Mementos for the Attendees

As your guests part, give them something that will not only thank them for attending the memorial, but something that will remind them of the person of honor.

For a parting favor, fill a cellophane dessert bag with the deceased's favorite candy, cookies or snacks. Tie the bag with a satin ribbon and tie in a charm with the deceased's picture inside. People can take these off the ribbon and string them onto a rosary, necklace or key chain.

As mentioned in the Food & Drink section, you can send guests home with their own mini cookbook that includes the deceased's favorite recipes.

Here's how:

Directions for Creating a Mini Cookbook:

• Ask people to email you recipes they've prepared for the deceased that they enjoyed.
• Using a publishing program like Microsoft Publisher, Serif or Adobe Photoshop, find a template that divides one sheet of paper into four mini pages (once in half lengthwise and once in half width-wise). This template will become the mini cookbook once printed and cut to size.  Copy and paste one recipe onto each mini-page, with photos if provided.
• Write "[NAME]'s Favorite Recipes" or a cute title like "Prepared with Love" on the first page of the cookbook. For the second page, create a Table of Contents that lists all of the recipes by page number. You can also break up the sections into appetizers, drinks, entrees, side dishes, and dessert if you have a lot of recipes. Finally, add a picture of the deceased at the end of the cookbook with the dates of his or her birth and death, or a favorite quote.
• Buy a pack of nice cardstock that can be run through a regular printer, and print out a copy for each guest.
• Use a paper cutter (you can use a professional one for free at a local Kinkos FedEx or art store) to cut each large page (which contains four smaller pages) into separate pages.
• Bind by hole punching one or two holes on the left hand side of the assembled pages and string a ribbon or twine through the holes. Tie the ribbon into a bow or a simple knot and you have a finished book.