It’s always special to celebrate your dad’s birthday. But that once-important day can become filled with sadness once your dad dies. Just because your father has passed away though, it doesn’t mean you have to stop celebrating his birthday.
In fact, it can be a great way to honor his memory. If your father has passed away, turn his birthday into a celebration of life. There are so many thoughtful ways to pay tribute to your father. Here are some ways you can say, “Happy birthday in heaven, Dad.”
1. Throw a Birthday Party
Invite your friends and family members over for a birthday celebration just like one your dad would have had when he was alive. You can bake or order his favorite kind of cake.
Ask friends and family members to go around the table and share their favorite memories of your dad. You’ll get to revisit sweet memories that you might not have thought about for years. You may even hear new stories about your dad you never knew about before. This kind of celebration can be healing for all members in attendance. It may even become an annual occasion.
2. Go to His Favorite Restaurant
Was your dad fond of a particular restaurant? If so, make a reservation for a family birthday dinner in his honor. When you call ahead, let the staff know you’ll be honoring a deceased regular.
People in the hospitality industry often form a personal connection with their regular customers. They may want to do something special in your father’s memory or at least be there to celebrate right there with you.
3. Host a Memorial Cookout
Did your dad love an opportunity to pull out the grill? Honor his memory by throwing a cookout in his honor. Invite the whole neighborhood over and cook up burgers, hot dogs, or whatever your dad liked best. If he had a special marinade or sauce he used, be sure to incorporate that, too.
Food is strongly tied to memory. The taste and smell of certain foods can connect you to the memories and feelings you experienced when eating them in the past. A cookout is a great way to channel those culinary memories. It can also help you feel more connected to the wider community around you who may also miss your dad.
4. Recreate a Favorite Shared Pastime
Did you and your dad have a hobby you used to work on together? If so, you may have let it fall by the wayside after he died. This once-happy activity may have been too painful to take up again right away.
But your dad would probably want you to be able to continue doing what you both loved. On his birthday, consider revisiting that shared hobby. It could be something like fishing or working on an old car. Picking up this activity again may actually help you feel closer to your late dad.
5. Plant a Memorial Tree in His Honor
When someone dies, there can be great comfort in creating life in that person’s honor. On your dad’s birthday, consider planting his favorite tree in his memory. It will serve as a living memorial that you can continue visiting on his birthday for years to come.
You can also tend to it throughout the year and spend time near it whenever you want to feel close to your dad’s memory. You can watch it grow over the years. It will help you feel like part of your dad still lives on.
6. Have a Fundraiser in His Memory
Did your dad have a cause that was especially close to his heart? Or did he pass away from an illness like cancer or heart disease? On his birthday, you can host a fundraiser in your dad’s memory. The money raised can go to research into the illness that he died from. Or the money can be donated to an organization that you know he cared about. Different fundraisers you can organize include a silent auction or a 5K run.
7. Have a Special Family Movie Night
One of the best things about parenthood is getting to introduce your kids to films you love. If your dad showed you an unforgettable film, invite your family over for a screening of the movie. If you have kids of your own now, now’s a great time to introduce them to this movie.
This can help them feel like they know their grandpa better, even if he died when they were young or before they were born. It may inspire you to revisit other movies and TV shows together going forward.
8. Create a Memory Jar
A birthday is a perfect day to recall your favorite memories of your late father. A memory jar can help you preserve those memories.
Invite friends or family members to come over on your father’s birthday. Leave several slips of paper and pens around a table and place a large decorative jar in the middle. Let people write down some of their most treasured memories of your dad and place them in the jar.
When you’re all done, you can take turns going around the table and pulling slips out of the jar to read aloud. Whoever contributed a particular memory can expand upon the story if you want to.
This is a great way to not only remember your father but to help the people who loved him feel more connected to one another.
9. Commission a Piece of Art in His Honor
When someone you love dies, it’s always nice to have a concrete reminder of him that you can look at. There are, of course, memorials associated with death. Headstones and personalized urns commemorate your deceased loved one. But you may not want to look at something that you associate with your dad’s death.
Instead, find a local artist to create some art that serves as a sweet memento that won’t bring you heartache. You can get a portrait done of him. You can get a landscape painting done of a view he really loved. You could even get an abstract sculpture by an artist he admired. Anything like this can be a special tribute.
10. Release Memorial Lanterns
Some people like to release balloons in memory of their loved ones. This may sound like a perfect birthday tribute to a father who has passed away. But balloons can be really bad for wildlife.
When they pop, they create litter that doesn’t biodegrade. Popped balloons and strings provide choking and strangulation hazards for all kinds of critters. You don’t want to inadvertently kill a living creature trying to memorialize a loved one.
Instead, you can source biodegradable sky lanterns. You can even get special messages inscribed in them. Invite a few friends and family members to release them on your father’s birthday for a lovely visual memorial.
11. Host a Family Dinner
You don’t have to plan an elaborate memorial for your late dad. Sometimes a simple celebration is easiest for the surviving family. Instead of engineering a huge memorial, host a simple dinner for immediate and close family members.
You can serve your dad’s favorite meal and make things feel extra special by leaving an empty chair at the table in honor of your father. You can also light a candle in his memory.
12. Do Something Your Dad Loved
If your dad had an interest you didn’t pursue with him when he was alive, you can explore it after he has died.
Maybe he enjoyed hiking. If so, check out his favorite hiking trails with his usual hiking buddies. This may help you understand your father just a little better.
Honoring Your Late Father on His Birthday
There are so many great ways to honor a deceased loved one on their birthday. Ultimately, the most important thing to keep in mind is the person that you’re celebrating. If you miss your dad, think about the things in life that were most special to him.
Plan a birthday ceremony in his memory that incorporates his interests, talents, or hobbies. This will help you feel closer to him. Remembering Dad on his birthday may feel bittersweet but it’s the perfect occasion to remember all the things you loved about the man who raised you.