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.

DIY At-Home Memorial Ideas: Create a Meaningful Space to Remember a Loved One - Funeral.com, Inc.

DIY At-Home Memorial Ideas: Create a Meaningful Space to Remember a Loved One

In the first days after a loss, your home can feel unfamiliar. The rooms are the same, but the rhythm is different. You may notice the places where your loved...

Where to Put Cremation Ashes: 10 Options for Home, Cemetery, Scattering & More - Funeral.com, Inc.

Where to Put Cremation Ashes: 10 Options for Home, Cemetery, Scattering & More

When the cremation is complete and the cremains come home, many families feel a surprising pause. The big logistics may be over, but a quieter question arrives: what to do with...

Cremation Boxes & Urns: What They Are, How They Work, and Where to Buy - Funeral.com, Inc.

Cremation Boxes & Urns: What They Are, How They Work, and Where to Buy

After a cremation, families often receive the cremated remains in a temporary container—practical, safe, and not meant to be a forever home. Then the quiet question arrives: what to do with...

How to Store Your Pet’s Ashes at Home: Urns, Keepsakes, and Safety Tips - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Store Your Pet’s Ashes at Home: Urns, Keepsakes, and Safety Tips

Bringing your pet’s ashes home can feel like a strange mix of comfort and finality. For some families, it’s a relief to have their companion back under the same roof....

What Does Gray Symbolize? Color Psychology, Meaning, and When It Feels Comforting - Funeral.com, Inc.

What Does Gray Symbolize? Color Psychology, Meaning, and When It Feels Comforting

Gray tends to arrive quietly. It’s the color of early morning sidewalks, winter clouds, pencil sketches, weathered stone, and hair that has lived a whole life before turning silver. In...

Where to Put Cremation Ashes: 10 Meaningful Options From Home Display to Scattering - Funeral.com, Inc.

Where to Put Cremation Ashes: 10 Meaningful Options From Home Display to Scattering

Most families don’t begin by shopping for an urn. They begin by holding a temporary container in both hands—sometimes in a quiet kitchen, sometimes after a long day of paperwork—and...

Are Cremains Really “Ashes”? What They Look Like, Weigh, and Why - Funeral.com, Inc.

Are Cremains Really “Ashes”? What They Look Like, Weigh, and Why

The first time many families receive cremated remains, there’s a quiet moment of surprise. You’re handed a container—sometimes a simple plastic box, sometimes a cardboard temporary urn—and you realize you’re...

How to Display an Urn at Home: Placement Ideas, Safety Tips, and Memorial Décor - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Display an Urn at Home: Placement Ideas, Safety Tips, and Memorial Décor

The day an urn comes home can feel surprisingly quiet. Sometimes it arrives after a memorial service, sometimes after a long week of paperwork and phone calls, and sometimes after...

How Much Do Cremated Remains Weigh? Typical Pounds and Volume (With Real-World Ranges) - Funeral.com, Inc.

How Much Do Cremated Remains Weigh? Typical Pounds and Volume (With Real-World Ranges)

If you’ve been told “the ashes are ready,” you might expect a neat little box you can hold with one hand and a clear answer to your next question: how...

Should You Seal a Cremation Urn? When to Use Glue (and When Not To) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Should You Seal a Cremation Urn? When to Use Glue (and When Not To)

The question usually arrives in a quiet moment. The phone calls have slowed. The paperwork is mostly done. The temporary container is on the table, and the new urn—beautiful, heavier...

How to Choose the Best Cremation Urn: Size, Material, Style, and Budget (5-Minute Guide) - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Choose the Best Cremation Urn: Size, Material, Style, and Budget (5-Minute Guide)

Choosing an urn can feel hard. You may be making calls, signing forms, trying to keep family updated, and then—suddenly—you’re asked to pick a container that could stay with you...

Do You Need an Urn Vault? Burial Urns, Cemetery Requirements, and Long-Term Storage Options - Funeral.com, Inc.

Do You Need an Urn Vault? Burial Urns, Cemetery Requirements, and Long-Term Storage Options

Most families don’t begin with the words “urn vault.” They begin with a simpler question: what happens next after cremation? Then a cemetery mentions a requirement, or a funeral director...

Creative Urn Ideas and Alternatives: Keepsakes, Jewelry, Art, and Unique Memorial Options - Funeral.com, Inc.

Creative Urn Ideas and Alternatives: Keepsakes, Jewelry, Art, and Unique Memorial Options

After cremation, families often discover that the hardest decisions come after the paperwork is done. The cremation itself may feel like a clear choice—simple, flexible, and often more affordable—but then...

How to Create a Memorial Garden: Small-Space Ideas, Plants, and Meaningful Touches - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Create a Memorial Garden: Small-Space Ideas, Plants, and Meaningful Touches

A memorial garden is one of the gentlest ways to make space for grief without forcing it to perform. It doesn’t ask you to “move on.” It simply gives love...

How to Create a Memory Table That Doesn’t Feel Performative - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Create a Memory Table That Doesn’t Feel Performative

A memory table can be one of the most comforting parts of a service, and also one of the parts families dread. The dread usually isn’t about photos or flowers....

Shrines, Altars, and Memorial Spaces: From Home Tribute Corners to Famous Shrines - Funeral.com, Inc.

Shrines, Altars, and Memorial Spaces: From Home Tribute Corners to Famous Shrines

A memorial space can be as small as a photograph beside a candle on a bookshelf, or as vast as a pilgrimage site that millions of people travel to each...