Booklet
Booklet
A booklet is a printed or digital collection of information, images and other material created for a funeral or memorial. It can be as simple as a single sheet of paper folded in half or as elaborate as a professionally designed publication filled with photographs, stories and personal touches.
A simple keepsake. A booklet does not need to be complicated or expensive. An A4 sheet of paper, printed at home and folded in half, can provide everything a family needs to guide people through a ceremony and give them something to take home.
More than an Order of Service. A booklet may contain the Order of Service, but it can also include much more. Photographs, stories, poems, favourite sayings, a biography, family history, recipes, artwork or other things that say something about the person can all be included.
A chance to personalise the farewell. Families can use the booklet to include things that are particularly meaningful to the person who has died. One booklet might include a favourite poem printed on a textured paper insert. Another might include a crossword created specifically around the person’s life, interests and sense of humour.
A lasting keepsake. Unlike the spoken parts of a funeral, a booklet can be taken home and kept. It can become a small physical reminder of the person and the farewell, particularly when it contains photographs, stories or other personal material.
A place for practical information. The back page is often used to thank family, friends and others who have supported the person or their loved ones. Where a gathering is planned after the funeral, it can also provide an invitation and practical details such as the location, time and any other information guests need to know.
Not every funeral needs one. A booklet is not a legal requirement and many funerals do not have one. Where a ceremony is simple, an Order of Service can be provided separately, or the celebrant can simply guide those gathered through what is happening.
Ultimately, a booklet can be as simple or as personal as the family wants it to be. It is another opportunity to make a funeral reflect the person rather than simply follow a standard format.