Everything changes following the death of a loved one. Even things that you thought you could count on to always stay the same, like holidays, feel very different. You have a choice when it comes to how you adjust to the absence of your loved one; You can dwell on the fact that your holidays just aren’t the same anymore, or you can make new traditions while honoring and commemorating your loved one. Here are 4 fun family traditions that you can start this year.
1. Send a Note to Heaven
What we wouldn’t give to wish our loved one a Merry Christmas just one more time. Why not wish your loved one a Merry Christmas every year, together as a family? Next Holiday season, instruct your family members to craft a note to your departed loved one, telling them all that happened throughout the year or whatever’s on their mind. On Christmas morning, put your notes into balloons, fill the balloons with helium, and let them fly. Then go on to enjoy the Holiday, knowing that your loved one is with you in spirit on that special day.
2. Participate in a Charity Run/Walk
If your community has an organized run or walk every year, make it a point to participate in this event each year as a family, and dedicate your efforts to your departed loved one. You can even make t-shirts to let everyone know that you are a team and to make people aware of your cause.
3. Annual Family Picture
It’s amazing how much we change in just one year. You may not notice the changes in your mother’s face or how much your son has grown because you see them so often. But if you take a picture each year and put the pictures side by side, you’re bound to notice a significant difference. This is a great way to slow down time for just a moment with your family, and you’ll never regret having all of those pictures to look back at over the years.
4. Create a Family Bucket List
We all have some form of a bucket list, or list of things we aspire to do at least once in our lifetimes. But wouldn’t it be great to have a family-focused bucket list, separate from your own. The list would include fun things that you could do as a family and each year, you could pick an activity from the bucket list. You could even do that activity on a day of significance, like the anniversary of your loved one’s death, or their birthday.
Making new traditions isn’t always easy. You’re used to the old traditions, which included your departed loved one, so letting them go is easier said than done. But as you start to engage in these new traditions, you’ll realize that you still have something to celebrate: Your loving family, and the time you got to spend with your loved one here on Earth.
Related articles
- What’s on Your Bucket List (chickendance.wordpress.com)
- making the most of my life: bucket list. (alyssiadiaz.wordpress.com)
US Funerals Online
This is a very interesting piece, and I like the idea of writing letters and releasing them in a balloon. The way that we are memorializing our loved ones is certainly changing. We recently published a piece on this too: http://www.us-funerals.com/funeral-articles/celebration-of-life-or-traditional-funerals.html. Personally, I love the idea of a Bucket List and think everyone should have one, but I had not really thought about having a family bucket list. I also like the idea of planting seeds and butterfly releases!