The opportunity to plan an end of life celebration is both a beautiful and heavy time in anyone’s life. Obviously, the hardship comes from losing a loved one, but this is also a chance to reflect on all the most wonderful moments throughout that person’s life, be it the memories they created with you as well as special milestones that happened before you knew them.
As the name implies, a celebration is a chance to honor your deceased loved ones life. As the planning process unfolds, think of them and what would make your loved one the happiest to see as they look down upon you and the rest of their people who were in their lives all gathered together.
Make It What They Wanted
This will be easier if you had direct conversations with your loved one before they passed. Given they were vocal about their wishes, simply do your best to execute them and make their other loved ones aware of the date and time for the end of celebration. As you start to plan, think about anything they may have mentioned about end of life wishes throughout the years.
Try to recall any conversation about details like if there was a cemetery they alway pictured themselves in or if they want their celebration to include any religious services. Would they want to have been cremated or have a traditional burial? It will only take a few phone calls to learn details such as average cremation cost opposed to the total cost of a traditional burial.
Choose The Right Location
Given the recently deceased would have wanted a traditional burial, having the right location applies to making sure they are buried where they want to be, but not exclusively that. Ensure that their end of life celebration is also somewhere that could accommodate their wishes. Think of the individual; would they have wanted a celebration in a traditional funeral home?
Somewhere more religious may also sound appropriate, given what was more important to the person. An end of life celebration also doesn’t need to be anywhere that seems typical. If the recently deceased loved somewhere like a particular coffee shop, more than anywhere else in the world, reach out to the owner and ask if it’s possible to rent the place for a gathering with all the loved ones to share stories, pictures and memories together.
Involve Others
Having the responsibility of planning an end of life celebration means that you just lost someone extremely important in your life. Odds are though, there were other important people in their lives as well. Involve them in the process as much as you can. They knew them as well, and others may have insights to make an end-of-life celebration all the more perfect.
There’s also no need to be in pain alone during this time. Their other loved ones will also be in grief over a loss and having camaraderie during this painful time will make it feel slightly easier on everyone. Encourage other loved ones to share ideas and suggestions so you don’t feel alone during this planning process.