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.

Can You Share Audible Books With Family? Household Sharing, Limits, and Best Practices - Funeral.com, Inc.

Can You Share Audible Books With Family? Household Sharing, Limits, and Best Practices

Families share stories in all kinds of ways. Sometimes it’s a paperback passed across the kitchen table. Sometimes it’s a chapter read aloud during a long drive. And sometimes, especially...

AI Voice Synthesis After Death: Consent, Ethics, and Safer Ways to Preserve a Voice - Funeral.com, Inc.

AI Voice Synthesis After Death: Consent, Ethics, and Safer Ways to Preserve a Voice

When someone dies, the world gets quieter in ways people don’t expect. It is not only the silence in a house after visitors leave, or the gap in a daily...

Future Mourning Tech: Haptics and “Digital Touch”—Comfort, Risks, and What’s Real Today - Funeral.com, Inc.

Future Mourning Tech: Haptics and “Digital Touch”—Comfort, Risks, and What’s Real Today

There are moments in grief when the mind is busy with logistics, but the body is asking a simpler question: where can comfort land? Sometimes it’s the weight of a...

Sympathy Money Gifts: When Cash (or Checks) Are Appropriate and How to Give Them Respectfully - Funeral.com, Inc.

Sympathy Money Gifts: When Cash (or Checks) Are Appropriate and How to Give Them Respectfully

When someone dies, the instinct to help is immediate. You want to lift something—anything—off the family’s shoulders. Food is comforting, flowers are beautiful, and words can matter more than we...

What to Write When Someone Gives Money or Food: Thank-You Scripts for Cards, Texts, and Emails - Funeral.com, Inc.

What to Write When Someone Gives Money or Food: Thank-You Scripts for Cards, Texts, and Emails

When someone shows up after a death with a meal, a grocery delivery, a gift card, or a cash gift, the kindness can land in a complicated place. You may...

Is It Too Late to Send Funeral Thank-You Notes? Timing Guidelines That Work in Real Life - Funeral.com, Inc.

Is It Too Late to Send Funeral Thank-You Notes? Timing Guidelines That Work in Real Life

If you are asking whether it’s is it too late to send funeral thank you notes, you are probably carrying two things at once: gratitude for the people who showed...

How to Decline Help While Grieving: Boundary Scripts That Are Kind, Clear, and Not Awkward - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Decline Help While Grieving: Boundary Scripts That Are Kind, Clear, and Not Awkward

In the days after a death, kindness can arrive in a rush. A neighbor texts, “I’m coming by in an hour.” A cousin starts a meal train. A well-meaning friend...

How to Check In on Someone Grieving Months Later: What to Say and Do - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Check In on Someone Grieving Months Later: What to Say and Do

In the first days after a death, support can feel loud and immediate. Phones ring. Meals arrive. People show up at the visitation and the service. Then the calendar flips,...

“At Least…” Statements: Why Minimizing Hurts (and Better Ways to Offer Comfort) - Funeral.com, Inc.

“At Least…” Statements: Why Minimizing Hurts (and Better Ways to Offer Comfort)

If you’ve ever blurted out “at least they lived a long life” or “at least you still have…” and immediately regretted it, you’re not alone. Most people don’t reach for...

Overdose Loss Etiquette: Reducing Stigma and Offering Support Without Judgment - Funeral.com, Inc.

Overdose Loss Etiquette: Reducing Stigma and Offering Support Without Judgment

An overdose death can drop a family into a kind of grief that feels public and private at the same time. People may show up with compassion, but also with...

Neighbor Condolences: What to Say (and Do) When Someone on Your Street Loses a Loved One - Funeral.com, Inc.

Neighbor Condolences: What to Say (and Do) When Someone on Your Street Loses a Loved One

When someone on your street loses a loved one, it can feel like grief moves closer to home. You may not be part of their immediate circle, but you are...

“In Lieu of Flowers” Wording: Donation Language That Feels Warm - Funeral.com, Inc.

“In Lieu of Flowers” Wording: Donation Language That Feels Warm

The phrase “in lieu of flowers” is small, and yet it often ends up carrying a surprising amount of emotion. Families use it because they are trying to make the...

What to Say When Someone Dies: What Helps, What to Avoid - Funeral.com, Inc.

What to Say When Someone Dies: What Helps, What to Avoid

If you are searching what to say when someone dies, you are probably in the same emotional knot most people find themselves in: you care, you want to show up,...

How to Ask for Donations Instead of Flowers: Clear, Respectful Language - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Ask for Donations Instead of Flowers: Clear, Respectful Language

When you’re planning a funeral or memorial, the question of flowers can feel deceptively loaded. Flowers are a long-standing way people show up. They’re beautiful, they signal care, and they...

How to Talk to Kids About Cremation: A Parent Script by Age - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Talk to Kids About Cremation: A Parent Script by Age

When adults are grieving, our brains look for something solid to hold onto. Kids do the same thing, except they don’t always have the words for it. They notice the...

Helping Children Grieve a Pet: What to Say in Simple Language - Funeral.com, Inc.

Helping Children Grieve a Pet: What to Say in Simple Language

If you’re searching helping children grieve a pet, you’re probably not looking for a perfect speech. You’re looking for a few steady words that won’t make things worse. You want...