Christmas was a really shit time of year for a long time. Every year I couldn’t figure out why I found it so sad and depressing but after my husband Abram passed away in 2012, I finally started to figure it out. Death, loss and heartache, baby.
My baby brother died a week before Christmas just after my fourth birthday. My parents split and I didn't spend Christmas with my other brother for 10 years. Just as I was starting to feel like Christmas was something I could get into, my husband Abram died followed by his best friend Ben four years later. It's not been easy but I've figured out ways of embracing Christmas despite the losses.
In fact I kind of love Christmas these days. I genuinely didn't think I would ever get to a place where I'd be that person who bought a tree and decorated it but I am! It's taken years to get to this point so I can assure you that I'm a veteran when it comes to figuring out how to enjoy Christmas when you've spent decades dreading it.
You may be like me or you may just be experiencing a blip because like me you've had to go through the grieving process and Christmas just doesn't feel the same anymore. If this sounds like you then please think about joining my Free 12 Days of Griefmas Challenge: making Christmas a little less shit.
So what is it?
Between 1-11th December you’ll receive a daily prompt consisting of tips and tricks that I've applied to my own life (and Christmas) which will cover things like:
What it is you’re dreading about Christmas
Taking some time to think about the person you’ve lost
What you need to protect yourself
Boundaries
How to take care of yourself
A bit of future focusing
Radical acceptance
They're the sort of things I wish someone could have shared with me years ago.
Then we’ll pull it all together in preparation for our group online session on 12th December from 7:00PM - 8:00PM (GMT), which will be a great way to connect with others and share learnings. The group online session won't be recorded so that we can speak freely.
There's also a 12 Days of Griefmas Slack Group you can sign up to if you'd like to share your progress with me (and others) along the way.
By the end of the 12 days you'll have some tools in your toolbox to navigate the Christmas period in a way that feels right for you.
Sounds like something I need, how do I sign up?
Click on the link HERE, complete the sign up form by 30th November and you're in. Hopefully see you there!
In the meantime just know this one thing: whatever you decide to do this Christmas it will get better. I know it probably doesn't feel that way right now but it will. You just have to give it time. Nothing is permanent.
Love, Jennie
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