Advice on memorial items
There's lots of ways to remember a loved one and many don't have to be chosen immediately after the funeral. If you’d like an urn or memorial item but need some advice please talk to your local Co-op funeral director.
6 modern ways to remember a loved one
Choosing the final resting place for someone’s ashes can take as much planning as the funeral itself. For example, should you pick an urn or go for a garden sculpture?
To help make your choice, there is a range of memorials now available from contemporary caskets to keepsakes such as memorial jewellery and ornaments – and everything in between.
Discover 6 modern memorial keepsakes below and find the perfect way to remember someone special.
Modern urns for ashes
If you want to keep the ashes at home after cremation, an urn is the usual choice. But you don’t have to stick with a traditional shape, colour or size. Today, you can choose a stylish teardrop urn, a flower vase urn, or an urn shaped like a lotus flower, for example.
Contemporary urns still contain a loved one’s ashes but the modern designs can reflect your personal taste, complementing your home décor.
Ornaments for ashes
You don’t need an urn if you want to keep a small amount of ashes at home; ornaments that contain some ashes now look like the items you’d find on any mantlepiece. Fashionable pieces today include our graceful heart keepsake and hand-blown crystal birds. You could even choose to share the ashes among family members, so they can create their own ornaments or other keepsakes.
Memorial jewellery for a loved one
Memorial jewellery is becoming one of the most popular ways to commemorate someone who’s died. Whether you choose to bury or scatter the ashes, or keep them in an urn, you can also save a small amount to be made into jewellery.
The ashes are often kept in a separate space, such as in a locket or a tiny compartment within the clasp of a bracelet. Or you can have them incorporated into the piece itself, usually in glass gemstones. These stones are made into jewellery such as pendants, rings or cufflinks. These subtle memorials mean you can keep a reminder of your loved one with you, wherever you are.
Garden urns
Keeping some ashes at home doesn’t mean you have to keep them indoors – you can now choose items like a garden sculpture or an urn specifically designed to be outdoors.
Minimalist designs, like a stainless-steel lotus flower, make striking memorials, while an urn made from natural materials such as lava stone will eventually blend in with the surroundings. Both options contain some ashes, so you can use them to create a special remembrance spot in your garden.
Handheld memorial keepsakes
You might prefer something more intimate, a small keepsake you can hold close rather than putting on display. If that idea appeals, cuddle stones could be the answer. These ceramic ‘pebbles’ are handmade, with some ashes contained inside. The stones fit in your hand – and are comforting to hold – so they can be carried with you.
Keepsakes without ashes
Meaningful keepsakes can also be created without using the ashes of your loved one. If you have some favourite photographs, a photo album can be a wonderful source of memories. You can create a special printed collection of 10 images, which can be given to close family or simply enjoyed at home.
You can also make a lasting keepsake using items that belonged to your loved one. Memory bears are a unique way of keeping them close, using their clothes or possessions to create a beautiful, personal tribute.
