Skip to content
Menu

PDF guide · 2026 edition

Planning a Celebration of Life, the organizer's PDF guide

Cover of the PDF guide "Planning a Celebration of Life"

$2426-page PDF guide · taxes included

Get my PDF guide · $24By paying, you accept the Terms.

The four TributePen guides, $69 (the 4 separately: $106)

One-time payment by Stripe · Apple Pay · Google Pay · PDF to download right away, link also emailed

Instant access right after payment.

  • Secure paymenton Stripe
  • PDF right awaylink also emailed
  • Full refundwithin 14 days
You receive
A 26-page PDF guide: 2 complete annotated examples, 3 letters and scripts to adapt, 16 tables and worksheets, 11 checkboxes.
Format
US Letter PDF to read on screen or print at home, clickable table of contents, sources listed at the end.
Price
$24, one-time payment, taxes included · refund on request within 14 days.
Delivery
Download right after payment, and the link by email to come back to it.
For
The family member or friend organizing a gathering in memory of someone, at home, in a park, a hall or a restaurant, weeks or months after the death.

Ideas are easy to find; a plan is not. This guide takes the person organizing a celebration of life from the first family decision to the thank-you notes: the timeline, the budget sheet, three complete run-of-show plans, what the host says, the memory activities, and the federal rules for scattering ashes at sea or in a national park.

Cover of the PDF guide "Planning a Celebration of Life"
The real cover of the guide (26 pages)
  • 26pages
  • 2complete annotated examples
  • 3letters and scripts to adapt
  • 16tables and worksheets
  • 11checkboxes

How we check

Verified, page by page

  • 108automatic checks run on the site before every update
  • 2official .gov pages read and cited, on October 22, 2026

Reviewed by industry professionals.

  1. Primary sourcesThis guide is built from the guidance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
  2. Every fact has its sourceEach guide lists the pages it relies on, with links, so you can check any point yourself.
  3. DatedSources read on October 22, 2026; each page shows when it was last updated.

What you will be able to do

  • Decide the format with four questions, and see at a glance how a celebration of life differs from a funeral or a memorial service.
  • Choose the date, the place and the guest list, with a table of places and what to check before booking.
  • Plan the budget and share the work: a budget sheet without invented prices, eleven roles to hand out.
  • Follow a six-week timeline, with the invitation wording and the message to brief the speakers.
  • Build the program from three complete run-of-show plans (home, hall, outdoors with ashes), the host's opening words, the open microphone and a closing toast.
  • Make it personal: memory activities, slideshow, music, food, ideas by personality, children and guests who cannot come.
  • Get through the day: the box to pack, the rain plan, the checklist for the day, the thank-you notes, and memory cards to print.

Who it is for, and who it is not for

For you if you have offered, or been asked, to organize the gathering and want a clear plan to share with the family.

Not for you if what you need most is the words (invitation, speech, toast): the Celebration of Life Kit writes them from your memories.

What makes it different

Most free pages are lists of ideas, and printable planners are blank grids. This guide gives the order of the decisions, filled-in examples of complete programs, the words to say, and the rules for ashes taken from the federal sources, not from hearsay.

The complete table of contents

The real table of contents of the guide, with its page numbers.

  1. Deciding what kind of gatheringp. 5Why so many families choose one now · Does the ceremony itself matter? · Four questions to settle first · Celebration of life, memorial service, funeral
  2. Date, place and guest listp. 7Choosing the date · Choosing the place · The guest list
  3. Budget and rolesp. 9The budget sheet · Sharing the work
  4. The six-week timelinep. 11The invitation · Briefing the speakers · The rain plan
  5. The program and the run of showp. 13Three complete run-of-show plans · Opening words for the host · The open microphone · Closing words and a toast
  6. Making it personalp. 16Memory activities · The slideshow · Music · Food · Ideas that start from the person · Children at a celebration · Guests who cannot come
  7. Ashes and outdoor placesp. 18
  8. The day itselfp. 19The box to pack the day before · On the day
  9. After the gatheringp. 20
  10. Common questionsp. 21How long after the death should it be? · Do we need a funeral home? · What should guests wear? · Can there be alcohol? · Do we need a celebrant or officiant? · Should the ashes be there? · What if family members disagree?
  11. Memory cards to printp. 23
  12. Worksheets to printp. 24Decisions sheet · Speakers sheet · Guest count · Notes
  13. Sourcesp. 26

A look inside: real pages of the guide

Page 11 of the PDF guide "Planning a Celebration of Life"
Page 11 of the guide, exactly as you will receive it.
Page 13 of the PDF guide "Planning a Celebration of Life"
Page 13 of the guide, exactly as you will receive it.
Page 16 of the PDF guide "Planning a Celebration of Life"
Page 16 of the guide, exactly as you will receive it.

In pictures

A wooden dock stretching into a calm lake under a gray sky
A wooden dock stretching into a calm lake under a gray sky. Photo: Burst, CC0 1.0
Pale pink and white roses in a soft garden light
Pale pink and white roses in a soft garden light. Photo: Josh Felise, CC0 1.0
Morning mist over a still lake and a line of pine trees
Morning mist over a still lake and a line of pine trees. Photo: Michael Browning, CC0 1.0

Illustrative photos, published by their authors under free licences.

Cover of the PDF guide "Planning a Celebration of Life"
Planning a Celebration of Life
$24

The organizer's guide: when and where to hold it, a six-week timeline, a budget sheet without invented prices, three complete run-of-show plans, roles to hand out, memory activities, the rules for scattering ashes, a hosting script and the checklist for the day.

Get my PDF guide · $24By paying, you accept the Terms.

One-time payment by Stripe · Apple Pay · Google Pay · PDF to download right away, link also emailed

Full refund within 14 days, no reason needed · refund policy

Secure payment by Stripe · Apple Pay · Google Pay · no account, no subscription · Questions? Email us

  • Secure payment on StripeCard or Apple Pay on Stripe's secure page. Your card number never reaches our servers.
  • One price, taxes includedA one-time payment. No account to create, no subscription.
  • Yours right after paymentDownload the PDF at once; the link is also emailed to you, and Find my purchases sends it again.
  • Full refund within 14 daysWrite to us within 14 days of your purchase and we refund you in full, no reason needed (see the refund policy).

Common questions

Is this the same as the Celebration of Life Kit?

No. The Kit ($49) writes the words for you from your memories: invitation, opening words, speech, program texts, toast and thank-you note. This guide is about organizing the gathering itself: decisions, timeline, budget, program, roles, activities and the day.

Does it give venue or catering prices?

No. Those prices vary too much by place to be useful in a guide, and we do not invent figures. The budget sheet lets you fill in your own quotes and decide who pays for what.

Can we scatter the ashes during the celebration?

Often, yes, depending on where. The guide summarizes the federal rules (at sea, at least three nautical miles from land, reported to the EPA within 30 days; in a national park, only with a permit or in designated areas) and tells you whom to ask for lakes, rivers, beaches and private land.

How long before the gathering should we start?

The guide's timeline starts six weeks before, and shows how to compress it into two weeks if needed.

Sources cited in the guide

Related guides

$24Full refund within 14 daysGet my PDF guide · $24By paying, you accept the Terms.