Our Weekly Tip: Craft a Memorial Remembrance Tree

A remembrance tree makes for a moving centerpiece at your memorial or celebration of life ceremony

Our Tip of the Week:

Memorials are not only about remembering your personal relationship to a loved one who has died, but about the coming together of all those who care deeply for him or her as well. A delicate gesture of unity, this remembrance tree craft is a way to combine the memories of all those who care for that person so dear to you in the form of a breathtaking memorial centerpiece. It gives each person the opportunity to express their love with a memory written on a card and tied to the tree.

How-to Suggestion:

The remembrance tree can take any shape or form you like, with the tree base serving as anything from a fully-fledged live tree or plant (consider picking your loved one’s favorite, a tree like the Yew that symbolizes rebirth, etc). A live tree affords a follow-up planting of the remembrance tree.  You can just as well pick up faux greenery from a local craft shop. Send your invites with a small white stock card included inside (hole-punched and strung with ribbon) with the instructions to write a memory of a cherished moment with the person you’ll be remembering. Ask guests to send them to your own address (or provide an SAE) as they RSVP, and you’ll have time to amass them and craft a beautiful centerpiece in time for the memorial ceremony. Or ask someone to craft it for you as your bereavement gift. Friends and family members often feel at a loss for ways to help and are grateful when you ask.