11/19/2025
✨ Navigating Loss & Grief During the Holidays✨
💫A Holistic Approach for Every Age Group
The holidays can magnify grief. Whether it’s the first year without a loved one or the tenth, the season can stir memories, emotions, and unexpected waves of sadness. Healing comes when we recognize that grief is love in motion—still present, still real, still sacred.
🦃 THANKSGIVING 🦃
“Honoring What Was, Holding What Is”
Children
• Keep routines predictable.
• Allow them to share stories or draw pictures of the person they miss.
• Create a “thankful memory” jar together.
Adolescents
• Encourage open conversations—don’t force them to “be strong.”
• Allow them to help plan a small tradition to keep their loved one’s memory alive.
• Validate any mood shifts.
Teens
• Let them choose how much they want to participate in gatherings.
• Invite them to write a Thanksgiving letter to the person they lost.
• Provide space for privacy and togetherness.
Young Adults
• Acknowledge the complexities—family roles may shift when someone passes.
• Encourage grounding practices: journaling, walking, or prayer time.
• Create a gratitude list that honors both loss and resilience.
Adults
• Release expectations of “performing happiness.”
• Invite a balance of solitude and connection.
• Prepare responses for when others ask hard questions.
Seniors
• Validate their layered grief: the loss of people, seasons, and abilities.
• Encourage storytelling—wisdom heals both the speaker and the listener.
• Gently suggest small acts of gratitude to anchor the heart.
During the holidays, remember this:
You don’t have to get over the loss—just learn to live with love in a new form.
Healing happens in moments, not milestones.Take your time. God holds every tear.
💕Coach Mackey
