How to Remember Loved Ones This Holiday Season

Yes, of course, I realize it’s only October. But with the holidays coming up fast, it’s the perfect time to strategize how you’re going to honor and celebrate the family and friends you never want to forget.

Halloween

Stir recollections of Halloween's past and make new memories by attending unusual events. You can also give cherished heirlooms a creepy Halloween makeover.

Thanksgiving

Carve out time to create a special holiday playlist. Cooking also connects us to loved ones. Make a cherished dessert or frame a love-worn handwritten recipe card, using it as a sentimental centerpiece. 

Gift-Giving in December

Surprise a family member with a one-of-a-kind piece of commemorative jewelry or personalize children’s games with photographs of loved ones who’ve died. 

Inspired to learn even more about ways to keep your loved one’s memory alive during the holidays and rest of the year? I offer 85 concrete and creative “Forget Me Not” opportunities in my book, Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive.

Allison Gilbert is co-author of Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America's Most-Read Woman, the first biography of American writer Elsie Robinson. Her previous books include, Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive. On Allison’s popular grief and resilience blog, she features Q & A’s with some of the most notable names in our culture today including, Arianna Huffington, Jon Stewart, and bestselling authors Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Dani Shapiro, and Susan Orlean. She is host of "Women Journalists of 9/11: Their Stories,” a 20-part documentary series produced in collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Featured journalists include Savannah Guthrie, Maggie Haberman, Linda Wertheimer, Dana Bash, and many others.

Please take a moment to follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. She’s everywhere as “agilbertwriter."