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.

Paw Prints After Pet Death: Clay vs. Ink vs. Foam (Which Looks Best and Lasts Longest) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Paw Prints After Pet Death: Clay vs. Ink vs. Foam (Which Looks Best and Lasts Longest)

After a pet dies, time does something strange. Minutes can feel too fast, and the next days can feel slow and unreal. In the middle of that, a paw print...

Keeping a Pet Skull: Legal and Ethical Considerations and Safe, Respectful Cleaning Options - Funeral.com, Inc.

Keeping a Pet Skull: Legal and Ethical Considerations and Safe, Respectful Cleaning Options

There’s a particular kind of grief that shows up after a pet dies—quiet, domestic, and strangely physical. Their food bowl is still by the wall. The leash is still hung...

Pet Taxidermy: Freeze-Dry vs. Traditional Methods (Cost, Realism, and Emotional Considerations) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Pet Taxidermy: Freeze-Dry vs. Traditional Methods (Cost, Realism, and Emotional Considerations)

There are some losses that change the shape of a home. A leash hanging by the door that no longer gets picked up. A food bowl you can’t quite put...

Holograms at Funerals and Eulogies: What’s Possible, What It Costs, and When It Feels Right - Funeral.com, Inc.

Holograms at Funerals and Eulogies: What’s Possible, What It Costs, and When It Feels Right

A funeral or celebration of life is one of the few gatherings where the room itself matters. People arrive carrying stories, guilt about what they didn’t say, gratitude for what...

Trolls and Cyberbullying on Memorial Pages: How to Protect Grieving Families Online - Funeral.com, Inc.

Trolls and Cyberbullying on Memorial Pages: How to Protect Grieving Families Online

In the first hours after a death, families often move through two realities at once: the private world of shock and the public world of notifications. A cousin shares a...

“In Lieu of Flowers”: How Memorial Donations Work and What to Write in the Card - Funeral.com, Inc.

“In Lieu of Flowers”: How Memorial Donations Work and What to Write in the Card

When you are trying to show up for someone in grief, it is normal to reach for what you know. Flowers. A casserole. A card that says, “I’m so sorry,”...

Where Should Flowers Go? Sending to the Funeral Home vs. Sending to the Family’s Home - Funeral.com, Inc.

Where Should Flowers Go? Sending to the Funeral Home vs. Sending to the Family’s Home

If you have ever found yourself staring at a checkout page thinking, “I want to be kind, but I do not want to make this harder,” you are in very...

How to Organize a Meal Train: Scheduling, Drop-Off Rules, and a Low-Stress System That Works - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Organize a Meal Train: Scheduling, Drop-Off Rules, and a Low-Stress System That Works

In the days after a death, people often reach for the most human question they know how to ask: “What can I do?” A meal train is one of the...

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...

Tipping Clergy for a Funeral in 2026: Honorariums, Typical Ranges, and What’s Actually Expected - Funeral.com, Inc.

Tipping Clergy for a Funeral in 2026: Honorariums, Typical Ranges, and What’s Actually Expected

In the middle of grief, it can feel strangely awkward to ask a practical question like tipping clergy funeral. Families often worry they’ll offend someone by offering money—or offend someone...

Funeral Thank-You Cards: Who Should Receive One (Gifts, Meals, Flowers, Donations, and Help) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Funeral Thank-You Cards: Who Should Receive One (Gifts, Meals, Flowers, Donations, and Help)

When you’re grieving, thank-you notes can feel like a chore you didn’t volunteer for. You may be staring at a stack of cards, a list of names, and a calendar...

Tipping Funeral Musicians: When the Fee Is Enough (and When an Extra Honorarium Makes Sense) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Tipping Funeral Musicians: When the Fee Is Enough (and When an Extra Honorarium Makes Sense)

If you are planning a funeral or memorial, there is a particular kind of stress that shows up in the small, practical questions. Music is one of them. A singer...

Do You Tip the Funeral Director? Etiquette, When to Skip It, and Better Ways to Show Appreciation - Funeral.com, Inc.

Do You Tip the Funeral Director? Etiquette, When to Skip It, and Better Ways to Show Appreciation

If you are asking do you tip the funeral director, it usually means something important happened: someone treated your family with steadiness and care at a moment when you were...

Tipping Limo and Hearse Drivers: How Much to Give, When Gratuity Is Included, and What to Check - Funeral.com, Inc.

Tipping Limo and Hearse Drivers: How Much to Give, When Gratuity Is Included, and What to Check

When you’re planning a funeral, transportation is one of those details that feels both practical and emotional. The vehicle itself is visible, the timing is sensitive, and the driver’s steadiness...

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...