Grief and the Holidays: Ways to remember the person who died
The pressures around the holidays can be even more challenging after the death of a family member. Remembering and honoring the person who died in a special way can often help. Here are a few ideas for ways to remember your person during the winter holidays.
Light a memorial candle. Invite children and other friends/family to share memories.
Write a card or letter to the person who died.
Write memories on strips of paper and use them to create a paper chain (see activity below).
Hang a special decoration in memory of the person.
Buy a gift the person would have liked and donate it to a charity.
Set a special memorial place at the table during a holiday meal.
Create a memorabilia table or corner where you can place photos, stuffed animals, toys, cards, foods, and any other kinds of mementos.
Share one of the person’s favorite foods or meals. Food can be a great spark for sharing memories.
Dougy Center programs are completely free to families and would not be possible without your generous support. There are many ways you can help kids and families who are grieving during this challenging season. Here are a few:
Help a grieving family today. Please consider making a year-end gift to help fund our peer grief support programs and resources for children, teens, young adults, and their families who are grieving before and after a death. Donate here.
Buy a Porsche Boxster Raffle ticket. Tickets are now on sale for 25th Annual Porsche Boxster Raffle and only 2,500 tickets will be sold in honor of our 25th year. All ticket-holders will also be entered to win three $500 cash prize drawings. Participate here. Thank you to Porsche Beaverton.
Pick something on our Amazon Wish List. Help Dougy Center with supplies needed for our peer support groups — both in-person and virtual. Your purchase will be shipped directly to Dougy Center and put to good use. Find our Wish List here.
For more ways to help grieving families, visit our website. We are so grateful for your generosity, now and throughout the year!
Family Activity: Create a paper chain of support
We all have someone we can count on during difficult times. To remind us of this support system, here’s an activity for you — and for the kids in your life.
Each link in our chain of support helps make the whole chain stronger. What kind of support do you need and who can help you? If you have a printer, you can download this sheet and use it to make your own chain. Or you can use strips of paper you have on hand and glue them together to make a chain. On each link, write a person, animal, or activity that gives you support and helps you feel better when you're sad or life feels challenging.
