Giving flowers at a funeral has been a long-standing tradition. The general idea is to express one’s sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathy to the deceased’s family. It is also a way to decorate the venue where the funeral service will be held.
While these flowers arrangements are well received by the family, many might not know what they can do with them after the service has concluded. We share several meaningful ways you can repurpose the flowers instead of letting them go to waste.
1. Remember other loved ones who have passed on
If you have extra flowers, use them to remember other deceased family members. Place the flowers on their columbarium niche or gravesite. If it’s located on the same cemetery in Singapore, you can easily bring the flowers from the funeral service to their resting place. Use this to honour their memory with a beautiful floral arrangement that would otherwise be discarded.
2. Donate to someone else
You can try asking the funeral director for some help on donating your flowers for someone else’s funeral service. It offers a comforting touch to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one – especially for memorial or funeral services that may not be receiving many flowers. However, if you are doing this, keep in mind on the setting of the flowers as you choose where to donate them. For example, a Christian cross floral standing may not be appropriate for a Buddhist funeral.
Instead of leaving the flowers behind at the funeral site to be discarded, you can also give the unwanted flowers to friends, relatives and co-workers, or donate them to a church, workplace, or retirement homes. Remember to remove all cards, ribbons and notes that will identify the original purpose of your gift. This can easily help to brighten someone’s day.
3. Preserve them for a memorial keepsake
Craft a beautiful memorial keepsake in honour of your loved one, using the petals or even the whole bouquet. One easy method is to place them between a couple of parchment paper sheets and press them flat between a stack of books. After some time, place the dried flower beneath the glass in a frame – add the deceased’s name or their favourite quote to the frame matting. Other ideas include candles, fridge magnets, bookmarks, potpourri, or as decorations for a memorial scrapbook or journal. You can also add some of the dried flowers to the funeral book for an added personalised touch.
It is a good idea to get the family to join and participate too. It can be a healing process for everyone to make these keepsakes and tell stories about your loved one. This can help to process the grief, and at the same time, be a bonding experience for everyone. Regardless of the keepsake you’ve made, it would provide better use of the leftover floral arrangements and funeral flowers rather than simply discarding them.
