Would you plan your own funeral?
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Whether you want your ashes to be dropped into the ocean in a turtle shaped biodegradable urn or farewelled in a coffin wrapped in your favourite footy team colours - the options are endless.
Cheryl Forbes from Picaluna Funerals says it's time to get comfortable with talking about death and knowing your rights at the end of life.
"It's something that's going to happen to all of us and it's the least talked about thing," the Newcastle-based funeral director and celebrant said.
While it's a confronting topic, Ms Forbes said pre-planning your own funeral is the greatest gift you can leave to a loved one.
"It's the most amazing gift you can give your family, for them to know your wishes," she said.
She said from choosing how you want to arrive right down to the music and flower arrangements and whether you want to be cremated or buried, pre-planning your funeral gives you the chance to honour your life on your terms.
"Look outside the square, what's something that's different and meaningful to you."
![Picaluna Funerals director and celebrant Cheryl Forbes says pre-planning your funeral is the an incredible gift to leave your loved ones. Picture by Alanna Tomazin Picaluna Funerals director and celebrant Cheryl Forbes says pre-planning your funeral is the an incredible gift to leave your loved ones. Picture by Alanna Tomazin](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/zvsqbJ42zsM4GchEBbA5zn/70b18769-2c9d-401a-b1ce-cb521c4a9929.jpg/r860_502_4023_2652_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
She said a recent pre-planned funeral she did was for a man who was being cremated and he put his own "spin on things".
"He had organised his own funeral and as the curtains closed the final song was Disco Inferno, which is Burn Baby Burn. Everyone cracked up."
To top it off, Ms Forbes said the last bit of his slideshow was the iconic scene from the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off where Ferris says: 'What are you still doing here? It's over. Go home'.
"It's the sort of thing you can only do if you organise your own funeral," she said.
Spoilt for choice
Ms Forbes said people had many different options when it came to picking a coffin, from cardboard to varnished and everything in between.
"There's wicker coffins, banana leaf and pandanus that are quite environmentally friendly and you can get personalised ones. There's also an option for families to take the coffin home where they can paint or decorate it," she said.
Ms Forbes said markers could also be handed out at funerals where people can write messages and draw pictures on the coffin.
"That's a really lovely thing to include kids at a funeral too," she said, adding that there were also many different options with urns and scattering tubes.
"You can get scattering tubes for the ashes and there are biodegradable urns like turtles, shells, all different kind of shapes you can get, and they float for a short amount of time," she said.
![There are many different options when it comes to choosing a coffin. Pictures by Picaluna Funerals There are many different options when it comes to choosing a coffin. Pictures by Picaluna Funerals](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/zvsqbJ42zsM4GchEBbA5zn/ffb417ef-9c10-408e-a597-d977d774d04d.jpg/r0_0_2000_1600_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"So you can take them out on a boat, pop it in the water and eventually it will sink and break down."
There are also options to put ashes into keepsake jewellery and even wedding bouquets.
"There are just so many elements and options," Ms Forbes said.
Ms Forbes said there was also an option to prepay your funeral where everything you choose remains at the same price.
"You get everything at the price it is then, you're paying at today's price so when the time comes, the family will get everything that is nominated at that price," she said.
Your body has rights
Ms Forbes said there was a generalisation around funerals of "the person has died we need to pick them up from hospital, get them in the ground and move on".
"People don't know their rights when it comes to dying. There's a whole realm of options and a lot of people don't know the questions to ask," she said.
"It's not about the funeral director telling you when you can have the funeral, it's about you telling them what you want."
Ms Forbes said families also have the choice to decide if they'd like to bring a loved one home after they've died, in the lead up to the funeral.
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"In the olden days the family would lay the person on a table, wash and dress themselves and the undertaker would come and get them, but the role of the funeral director stepped up somewhere in the [Great] Depression," she said.
"One thing a lot of people don't know is you can actually keep your person at home for up to five days after they've died, even if they've died in hospital."
Ms Forbes said people could organise to have a cooling bed at home which is a plate that sits under the person's organs and keeps them cold.
![You can personalise Order of Service booklets or bookmarks. Picture by Alanna Tomazin You can personalise Order of Service booklets or bookmarks. Picture by Alanna Tomazin](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/zvsqbJ42zsM4GchEBbA5zn/65ff78df-573b-4d1c-ab0a-da7f9d4b2cd2.JPG/r824_233_3879_2303_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"It gives people time to come and hold vigil, spend some time with their loved one," she said.
She said there was no rush and a person could stay in a mortuary anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, where they are cared for by morticians.
"They will do their makeup and hair, wash them and dress them for the funeral and if there's going to be a viewing a small amount of embalming would be done to bring the colour back."
Embalming chemicals buried in the ground gradually work their way into soil and underground waterways and an average four hectare cemetery holds enough embalming fluid to fill a small swimming pool.
"We encourage minimal embalming from an environmental factor," Ms Forbes said.
![Cheryl Forbes from Picaluna Funerals is encouraging people to get comfortable with talking about death. Picture by Alanna Tomazin Cheryl Forbes from Picaluna Funerals is encouraging people to get comfortable with talking about death. Picture by Alanna Tomazin](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/zvsqbJ42zsM4GchEBbA5zn/cc6f06a2-18b5-4d80-8f58-4cf67fba0bd5.jpg/r5_0_1165_652_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Discussing death
Ms Forbes said society has become disconnected with death and there was a level of fear.
"I think people improving their knowledge around the death space is a really worthwhile and important thing to do, because there is so much more to it than people realise," she said.
"I really encourage people to improve their death literacy."
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