By Melissa Petruzzi.

Decorating gravesites to honor loved ones who have passed makes us feel close to them. This practice is an important part of the grieving process for some people, especially during the holidays. Unfortunately, when the holiday season is over those lovely decorations become nothing more than a pile of litter strewn about an otherwise orderly cemetery. Make this year different by incorporating some of these suggestions to make decoration removal a breeze! 

There are a few ways to go about handling holiday decorations at your cemetery. It can be helpful to restrict certain items to avoid safety concerns and a tedious removal process. Some commonly restricted items include: fences/borders, glass containers, stuffed animals, large flags and banners, light-up decorations, and living plants planted at the gravesite. 

Another way to curb the amount of decorations left behind is to offer alternative options for your guests. Biodegradable greeting cards, fresh flower arrangements, and non-artificial grave blankets are all great, eco-friendly options that won’t have to be removed after the holiday season is over.

Possibly the most popular way to mitigate the decoration removal process after the holidays is to create a removal schedule. Some cemeteries also recruit volunteers to make clean-up days go faster. Regardless of how you choose to do it, having a definitive removal process can make the process smooth and even fun. Take some of the stress out of the holiday season and rest assured that your cemetery will be clean afterward. 

Ask us how you can use the CemSites interactive calendar to easily schedule your holiday clean-up!