After cremation services are performed, you'll be given a container with your loved one's ashes in it. Beyond keeping them in an urn in your home, you may be wondering what to do with these ashes, and how best to honor your loved one's memory. Below are a few ideas to help you decide.

What Should You Do With Your Loved One’s Ashes?

1. Display Them in a Cemetery

If your loved one had many friends and family close by, consider putting their ashes in a cemetery. You can purchase a burial plot and place a headstone on it that has an urn holder, or ask the cemetery about mausoleum or crypt options where the urn can be displayed. This allows others to visit their remains when they please.

2. Grow Them Into Trees or Plants

Many kits on the market will use your loved one's ashes to grow a tree or plant. You can add the ashes to the pot and soil that are provided, mix in a few other nutrients, and then plant a tree. This is an excellent way to symbolize the circle of life and create a lasting reminder of your loved one.

3. Scatter Them

Some people leave last wishes for their ashes to be scattered over places that meant a lot to them. This has the sentimental value of their final resting place being somewhere beautiful or momentous to their life, such as a childhood home, somewhere they always wanted to visit, or where they got married. Wherever you scatter the ashes, be sure to get permission first.

4. Have Them Made Into Jewelry

Some companies can take ashes and craft them into stones or resins for jewelry, such as rings or necklaces. Since only a small amount of ashes are needed, you may be able to have multiple items made to give to everyone closest to your loved one a small token to remember them by. It's also an excellent way to keep part of them with you if you're having the rest of the ashes housed in a mausoleum or scattered.

If you need to schedule cremation services, contact Porto Funeral Homes in New Haven County, CT. This team has helped families say goodbye to their loved ones in meaningful ways for over 75 years. They’ll connect you with resources to handle your loved one’s ashes however you decide, and they can also accommodate requests for funeral and memorial services. View some of their cremation options online, and call their East Haven funeral home at (203) 467-3000 or their West Haven location at (203) 934-5000 to start making arrangements.