Oh the irony behind that statement. Whether you say Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Holidays…all beliefs aside…we can all agree that the holidays are the hardest when you have lost someone you loved. Things change, things are different and thats hard.
How can you make the holidays merry and happy again? First, remember your family and friends who love you. Plan something with them and make new traditions. Growing up we always had family over on Christmas Eve and had Mexican food for dinner. We then would open gifts and play games. After mom passed away, my sister also moved away so dad and I had to come up with something new. Was it hard? Yes and no, but we were together so that is all that matters.
Now that dad has passed away, I am not mentally or emotionally prepared on what to do. We are blessed to have a little boy and this will be the first time he really understands presents and opening them, so that will be fun. Then of course my mind is like, my how I would love for dad to see this. We ALWAYS went to mom and dads for Christmas Eve, so now we will need to create our own traditions. That is kind of exciting.
During our grief, we often focus so much on the past that we forget about the present/future. We often are too scared to move on and try creating new traditions. I am not sure if guilt or denial makes it to where its hard to “move on” and make new traditions. I know for me personally, I am not a fan of change. I like to know what to expect. But I also know that I have to pick up and move on, especially for my family. My son needs this and honestly so do I. I am excited to see what we come up with 🙂 If you have any fun Christmas Eve traditions, feel free to share!
