery. There you'll find they stock a large selection of decorative cannisters and ornamental pots that can be just as readily used as an 'urn' for a much more realistic price than the ones offered by many cemeteries.
Online Memorials
'The Remembrance Place' is an Australian owned and operated, free online memorial service dedicated to preserving your special memories by creating a place on the internet in honour of those who've died. Features Include - easy to use memorials, a Remembrance Book for visitors to sign and the option of password protection for your memorial
Virtual Online Graves
This website offers registered users (free registration) the opportunity to create an online virtual grave dedicated to a loved one. Once registered, you are given 200 free credits to buy features for your virtual grave such as headstones, memorial graphics and the option to upload your own personal pictures.
Memory Plaques
These memory plaques are free for you to print.
Follow the instructions below:
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Click on the plaque you wish to print. A new screen will pop up displaying the full size image.
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Wait until the image is completely displayed on your screen.
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If possible, set your pinter to 'A4 borderless photo printing' - if you don't have this option you can simply reduce your printers margin settings to zero or select the 'Shrink To Fit' option on your printer.
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Best quality will be acheived if you choose the 'High Quality' print setting and use photo paper however you can still achieve a very good print on everyday paper or card.
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Once printed, simply fix a photo inside the framed area and fill in the relevant details. I like to use a gold ink pen.
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The memory plaques will fit an 8 x 10 inch photo frame.
*Note also that you can 'right click' on the image and save it to your own computer for further editing and resizing*
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