Griefmas: making Christmas a little less shit
For those secretly dreading Christmas, I've got you covered!
Christmas should be about family, love, and joy, right? But, if you're anything like me, it wasn't that way for a long time. Even now, at 42, I wake up on Christmas morning with a heavy heart.
The good news is I've figured out a way to enjoy it despite needing to have a cry before I join in the fun. If you want some help navigating Christmas this year so that you can dread it a bit less and embrace it a bit more then sign up to my FREE 12 Days of Griefmas.
From 1st December – 11th December I’ll send you a daily prompt to help you get through the Christmas holiday period.
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You'll also be invited to a 12 Days of Griefmas Slack channel so you can share your progress with me and the others in the group if you'd like.
Then on 12th December you’ll be invited to join me for an interactive group online session to share what you’ve learned and what you’re taking forwards into the festive season.
Let’s make Christmas a little less shit together.
This is for you if...
You’ve experienced a personal loss and you’re dreading Christmas.
The personal loss you’ve gone through is making you wish Christmas just didn’t exist.
You don’t want to put on a brave face but you’re going to have to.
You’d much rather slack off the whole thing and book a flight to a deserted island far away but that isn’t an option.
You’re open to exploring your feelings around loss.
This is NOT for you if...
You don’t really want to or are not ready to explore your feelings around death/grief/loss etc.
You bought your presents in August, your tree and decorations will be up on 1st December and you know exactly what you’re doing for Christmas. Most importantly you can’t bloody wait.
What if I've gone through loss but no one died?
Loss is loss so I’d love you to join the challenge but just know that at least one of the daily prompts will be focused on the person/people who has/have passed away. You can switch this out for the thing you’ve lost (eg. a relationship ending, being made redundant, your landlord evicting you etc) and I’ll give some suggestions of how you could do that.
Why should you work with me on helping you to navigate Christmas after a personal loss?
In 2012 (when I was 31) my husband Abram passed away from cancer, he was just 38. It was super quick and unexpected. By that I mean we got the official diagnosis three days before he died and I was married for less than 24 hours before I officially became a widow.
Abram’s death pulled the rug from right under my feet and I had to begin again. I’ve spent the last 11 years figuring out how to do that. Losing Abram also brought up stuff around my baby brother, who very sadly passed away a week before Christmas (hence Christmas being a bit shit). Then four years after my husband Abram died his best friend Ben died unexpectedly.
I know loss and I’m okay with talking about it; I’m also interested in how we can either contract from it or expand with it. For the most part I chose to try and expand. It wasn’t easy and I didn’t do it in the most perfect way, but I learned a lot and now I’d like to share some of those lessons with you, starting with Christmas. Or Griefmas: making Chritmas a little less shit.
I did my coaching training with Relational Dynamics 1st 2019 and am a certified coach with Culture at Work. I've clocked around 300 hours of coaching and I'm a member of the Association of Coaching. I’m used to holding space for big feelings and supporting people with slowing down and tuning into their body to find out what’s really going on.
What do other people say?
Here’s what some people have said about their experiences of working with me as their coach:
“Jennie is one of the most caring people I know and I feel extremely grateful for her mentoring and closeness. Having lived in the UK for the past 8 years, I can confidently say, I wouldn't feel as settled and integrated as I do right now if I hadn't met her. A whole round exceptional human being. Much love <3<3<3” Sans Soucis, Musician
“Her generous nature and commitment to our community has nurtured me as recently as yesterday (as I’m writing this). Thank you Jennie xxx” Amy Gadiaga, Musician
“Working with Jennie was a really great experience, and allowed me to explore my feelings deeper than if I'd tried to do it on my own.” Naima Adams, Artist, DJ, Event Producer
What are the 12 Days of Griefmas?
From 1st December – 11th December I’ll send you a daily prompt to help you get through the Christmas holiday period.
You'll be able to share your progress on a special 12 Days of Griefmas Slack channel.
On 12th December you’ll be invited to join me for an interactive group online session to share what you’ve learned and what you’re taking forwards into the festive season.
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The online session on 12th December at 7:00 PM (GMT) and will last about an hour.
The daily prompts will cover things like:
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Tips and tricks for regulating your nervous system
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What you’re dreading about Christmas
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Who you’re missing this year
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Who can support you
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Boundaries
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Taking care of yourself
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Your needs
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Imagining your ideal Christmas
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Radical acceptance
Our interactive group online session will not be recorded and I will create a welcoming space for you to gently open up and reflect on your process. All I ask is that you come prepared to share something.