You may have a coffee-lover in your family who is either near passing or has recently passed away. We would like to help you create a personalized coffee-themed gathering that will honor the impact they have had in your life and the lives of others. While a gathering can take place almost anywhere, the ideas in this blog will work well for most funeral home and church gatherings.
Ambiance
When you think of coffee, what descriptive words come to mind? Warm, cozy, rich, smooth, comforting, good conversation, friendship? To help you set an atmosphere that fits a few or all of these words, we will share some ideas you may want to consider.
- White lights – You could create a cozy atmosphere with well-placed lighting. For example, dim the lights and, with permission, strategically drape little white string lights like you would use to decorate a Christmas tree.
- Candles – You may also be able to place candles, with real or fake fire, at the welcome table where people sign a book, in the restrooms, and at other locations throughout the gathering area.
- Lamps – Many funeral homes decorate with lamps. If you can dim the ceiling lights and use lamps instead, you will create a cozier atmosphere.
Music
Music is a personal and memorable addition to any gathering. If possible, ask your loved one if they would like to choose some favorite songs they would like to have played during their gathering. If your loved one has passed, you may choose songs that you think would best honor their memory. Here are some musical ideas to add meaning to your celebration of life.
- Welcome/Visitation/Reception
Many coffeeshops occasionally provide live music, so you may want to consider playing smooth jazz over the sound system or inviting a guitar player who could play softly in the foyer as people come in. Or, you could create a playlist of your loved one’s favorite songs to play during visitation or in the foyer as people enter for the service. - Ceremony
You may want to include coffee-related songs for the ceremony. For secular song ideas, check out this website. A classic song you might like is My Cup Runneth Over with Love. If you want Christian music, you may want to consider Awakening or Fill My Cup, Lord. If you need sheet music, you may find it at Music Notes.
Decorations
Decorations can add beauty and depth to your gathering. If you have a welcome table with a guest book or tables for a meal following your ceremony, you have several options you could choose from to continue the coffee theme.
- Coffee mugs – If your loved one had a few favorite coffee mugs, you could use one for each centerpiece, filling the mug with a plant or lovely flowers. Here are some ideas from Pinterest and an instructional video on YouTube. You can use natural or artificial flowers. After the meal, you may want to invite family members or friends to choose a mug arrangement to take home.
- Coffee bean creation – If you have time and are looking for something exotic, you may want to make one of these coffee bean centerpieces.
- Coffee glass jar arrangement – Save your Starbucks frappuccino bottle to fill with coffee beans and a few flowers like this.
- Doily with coffee beans – You’ll want to place your decorations on something to set them off beautifully in the middle of the tables. Consider a doily as a base and scatter coffee beans around your chosen centerpiece.
Favors
Perhaps you would like to prepare favors to thank your guests for coming and provide a visual reminder of your loved one to enjoy in the coming days. Here are a few favor ideas you might enjoy sharing with your guests.
- K-cup basket – You could have a basket held by a grandchild who gives each person a k-cup as they leave.
- Thank you for “Bean” here – Take a small favor bag and fill it with coffee beans for the adults and jelly beans for the children, adorned with a small tag that says, “Thanks for bean here today,” alongside the name of your loved one. Here is an example.
- Christmas ornament – Starting around Thanksgiving, dollar stores and craft stores sell clear ornaments you can fill with coffee beans. This simple, inexpensive gift can be personalized by making an attractive tag with the name of your loved one lovingly written on it. Or, you can order them anytime during the year from online craft stores like this.
Food and Drink
Several foods and drinks harmonize with a coffee-themed gathering. You may want to include your loved ones’ favorites. If you need ideas, here are a few options that are both delicious and refreshing.
- A small gathering could take place at one of your loved ones’ favorite coffee shops.
- A larger gathering could be graced by a coffee bar for guests to enjoy before, during, or after the service. Many coffee shops cater by providing a mobile coffee bar.
- You can provide coffee in a simpler and less expensive format: you could set up a table with a traditional coffee pot, a variety of creamers and sugar, coffee-to-go cups, and decorated with photos of your loved one.
- You may like to use a coffee marinade for meat dishes.
- If it’s summertime, you might want to provide iced coffee options.
- If a few church families offer to help make desserts, a simple coffee cake would be a delicious option. Or, you could consider featuring one of these scrumptious desserts that have coffee as a main ingredient.
Activities
While this is a time of sadness, there is a lot of joy as well. Activities can help set guests at ease and create a delightful memory. There are several coffee-themed activities that would be appropriate for children or adults at your gathering. Here are a few coffee-themed activities you could enjoy in remembrance of your loved one.
- Painting parties are popular. But have you heard that you can paint with coffee?
- For little ones, you could provide a coffee bean sensory bin or set up a craft table to make these adorable coffee filter butterflies.
We hope these ideas will help you create the perfect coffee-themed gathering to honor your loved one. You may want to share your favorite ideas ahead of time with your clergy or funeral director. They will be happy to help you create a memorable gathering to honor your loved one well.
