Memorial Service etiquette?

pb_bride

We will be attending a memorial service this weekend.  M is 11 months.

I haven't been to a memorial service for years, so I don't even know how it goes and how long it is.  I'm assuming that even if it's a short service, M won't be able to stay quiet nor sit still through it.  So do I just take him outside?  If you've brought your LOs to one, any other tips?  What kind of outfit is appropriate/not appropriate?

TIA!

ELF4321

For my BILs service in church, I dressed DD in a blue sundress. There's a lot of leeway for little ones, I personally would just avoid jeans or any kind of tshirt with a cutesy logo or something like that on it. We sat in the back near the door with DD and I brought a lot of quiet toys like books, little cars and stuffed animals (I got a couple of new books and hid a few things for a week before, so they kept her interest when she saw them again. If your LO gets too loud, head out of the room for a break.

imoverit

Pretty much everything ELF said. I spent more time outside but was glad I brought him.

TJ1979

I'm pretty sure E wore a grey dress with a pink sweater when we went to one. She was much younger than M though, probably 5 months or so. She spent pretty much the whole service (1 hour) in my aunts lap, playing with her jewelry and some books. I was surprised how good she was. Another one she went to she wore a Hawaiian dress (you would have had to have known her uncle, he would have loved it, and lots of people were dressed that way) and she sat in my lap the whole time. She got a little fussy, so we sat near the back on an edge so we could get out easily.

Dragonfly1226

My grandmother passed away at the end of August, and we had to bring all three kids to the first viewing at the funeral home. (Logistically there was no other way since we live five hours away and dh had to work the day before.) I dressed the girls in brown sun dresses and DS wore grey pants and a blue Polo shirt. My nine month old cousin was wearing a light pink dress. I agree that there is a lot of leeway with regards to dressing little ones.

When we got there it was general viewing hours so dh and I let my parents watch the kids in the next room while we went to see my Grandma for the first time. After that we milled about talking to family in a separate room. When there was a short, quiet prayer service we let the kids play with toys and had snacks ready too. We didn't need to step outside but would have if anyone was being too loud.

I am so sorry for your loss.

pb_bride

Thanks so much for your input! We'll definitely pack books and quiet toys.  I'll probably sit in the back with M.