As you know, I’m doing another project at the moment with The Co-operative. This one is about funeral planning; more specifically, pre-paid funeral plans. (I’ll be hosting a Twitter chat at 1pm on May 13th, so do come and join in if you want to find out more.)
As part of the process I visited my local Co-operative Funeralcare office in Taunton, and I’ve been up to Manchester to interview David Collingwood, one of the top bods in the world of funerals. More on all this later though, for now I want to concentrate on something a bit more fun.
Fun might not be the first word that springs to mind of when you think of funeral planning, but actually funerals are becoming more and more an opportunity to celebrate somebody’s life rather than the sombre occasions of old, and there are loads of ways that you can personalise a funeral to make it something positive and yes, even fun. One of the main benefits of pre-planning your own funeral is that you aren’t doing it through a haze of grief, so you can actually take the time to properly think about what you want and how you want to be remembered.
One of the things that has stood out most from my meetings so far is just how many different options there are, not just for the funeral service itself, but in terms of what you then do with your ashes. I’d thought it was simply a case of burying them or scattering them under a favourite tree, but apparently not.
Here are four unusual things you can do with your ashes:
Turn your ashes into jewellery
Less sob sob, more bling bling, incorporating your ashes into a piece of jewellery is becoming increasingly popular and is a nice option if you want to be able to stay really close to someone you leave behind. It’s not as expensive as you might think – Ashes into Glass offer silver earrings for £195, as well as rings, pendants and cufflinks. Check out Ashes into Glass.
Get yourself set into a paperweight
I really loved this idea as I have a bit of a thing for paperweights. I know it’s probably not cool, but I think they’re really pretty. The same company who make the jewellery offer the paperweight service too – it’s all part of the glass theme. Co-operative Funeralcare in my area also recommend a local company who can turn your funeral flowers into paperweights too, which I think is a really beautiful way to remember someone special.
Life from beyond the groove
For the musically inclined, how about having your ashes pressed into a vinyl record of your favourite songs? It doesn’t even have to be music, it could be a recording of your own voice, perhaps reading out your own will in a spooky Agatha Christie style. A little creepy maybe?
Go out with a bang
Have your ashes put into a firework and add a touch of sparkle to your funeral! It’s not cheap but then who doesn’t love fireworks? Probably best not to stand down wind.
The Co-operative Funeralcare will always do everything they can to help you plan the funeral you want. To discover more ways to personalise your funeral, come and join my Twitter chat – hope to see you then!
Sponsored post in partnership with The Co-operative.
Images: Fireworks from Wasant/shutterstock
For the last week, my facebook sidebar ads have been encouraging me to remember my loved ones by having their ashes inserted into a vibrator. Now I know who to blame.
(That said, it would have to be a very specific relationship to want to do that, otherwise it would be just plain wrong. Imagine being off to spend some private time with Aunty Maud.)
I didn’t know that there were companies that could put your ashes or funeral flowers into a paperweight. I’m usually not that interested in paper weights, but the one you displayed is really beautiful. I think integrating flowers and ashes into a glass piece of artwork like that would be a great way to remember a loved one. Thanks for the article!