Happy families, delicious food and lovely hand-wrapped presents make holidays joyous and wonderful but not necessarily. If you have lost a loved one, it can be an incredibly challenging to pass this period. There is no perfect cure for grief. But some simple activities can reduce your emotional pressure and help manage your grief during the festive season.

1. A Place For A Loved One

Your loved one is still very much a part of you. So just try to focus on the presence of the loved one by setting a special place for them at the dinner table. You can place a beautiful plate. If you light a candle on the plate it will add to the mood. While you serve their favorite foods share memories about the loved one and ask your friends and family to share their memories too.

2. Keep Yourself Occupied

The holidays magnify your feelings of loss of the person but it is also a time to gain control of yourself. Test some of your skills like playing chess, scrable etc. by inviting a friend who enjoys playing these, over a drink. If you share your memories of the person, it will lift your mood. You will forget for a while all your emotional pains and may enjoy joining the festivities later.

3. A Memory Box

If you have some designing skills, make a beautiful box with photos of the person stuck all the sides. Write your memories and place the papers in the box. Invite your friends over a dinner and ask them to place their memory papers in it. Read the papers after dinner enjoying the memories of the loved one and feeling their presence. Add a small gift to each memory paper and return it.

At Charles J. O'Shea Funeral Homes, we provide comprehensive funeral services and can help you with all aspects of the process so if you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.