Remembering A Loved One At Christmas

Christmas can be hard for many people who may have lost loved ones, and a time when their absence can feel magnified. Here are a few ideas for incorporating meaningful remembrance into your Christmas celebrations.

This already popular family activity of making paper garlands to hang at Christmas can be made personal in remembrance of your loved one by adding memories, stories or drawings to each paper chain link before connecting them all together and hanging in your home over the festive season.

Writing the name of your loved one, or personal messages just for them on a paper lantern and releasing it into the night sky can be a wonderful way to see in the festive season, and can be a tradition you can carry out every Christmas Eve or Christmas Day evening in their memory.

Lighting a memorial candle over the Christmas season is a lovely subtle way to bring your loved one’s memory into the celebrations. Choose a scent or colour they loved, and wrap a pillar candle with ribbon, beads or other relevant embellishments. During Christmas celebrations, meals or family get-togethers, light the candle in remembrance.

This one I love. If they had a favourite book, perhaps even a Christmas story, why not do something wonderful in their honour and donate copies of the book to a library or charity, and include a personal message inside the cover. Take comfort in the knowledge that these stories will be enjoyed and loved by so many others.

Make your loved one a part of Christmas Day by cooking their favourite recipes together and serving them to guests or as part of your Christmas dinner. Gingerbread, apple pie, or even homemade cranberry sauce can ignite the comforting tastes and smells of Christmas memories with your loved one.

Invite family members to write down their memories of your missed loved one and put them in a memory jar leading up to Christmas. Then on Christmas Day, sit down together and enjoy reading the memories aloud with each other.

If you are missing a loved one this Christmas, you can add a free Christmas tribute on our 2021 online Christmas Memorial Wall.