The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

Anticipatory Grief: What It Feels Like and How to Cope Before a Loss

Anticipatory Grief: What It Feels Like and How to Cope Before a Loss

Anticipatory grief is the kind of mourning that begins while someone is still here. It can show up during a terminal diagnosis, a long decline, or the slow, complicated goodbye...

Cremation Rings: How Ash Jewelry Works, What It Costs, and How to Care for It

Cremation Rings: How Ash Jewelry Works, What It Costs, and How to Care for It

If you’ve found yourself searching for a cremation ring, it’s usually not because you want “jewelry.” It’s because you want a kind of closeness that fits real life—something you can...

Gold Cremation Lockets: How Ash Necklaces Work, How to Fill Them, and What to Look For - Funeral.com, Inc.

Gold Cremation Lockets: How Ash Necklaces Work, How to Fill Them, and What to Look For

There is a specific kind of comfort that comes from being able to reach for someone you love on an ordinary day. Not in a grand, ceremonial way—just in the...

How to Plan a Death Dinner: Conversation Prompts, Menu Ideas, and Hosting Tips - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Plan a Death Dinner: Conversation Prompts, Menu Ideas, and Hosting Tips

Most families don’t avoid end-of-life decisions because they don’t care. They avoid them because the conversations feel too heavy to start—and too personal to do “the right way.” A death dinner...

Flying With Cremated Remains: TSA & Airline Rules for Urns (Carry-On Guide) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Flying With Cremated Remains: TSA & Airline Rules for Urns (Carry-On Guide)

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re trying to do something that feels both intensely practical and quietly emotional: you need to fly with cremated remains, and you...

How Long Until You Get Ashes Back? Typical Turnaround and What Affects It - Funeral.com, Inc.

How Long Until You Get Ashes Back? Typical Turnaround and What Affects It

If you’re asking, when do you get ashes back, it’s rarely because you’re trying to rush anything. It’s usually because you’re trying to plan a memorial, coordinate travel, or simply...

How to Split Ashes Among 5 Siblings Without Spilling (Tools, Math, and Cleanup Tips) - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Split Ashes Among 5 Siblings Without Spilling (Tools, Math, and Cleanup Tips)

For many families today, choosing cremation is part of funeral planning, whether it’s for cost reasons, personal preferences, or a desire for flexibility in memorialization. In fact, according to the...

Mailing Ashes: How to Use the USPS “Cremated Remains” Kit (Step-by-Step) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Mailing Ashes: How to Use the USPS “Cremated Remains” Kit (Step-by-Step)

There are a few moments in grief that feel strangely logistical. One of them is the moment you realize the ashes need to travel. Maybe your sibling lives across the...

Flying with Ashes Internationally: Rules for Mexico, Canada, and Europe (Documents & Customs) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Flying with Ashes Internationally: Rules for Mexico, Canada, and Europe (Documents & Customs)

When you’re carrying cremated remains through an airport, you’re not just dealing with travel logistics—you’re carrying someone you love. And the part that tends to surprise families is that international...

How to Pack an Urn in Checked Luggage (If You Absolutely Must) - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Pack an Urn in Checked Luggage (If You Absolutely Must)

Most families who travel with cremated remains are doing something that feels both deeply personal and strangely logistical at the same time. You’re trying to honor someone (or a beloved...

TSA Rules for Flying With Cremated Remains (2026): What to Expect at Security - Funeral.com, Inc.

TSA Rules for Flying With Cremated Remains (2026): What to Expect at Security

Most people don’t realize how common this kind of travel has become until they’re the one standing in their kitchen, holding a container that suddenly feels far heavier than its...

When Ashes Come Home: A Compassionate Guide to Urns, Keepsakes, Jewelry, and What Comes Next - Funeral.com, Inc.

When Ashes Come Home: A Compassionate Guide to Urns, Keepsakes, Jewelry, and What Comes Next

There’s a moment many families don’t expect after a death: the quiet reality of returning home with cremated remains. The logistics are simple—there’s a container, paperwork, maybe a short conversation...

What to Do With Ashes (2026): Choosing Cremation Urns, Keepsakes, Pet Urns & Cremation Jewelry in a Way You Can Live With - Funeral.com, Inc.

What to Do With Ashes (2026): Choosing Cremation Urns, Keepsakes, Pet Urns & Cremation Jewelry in a Way You Can Live With

There’s a moment after cremation when life goes quiet in a very particular way. The urgent decisions may be behind you, but the question that remains can feel surprisingly heavy:...

How to Transfer Ashes from a Temporary Box to a Permanent Urn (Safely) - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Transfer Ashes from a Temporary Box to a Permanent Urn (Safely)

When a loved one’s cremation is complete, many families find themselves holding a cardboard box or temporary container and facing a new, tender task: how to transfer ashes to urn...

Opening a Sealed Urn: A Safe DIY Guide for Families (Tools, Cleanup, and Resealing) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Opening a Sealed Urn: A Safe DIY Guide for Families (Tools, Cleanup, and Resealing)

There’s a particular kind of heaviness that shows up when you realize you need to open an urn. Maybe your family is ready to split ashes into multiple keepsakes. Maybe...

Keeping Ashes Safe from Cats and Kids: Secure Lids, Placement, and Museum Putty - Funeral.com, Inc.

Keeping Ashes Safe from Cats and Kids: Secure Lids, Placement, and Museum Putty

When you bring cremated remains home, the first question is often quieter than people expect: where do we put them so they’re safe? Not “emotionally safe,” though that matters too,...