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The Best Funeral Gift
By Peter Hallon
Each religion has their own funeral rituals and
convention but all of them share one important idea, to
remember and celebrate the deceased's life. The best
funeral gift one can give the bereaved family is a
lasting memorial that they can have to view and enjoy
for the rest of their lives.
A video tribute is the best memorial I have discovered.
Much more powerful than a plaque, picture, or little
sculpture, they are an amazing way to say hello to your
loved one anytime you desire. It is also a wonderful
visual image to play at the wake, service or viewing. I
have never seen still photographs grab the heart the way
a tribute video can, they are truly powerful and
emotional to watch. Lets face it, dying is expensive. We
all usually want to buy a card and place some cash
inside to help our family or friends pay for the
exorbitant costs of a funeral, burial, or cremation. As
wonderful as that gesture is, it does not have a lasting
effect. Give a gift that they can have and hold forever
and pass down to future generations.
A video tribute is such a unique and personal gift that
you will surely be remembered as the donor of this
treasured keepsake, as opposed to one of the many cards
with cash inside. What is a Memorial DVD? In essence it
is a short film or movie of your loved ones life. This
is accomplished with the photographs you have taken of
that special someone over the years. Unlike a slideshow
however, motion and music is added (and narration if
desired) to your still photographs and/or home movies to
make them come alive. Find a company that will work with
you to create just what you are looking for. When you
choose a video production company to make your gift, I
would advise you to be sure they are not a cookie
cutter, template style image factory, the video should
be custom made for each individual. Quality video
tributes range in price from around one hundred dollars
to several thousand dollars.
In my research these high priced videos offer little or
nothing more than reasonably priced ones. I would
recommend spending no more than two hundred dollars on
the basic package, of course if you want twenty-five
copies it rightly would be more. Additional DVDs should
cost no more than ten dollars each. One of the only
features that I can justify some of the added costs of
these four figure companies is web hosting your video
online for one year. This is feature while useful is
free to anyone on you tube, google video, or many other
free video posting sites and I would not be sold on this
item alone. I feel it is a crime to charge so much for
this simple task, and lets face it, taking an undue
amount of money from the bereaved is rather slimy. I
suggest you always speak to someone directly before
sending your treasured photographs and/or home videos
off to a company. Also since you are already sending
media to your chosen video producer, make your payment
the old fashioned way, with a enclosed check or money
order as opposed to paying online for a service that has
yet to be performed.
Most funeral homes and churches have a television and
DVD player available for you to use at the viewing,
wake, or service so do not worry about lugging a TV set
to the funeral. Remember that your loved one need not be
deceased to make a video of their life. When my father
was in his last month of his life fighting cancer, we
took all the family home movies and photos and had a DVD
made which he watched it many, many times. It seemed to
be evidence to him that the life he indeed had lived a
full life, touched many people and raised a good family,
watching the video always made him smile and laugh and
recount stories he had forgotten. I highly endorse a
video tribute for your loved one.
Peter Hallon is a writer and works from his home in
southern Minnesota and runs a successful online
business. If this article was beneficial to you please
use the links provided from this page. Thank you!
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