How to Plan a Memorial Service Reception

When cremations are done as one of the cremation services in Glendale, AZ, the family of the deceased loved one often holds a reception where extended family and friends can share food and offer comfort and support to the bereaved family.

A memorial service reception is an excellent way to connect with both grief and happiness in the face of the loss of a loved one, and it can create deeper and stronger bonds between everyone who attends.

While the immediate family of a deceased loved one may not have the time or energy to plan a reception after the memorial service, extended family and friends often want to have a reception as a way to show care and concern, so they are the ones who end up planning the reception.

If you are planning a memorial service reception, you may be in a quandary about how to get started and how to pull it all together.

The key to planning a reception after a memorial service is to make it easy for everyone to attend and to enjoy. If the reception is labor-intensive and requires a lot of preparation and cleanup, then the people who attend are not able to focus as much on the needs of the grieving family, which defeats the purpose of having the reception.

First, you’ll need to decide where you are going to have the memorial service reception. If you have the memorial service at the funeral home, the funeral director will assist you with a place to hold the reception within the funeral home, if that’s where it’s easiest for everyone to attend (it’s important to know that the farther the distance between the memorial service and the reception, the less likely it is that everyone at the memorial service will attend the reception).

Most churches have kitchens or community rooms, so if the memorial service is going to be held at a church, you can ask about using the kitchen or a community room to host the reception after the service.

Meal preparation for the reception should not fall on just a few people. The easiest way to pull a meal together is to ask everyone to bring one main dish and a side dish. Ask single people to bring desserts and drinks. Every dish that is brought should be in a disposal container (although you’ll get your share of slower cookers, which should be cleaned by the people who bring them) to make cleanup fast and simple. Simply line a table with the food and let people go through lines on both sides to pick out what they want to eat.

Drinks should be non-alcoholic. Coffee, tea, juices, water (plain and sparkling), and sodas should be the drinks that are brought to or made at the reception. Use disposal cups for quick cleanup, and have a couple of large containers filled with ice to keep the sodas and water cold.

Use disposal utensils, plates, and bowls. They don’t have to be flimsy or unattractive (many stores now sell classy disposable dishes). And don’t forget the napkins.

Line two or three large trashcans with contractor’s garbage bags (if some items are recyclable, then put a sign on each trashcan so people know where to throw things away).

Doing a reception this way allows everyone to participate in the real reason for having a reception and that is to spend time with the family to comfort, encourage, and support them.

To learn more about cremation services in Glendale, AZ, our compassionate and experienced team at Simply Cremation & Funeral Arrangements can assist you. You can come to our funeral home at 16952 W. Bell Rd., #303, Surprise, AZ, 85374, or you can contact us today at (623) 975-9393.