50 Celebration of Life Ideas for a Child
Shock, confusion, disbelief, denial, overwhelming sadness and despair. The loss of a child can leave a parent with a devastating mix of emotions. A celebration of life for a child is an opportunity for family and friends to come together to support one another and remember a life that ended way too soon.
There’s no way to ease the heartbreak that follows the death of a child, but an event that honors the unique details that made the child special can provide some comfort to the grieving family.
Planning a celebration of life for your child
Planning a memorial service for a child isn’t typically something parents expect to do. It’s certainly something no parent wants to do. However, we’re here to help. When you plan with us, you have professional guidance every step of the way. With a compassionate funeral director and access to 24-hour grief support, you and your family will have the resources you need to make what may seem impossible possible.
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Common celebration of life themes for children
Love can be the theme of any celebration of life. You needn’t plan for anything more. But if you’d like to have a celebration for your child that showcases a particular interest or activity, here are some ideas.
Capturing memories: A memory tree allows guests to write their fondest memories of your child on the “leaves,” so you have a memento of favorite moments.
Birthday party: Order a cake, decorate with streamers and balloons, and when it comes time to open presents, give friends and family the gift of your child’s photo to cherish forever.
Art show: Gather pictures and scribbles your child made and arrange them in a collage on a wall of your venue for everyone to see.
Sibling connections: Include a memorial space for your child’s sisters and brothers to make a display. Ask them to write down their memories and bring special photos and keepsakes to show.
“The El Camino Memorial team showed great empathy and professionalism while kindly guiding us through the loss of our child. It’s an unimaginable experience to go through. The team was able to guide me through the process of options, services and pricing, all with an abundance of care, understanding and support. I felt respected, I felt my son in his death was being honored and cared for with dignity by their team. The entire process though heart wrenching for me was handled with care and grace.”
— Elizabeth S.
Favorite books: Display books from your child's collection to share the joy of reading or listening to stories. Select your favorite to give to loved ones as a keepsake or ask guests to donate to the local library.
Music: For the party playlist, your son or daughter’s best-loved songs can help uplift everyone’s spirits. Or choose from among inspiring celebration of life songs.
Cherished interests: Colors, cutouts and decorations can convey a child's special enthusiasm. For example, you might focus the event around a favorite animal, toy, movie or hobby.
Releases: Release paper lanterns with messages to your child or scatter petals from her favorite flowers into the water as you pray for peace.
Life story display: Your child’s best-loved toys and books can be gathered into a beautiful display to showcase their interests through the years.
Presentations: Speakers and narrated slides can powerfully convey the stories of how your child positively impacted the lives of those around them.
Ideas for your daughter
Outer space: If astronomy fascinated your daughter, invite guests to an evening gathering, then step outside to send good wishes to her. Blow star-shaped bubbles into the night sky.
Dance: Project home videos of her recitals and broadcast the music she loved to dance to the most. Arrange for a dance floor so everyone can learn some of her signature moves.
Disney: Decorate your venue with their favorite Disney characters, hire a princess impersonator for the little ones and gift a photo of your child in a Disney-themed frame.
Legos: She loved visiting Legoland and building trucks, trains and castles. Ask family and friends to write a special memory of her on Lego Note Bricks paper that you can treasure in a keepsake box.
Cooking celebration: Pull all her favorite recipes into a cookbook to share with your loved ones. You can also hand out goody bags filled with sweet treats made from her favorite ingredients.
Jewelry station: At a table, set out beads with the letters of her name and simple cords for guests to create a sweet remembrance bracelet.
Baby footprint: Have an impression of her footprint cast for an ornament or wall hanging to give close family as a keepsake.
Fantasy: Bring her world to life with rainbow colors, unicorn stuffies and glittery cutouts of mythological landscapes as an ode to her imagination.
Band or choir tribute: Invite her choir or bandmates to play and sing for your loved ones and showcase her favorite tunes.
Special scrapbook: Make a scrapbook using her ultrasound picture, baby shower mementos and letters you’ve written to her. Ask guests to write heartfelt messages on the other pages.
Tissue paper flowers: She couldn’t wait to run outside in spring to pick violets and daffodils. Spread purple and yellow crafted flowers throughout the venue to bring her contagious cheer to life.
Book lover: Frame quotes and short passages from her favorite books and gift them to friends and family, so they can experience the magical world she loved.
Butterflies: Hang her artwork in the shape of a butterfly to reflect her passion for the winged insects.
Painted portrait: Ask an artist to create a portrait from some of your cherished photos of her. Display it at the service and then at home.
Angelic: If “angel” was the nickname you gave her, capture what she meant to you by playing tracks like “Angel” by Jon Secada and “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)” by Billy Joel.
Ideas for your son
Race car collage: Your son wanted to be like all the top NASCAR drivers. To commemorate his love for the sport, hand out little die-cast cars to all the guests.
Stuffed animals: The plush elephant in his crib was always his favorite. Make it the centerpiece of a table and gift all the little ones who knew and loved him an elephant ornament with his name on it.
Baby mementos: Organize mementos from his life, such as books, bibs, toys and baby shoes, into a display. Ask loved ones to join in a ceremonial candle lighting.
Puzzles: He was the one to put together the most difficult puzzles on family game night. Honor his brilliance by turning your most recent family picture into a puzzle that family and friends can assemble at a big table.
Zoo: To capture his zest for a zoo day, give guests animal ears to wear during his memorial. Ask guests to donate to the local zoo in lieu of gifts or flowers.
“The Pixley staff paid close attention to every aspect of the services for my young sons ‘Celebration of Life’. Everything discussed with Kevin Drummelsmith was executed flawlessly. My 21 year old, special needs son, had made an Amazon playlist with his favorite Disney songs, and his playlist was the background music during the visitation. The team at Pixley beautifully displayed pieces of my sons collectable statues, bobble heads, and other special mementos. They guided us through an extremely difficult time with love & compassion.”
—Phil J.
Animal love: If he cherished his time as a volunteer at the local animal shelter, ask friends and family to volunteer at or contribute to that shelter in his honor.
Stone jar: Instead of a guest book, ask loved ones to write a memory of your son on a stone and place it in a jar. You can put the stones in a special place in your home or garden.
Crafts: No matter the material, he could create amazing, handcrafted gifts. Have a table of craft supplies for guests to create their own artwork; have them write a message to your son on the backs of their finished crafts.
Football: Cheering for his favorite team and practicing at his youth tackle league were his two favorite pastimes. Celebrate with an outdoor flag football game and hand out memorial football cards with his picture on them.
Fashion: His colorful, bold outfits made everyone smile, and he especially loved the color orange. Invite guests to wear their most eclectic outfits; offer each one a special pair of orange-embroidered socks.
Marching band tribute: Invite his bandmates to play in honor of his dedication to keeping the perfect beat.
Comic books: Display his collection of comics and ask his friends and siblings to share stories of his favorite issues and characters.
Stuffed animals: Place his favorite plushies around the memorial. Give them name tags, so everyone can know who his plush friends were.
Fire trucks: From the time he first saw a fire engine racing down the street, all he talked about was becoming a firefighter. Put his fire truck collection on display; order a themed cake you know he’d love.
Family portrait: Even if you never had the chance to get a family portrait, a skilled artist can paint him into a picture of you all together.
Creating a cemetery memorial for your child
Photos: Create an enduring memorial to your child by choosing a favorite photo you took on their grave marker.
Teddy bear: A teddy bear is a tender reminder of your little one’s childhood innocence.
Angel: Keep your angel under the watchful eyes of guardian angels.
Handprints or footprints: Include your baby’s handprints or footprints on their headstone.
Special shapes and cutouts: Order a marker in a special shape, such as a heart, castle or train.
Dove: The symbol of peace and innocence, a dove makes a loving tribute to your child’s life.
Small toys: If you choose a glass-front cremation niche, include a few little toys in her display.
Sports symbols: Order a pedestal topper shaped like a basketball, ballet shoes, golf clubs or tennis racket to pay tribute to his beloved hobby.
Funny saying: Have the words of one of your child's adorable sayings etched onto their memorial.
Sleeping child: For babies and toddlers, an image or sculpture of a sleeping child symbolizes the innocent resting in eternal peace.
Plan with us
Dignity Memorial® planners are experts at helping families create personalized funerals and cremation memorials. We will take the time to listen and discover what made your child unique and what your family values—and we work within your budget.
If you’ve just experienced the death of a child, know that we are always here to help you in any way we can. A caring associate with helpful advice and answers to your questions is just a phone call away.