A California woman found an unusual way to make sure her late family members were still part of her birthday celebration, putting party hats on the containers holding the ashes of her mother, father, sister, and dog before inviting them to join the festivities.
It might sound incredibly dark, but for Amy Soup, humor has become one way of dealing with an extraordinary amount of loss.
Soup shared the unusual celebration on TikTok, where she frequently talks about grief and life after losing several members of her family. The clip attached above quickly gained traction, garnering 206,200 views, 26,000 likes, and more than 400 comments.
Amy keeps the ashes in Whiskware stackable containers decorated with Mandalorian and Grogu stickers. For her birthday, however, they received an additional accessory: colorful party hats. The four containers hold the remains of her mother, father, sister, and dog.
“They are dressed up and ready to party!” Amy said, and then showed her birthday party decorations, all still up from last year’s celebration. She added, “That would probably drive most people crazy, but I actually just forgot it was there. And now it’s serving its purpose again cause it’s my birthday again.”
Dark Humor Helps Amy Deal With Years of Loss
In a previous video, Amy explained that she experienced several devastating losses within a relatively short period. Her mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 uterine cancer in 2014, while her sister died shortly afterward following serious health problems. Her father died from complications related to hepatitis C about 10 months later. Amy’s mother initially went into remission before her cancer returned, and she died in 2019.
Reactions
The birthday celebration shocked viewers, but most reacted with the same energy. One asked, “Party seems a bit dead. Maybe some music?” Another one commented, “Happy birthday. What did they get you?“
The lighthearted comments kept going. One wrote, “They showed up matching and didn’t give you the memo? That’s a little rude.”
Amy’s birthday guests may not have been particularly talkative, but keeping them involved in the celebration appears to be part of how she continues living with their loss. Judging by her willingness to put four party hats on four containers of ashes, she isn’t afraid to let a little dark humor come along for the party either.
