There’s a tear-jerking German commercial that travelled the web not long ago that depicted a grandfather trying to gather his family for the holidays only to have them one-by-one cancel for various reasons. A brilliant idea to stage his own fake funeral quickly turned everything around and brought all kids home quickly. His reasoning? How else could he get them all to spend the holidays together?

It may be a harsh way to get a message across but funerals are the one occasion that usually stops us in our tracks and puts daily life on hold to remember and honor someone. It’s also the single most important event that brings families from far and near together, no matter what. But why do leave it until we’re gone?

What if you’ve had a wonderful life and are grateful for it all, and long to bring my family and friends together to celebrate, reminisce, dance and be together. Maybe it’s not all about their milestones but yours. Perhaps you haven’t had an occasion to dress up in a long while. Or maybe, you miss everyone and need to feel the love.

Celebrations of Life events are a wonderful way to be grateful for a beautiful life (yours or someone else’s), well lived before it’s too late. Hosting Celebration of Life event doesn’t mean you’re leaving this life right now (you could do what grandpa did and make everyone think so) but it does mean you can surround yourself with loved ones and thank everyone for being a part of it.

Some tips on how to host a unique Celebration of Life event:

• Have guests wear anything but black
• Give the party a theme
• Host it somewhere meaningful to you
• Play your favorite music
• Give a little personalized gift that will have your friends & family smile
• Have someone MC the event who can speak about you & your life in an uplifting way