Planning for your own death may seem like a sullen affair. But one group of friends is challenging that idea, with a party dedicated to planning their funerals. It’s a move to help alleviate stress on family and friends so that they aren't left with all the decisions in what would be a very difficult time.
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00:00In an old pub in Hobart, these people are planning celebrations, but these are events
00:09they won't be attending.
00:11I don't want a typical funeral, I'm envisioning a potluck, even a camping trip, sitting around
00:20a bonfire and sharing stories.
00:23Dee Stokes wants more people to plan their own funerals, so that friends and family members
00:29aren't left to make all the decisions.
00:31A couple of years ago my twin sister was diagnosed with cancer and she sadly passed away six
00:41months later.
00:43She hadn't really planned any of this stuff and none of us knew what to do.
00:48It was really confronting and scary and confusing for everybody.
00:56Dee's experience is common.
00:58Fewer than half of Australians over 50 have made plans for their funerals.
01:03Strong emotions like fear and sadness discourage people from discussing it.
01:08It's such an important but confronting task that it's much better to do it in a group
01:16and make it a fun activity rather than a daunting one.
01:20Do you want your ceremony then, if you have a ceremony, outside in nature?
01:25Independent Funeral Director Bec Lyons leads the planning to help out with the necessary
01:30paperwork and discuss funerals of all kinds.
01:34I'd like to have a big dance party, well that's because for me it's just a time where you
01:40just write into yourself, you just relax and enjoy yourself.
01:45Planning ahead for one of life's certainties.