Holiday Grief Support & Coping Resources with Heather Stang
The holidays can stir up tender emotions when you are grieving. Moments that once felt comforting can now bring up sadness, longing, or even overwhelm. This page gathers some of my most supportive resources so you can move at your own pace, honor your love, and care for yourself through this season.
Whether you are navigating difficult relationships, missing someone special, or finding it hard to step into the celebrations, I hope you discover something here that brings ease to your heart. You deserve to feel supported, understood, and never alone.
Grief-Sensitive Holiday Planner
A free guided planner designed to help you move through the season with more ease. You can use it to set gentle boundaries, plan comforting rituals, and make space for both love and sorrow.
Mindfulness and Grief Podcast
These conversations offer practical tools and heartfelt guidance for anyone finding the holidays heavy. Listen while you go for a walk, sit with a warm drink, or take a quiet moment for yourself.
If You Need Ongoing Support, You’re Welcome in Awaken
Awaken is my online grief support community where you can learn simple practices, share with others who understand, and feel held throughout the season. It offers weekly guidance, gentle tools, and a quiet place to land when everything feels heavy. If you are looking for ongoing support, you are welcome to join us.
Holiday Season Coping Skills, Emotions, and Self-Care
Thanksgiving can bring joy for some people, but when you are grieving, it often highlights the empty places in your [Read More]
In the thick of grief during the holidays, let's cherish connection over perfection, embracing each moment as it comes with [Read More]
Grieving during the holidays can feel like an uphill battle. The season often brings heightened emotions, constant reminders of your [Read More]
Why the Day After Thanksgiving Can Feel So HeavyThe quiet after Thanksgiving Day can feel harder than the holiday itself. [Read More]
Planning for PeaceAs the holidays approach, many grieving hearts feel anxiety long before the celebrations begin. The lights, the music, [Read More]
Grief during the holidays can feel like a bright spotlight on what’s missing. When someone you love has died, the [Read More]
Grief changes the holiday landscape, but it doesn't have to dictate it. With compassionate planning, we can find a way [Read More]
Even a secular holiday like Labor Day can trigger unexpected grief. This marker in time signals the end of summer, [Read More]
The holiday season can be hard when you’re grieving, and if you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re definitely not alone. I created [Read More]
This is the time of year when many of us wonder how we are going to cope with holiday grief. [Read More]
I want to remind you of something incredibly important today: It's okay not to feel okay.Grief is a unique and [Read More]
If you are grieving during the holidays, you may be wondering what you can do to make it through. Here [Read More]
MINDFULNESS & GRIEF PODCAST EPISODE 23 Coping With Grief During The Holidays Mindful Tips & Tools with Heather Stang SHOW [Read More]
Grief And Family Christmas GatheringsEven the most loving families can experience friction when they are grieving, especially at Christmas. Family [Read More]
First Holidays Without a Loved One
The first Thanksgiving without your loved one may feel overwhelming, but you're not alone. What once may have been a [Read More]
Grief during the holidays isn’t about letting go—it’s about learning to tend to your heartache and carry the love forward [Read More]
The holiday season is often described as a time of joy, but for many bereaved people, it can be a [Read More]
Grief during the holidays can feel like an emotional rollercoaster, pulling you between heartache and moments of bittersweet memory. But [Read More]
Navigating Difficult Relationships During the Holidays
The holidays have a way of magnifying everything—joy, grief, connection, and loneliness. For those of us navigating estranged relationships, it’s [Read More]
Grief rewrites our address book, as the saying goes, and the holidays can really underscore the difficulties in our relationships. [Read More]
Deciding not to attend holiday events while grieving isn’t about saying no to people you care about. It’s about saying [Read More]
Every holiday season, I work with my clients to create strategies for reducing holiday anxiety and navigating this emotionally charged [Read More]
The holidays can feel like a minefield of emotions when you’re grieving. Thanksgiving, in particular, brings particular challenges—family traditions, expectations, [Read More]
The key to a calm, connected holiday season lies in clear, compassionate communication. Boundaries aren’t walls—they’re pathways to peace and [Read More]
Meditation & Journaling Prompts for Holiday Grief
Self-care for holiday grief doesn’t have to be complicated or take up a lot of energy or time. Even just [Read More]
Even a secular holiday like Labor Day can trigger unexpected grief. This marker in time signals the end of summer, [Read More]
The holidays can amplify the ache of grief, but through compassion meditations, you can create a space for healing, self-kindness, [Read More]
Holiday grief journal prompts give your heart a safe place to land. They help you honor your loved one, explore [Read More]
Even though Thanksgiving can be a tender and challenging time when you’re grieving, this meditation offers a way to transform [Read More]
Even if Thanksgiving felt like a disaster, it holds valuable lessons for us. As we approach Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, [Read More]
The winter holiday season is supposed to be about cheerful things – like loving your neighbor and sending compassion to [Read More]
Holiday Traditions & Rituals for Grief & Remembrance
“When you are grieving, even the most familiar parts of the holiday season can feel unfamiliar. The songs, the scents, [Read More]
Christmas is a season of memories—both joyful and bittersweet. When you’re grieving the loss of someone special, holiday traditions, festive [Read More]
In this article, I’ve listed 15 ways to honor your deceased loved one and organized it into three sections—individual, family, [Read More]
The holiday season, especially Thanksgiving, can be one of the hardest times of the year for those who are grieving. [Read More]
Supporting Children Through Holiday Grief
Grief during the holidays creates a perfect storm where joyous memories crash against reality and expectations. This emotional clash can [Read More]
Thanksgiving is a holiday that centers on family gatherings, shared meals, and giving thanks. But for children who are grieving, [Read More]
New Years Grief
When you’re grieving, the New Year is not about pushing yourself harder; it’s about survival, self-compassion, and creating space for [Read More]
Grief in the new year is never easy. I have been writing about New Year's Grief for a decade, and [Read More]
The At-Home New Year's Eve Grief Retreat Schedule Is Below. Get The Full Playlist When You Join Awaken Online Grief Support. As [Read More]
Ask questions and share your comments – just click on the F for Facebook in the video which will open [Read More]
It’s tradition that on New Year’s Day we contemplate what we want to be different in the coming year. We [Read More]
I needed to be alone so he could come back. This was the beginning of my year of magical thinking. [Read More]