A FOND FAREWELL AND SIMPLE LUNCHEON IDEAS

Recently, my husband's younger brother, who had been in care facilities for many years, passed away. My husband opted for a small graveside service, due to several reasons, and that is what we did. Some extended family traveled from out of town for the service and I put together a rather simple luncheon for after the service.

It was decided that sandwiches and salads would be the best way to go. We have a Port 'O Subs in our rural town and they do have good food. I went in about a week prior to the service and talked to one of the managers and she was so helpful and kind! This location does catering for larger groups and she went over the choices on that particular menu with me. Eventually, I ordered 2 large variety sub-sandwich trays, a variety wrap tray, fruit salad bowls with fresh red and green grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew, and a meat and cheese tray. I could have ordered cookies and chips but picked those up at the grocery store in bulk. We decided on a date and time for me to pick up the food and they accommodated me by coming in a little earlier to have it ready (I needed to pick up the food, take it to the church and put it all in the fridge before heading back to the cemetery for the graveside).  Don't worry, I gave the Port 'O Sub employees a nice tip for all their help 😊

The day before the service, I spent about an hour making place settings. I had bamboo utensils left over from Thanksgiving so used those up and then regular plastic utensils when needed.

I had jute/twine left over from a previous craft project.

I folded the lower edge over the bottom of the utensils.

Folded one side edge into the inside., then folded the other side in and tucked the "extra" behind the back.

Tied with a simple knot to finish!

All done!

The night before the service and luncheon, a group of us went to the church and used the multipurpose room to set up tables, chairs and put out centerpieces. We didn't see the need to spend money on fresh arrangements (we had already done that for the casket spray, etc.) so I used decor items I had at home

I had several faux succulent arrangements that I had ordered in 2020 for Ali's proposed wedding reception but then COVID happened. I did sell a few things but kept some of the arrangements. Mason jars came in handy with a few clear glass pieces (marbles?) in the bottom and LED candle lights.

Woodens trays add a nice touch, too.

I did buy a couple of inexpensive place mats in case we needed them.

It was nice to use my own decor so I didn't have to worry about anything getting broken or misplaced.

We used nicer paper plates so not much clean up!

Vegetable tray--I loved the ranch dip in the hollowed out purple cabbage!

Nice spread and no cooking! The Relief Society at our Church would have provided the luncheon for us but we didn't think it was big enough to warrant that. The RS has been very helpful over the years when there has been a need for our family and so many others, too. I try to do my part, as well. Funny story: when I had given birth to our sixth child (and son lol), women at church (the RS sisters) signed up to bring food to us for a week or so. Every single meal was tuna casserole. Now, I had grown up eating my share of tuna casseroles and even had made a few for my family. After that experience, however, I have never made another tuna casserole lol. I appreciated the work and care but that did it for me!

Nothing fancy (unless you consider my SIL lol) but worked for us.

We did take one of our coolers and place that on the floor, full of ice, soda, and water. I didn't take a photo of that because I figured you would know what a cooler full of beverages looks like 😏

All in all, there wasn't too terribly much preparation and we were able to use the facilities at our church. I ironed the tablecloths beforehand and took them home to wash/dry afterwards and returned them. 

I hope you enjoyed my info on how we handled the luncheon after saying goodbye to a family member.

Thanks for stopping by!

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