If you or someone you know is experiencing grief this Christmas, visit the Change Loss and Grief website and have a look through the resources below to help you deal with grief amidst the joy of this festive season.
| Coping with grief at Christmas time (My Grief Assist Factsheet 16) | For some, Christmas is not the time to be jolly. For some people, this Christmas will be filled with sad memories of someone close who is no longer here. This factsheet offers tips for those grieving and for those who know someone who is grieving. |
| Coping with Holidays and Celebrations (from Griefwatch website) | This booklet is full of advice and ideas on how to handle family celebrations and holidays as well as birthdays and other special days after the loss of a loved one. (Purchase required) |
| Getting Past Christmas (Carlene Vester Eneroth) | Booklet with practical tips for surviving December after the death of a loved one. (Purchase required) |
| Awareness of Change, Loss and Grief during the Holiday Season | Skylight has several printable articles on the issues of coping with grief at specific times of the year eg holidays, anniversaries, birthdays etc. |
| Grief, Anniversaries and significant Events (aus centre for grief and bereavement website) | Free downloadable article is designed to provide ideas and strategies to assist support yourself or someone who is grieving during significant events. |
| Grieving During the Holidays (Pat Schwiebert—grief watch website) | An article on holidays and the bereaved and concludes with this advice “enjoy what you can enjoy, endure what you must endure, and leave the rest for another year.” |
| Your Light in the Darkness of Winter and Grief (Harriet Hodgson) | This article talks about Christmas lights and how a grieving person may feel that their light has gone out. It then goes on to talk about how to rekindle your light and share it with others. |
| Dealing with grief amidst the joy of the festive seasons (Outstretched hand—Open to Hope website) | This free downloadable publication looks at understanding your grief, dealing with grief, children and grief and that life is forever changed due to loss. |
| Grief and Loss at Christmas (Melinda Phillips—Good Grief website) | Article for those who are missing a loved one at Christmas. It also has hints for those who are supporting them during this difficult period. |
| Holidays Magnify Everything (Pat Schwiebert— grief watch website) | Article about how holidays magnify the loss by the constant reminders of what is missing in the life of the bereaved person. |
| Mindfulness at Christmas time (My Grief Assist Factsheet 33) | Christmas can be an intensely painful time of the year. By cultivating a mindfulness practice, we can help to find calm and peace when we are faced with our grief. |
| Coping with Grief at Christmas (from Good Grief website) | Suggestions to help you manage your grief feelings over Christmas and the New Year and safeguards to put in place. |
| Managing grief at Christmas (from Reachout website) | Things you can do to help yourself cope, and ways that you can look after yourself over the holidays. |
| Needs of Grieving children— Special anniversaries & celebrations, Christmas, Chanukah etc bereavement care centre website) | This article looks at anniversaries, celebrations, Christmas etc and how children, like adults may find that grief is particularly painful at times of family celebration. Information on how to help children at these times. |