A Personal Photo
Keeping a personal photo of your loved one in a glass-front cremation niche after they’ve passed on can be helpful in the healing process. A photo of a fun day you spent together can serve as a reminder of the good times you had together. A standalone photo or glamour shot from their youth can capture a spirit of their age and encapsulate a moment in the past. Wedding photos, polaroid candids, and holidays photos can remind you of the special moments they created for your family. These small memories can build up to create a lifetime of milestones and celebrations, so it’s only fitting that you would include personal photos in a cremation niche.
Flowers (Fresh or Fabricated)
Flowers have always been considered a token of respect and remembrance for those who have departed. They offer a beautiful contribution to a glass-front cremation niche, bringing a spot of color and beauty to a final resting place. If you plan on visiting the cremation niche often, fresh flowers in a simple vase can be a perfect decoration. However, if you aren’t able to visit as often or would simply prefer a longer-lasting remembrance, plastic, fabric, or paper flowers can be just as meaningful when placed within the niche as a feature of the tribute. Some traditional flower suggestions include lilies, roses, carnations, and orchids. However, if your loved one had a particular favorite flower, that can often be the best choice.
Mementos and Keepsakes
The saying “it’s the little things” has so many meanings. While something small like a keepsake or a memento may mean little to an outside observer, they can offer the world to people who understand the story behind a memento. That’s why keepsakes and mementos are a good addition to cremation niches. Ticket stubs, a number written on a piece of paper, an encouraging post-it note left on a mirror when you were young; these small pieces of your shared past with a loved one are invaluable. Preserving them in a safe space where you can visit, knowing they won’t be lost or accidentally discarded, can be a comforting thing.
Music
This suggestion may seem a little confusing: how can you decorate with music? It’s not like you could leave a battery-powered boombox inside your cremation niche. While playing actual music from within a niche isn’t quite a possibility — after all, it might spook some of the other visitors — you can still honor your loved one with their favorite songs by printing out the sheet music or writing down the lyrics. This personal touch can bring the spirit of their favorite song to a cremation niche without actually playing the music audibly.
Messages of Love
Often when our loved ones pass away, we find ourselves wishing we had had more time to tell them everything we wanted to say. Some people yearn to say “I love you” or “I’m proud of you” more times when the opportunity has passed. Still others wish they could have had a chance to say “I forgive you.” Death can often bring up complicated desires. However, with a cremation niche, you have the opportunity to share these sentiments in memorialization. Everything you wish you had said can be placed inside the niche alongside the other memories and mementos, providing a sense of peace and closure for you. You can read the letter aloud to your friends and family, or tuck it away to remain private between you and the person who has passed on.
Decorating Your Own Cremation Niche In Advance Of Need (Create Your Own Masterpiece)
Over half of Hollywood Forever’s clients select and purchase cremation niches in advance of need, for themselves. Not only does this relieve loved ones of the decisions that can be involved during a very difficult time, but you can truly say, “I did it My Way!” Your personal cremation niche can be a work of art that expresses your loves, tastes, and styles. You can include favorite photos, books, poems, a favorite keepsake or touchstone. This type of creative interaction with our own mortality can also be a very healthy and life affirming process, as it helps us to make peace and place extra value on our time here. You’ll also assure that you’ll always be remembered the way you wish.
Losing a loved one can be difficult, and making decisions for how to memorialize them can be compounded by the grief we feel at their loss. It’s during these moments that it can be a good idea to stop, breathe, and offer yourself some grace. We hope that these suggestions for how to decorate a cremation niche have provided you with a sense of direction and comfort. At Hollywood Forever, we are dedicated to assisting you in any way we can.
We want to help you make the best decisions for you and your family to celebrate the memory of a life lived. If you have any questions about our cemetery, funeral home or cremation services, please contact us.
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