10 Meaningful Ways to Honor a Passed Loved One During the Holiday Season
The holidays have a way of illuminating both joy and ache.
While the world moves into celebration, your heart may be holding memories, longing, or questions about how to keep a loved one close after they’ve crossed to the other side.
What many people don’t realize is this:
love doesn’t end when physical life ends.
Connection continues. And the holiday season can become a sacred time to honor, remember, and even communicate with the ones you miss.
Here are ten meaningful ways to honor your passed loved one during the holidays — ways that create healing, closeness, and space for their presence to be felt.
1. Light a Candle in Their Honor
Lighting a candle is one of the most powerful spiritual gestures you can make.
As the flame flickers, imagine it as a doorway — a symbol of their continued presence and the light they still bring into your life.
You can keep the candle lit during gatherings, meals, or quiet evenings.
2. Create a Memory Ornament
Choose or create an ornament that represents them — a photo, a symbol, or something tied to a memory.
Hang it on your tree or place it somewhere meaningful.
Each time you see it, allow it to spark a moment of connection.
3. Set a Place for Them at the Table
This simple act acknowledges that while they are no longer here physically, their spirit remains woven into your family and traditions.
Some people place a flower, a candle, or a handwritten note at the seat.
It’s not about sadness — it’s about remembrance.
4. Write Them a Holiday Letter
Grief often holds words that never got to be spoken.
Write them a letter sharing:
Your year
Your feelings
What you miss
What you’re proud of
What you hope they’re witnessing
This creates emotional release and strengthens your bond with them on the other side.
5. Play Their Favorite Holiday Song or Movie
Music and film hold emotion, memory, and resonance.
Choose something they loved and let it fill your home.
This is a beautiful way to let their energy be part of your celebration.
6. Perform an Act of Kindness in Their Name
Give back in a way that aligns with who they were.
You might donate a gift, volunteer, or simply do something kind for a stranger.
Acts of service send ripples of love out into the world — the same love they shared while they were here.
7. Visit a Place That Reminds You of Them
It could be a beach, a trail, a café, or even a part of your home.
Be present there.
Talk to them.
Feel into memories that come forward.
Spirits often draw close during moments like this.
8. Make or Eat Their Favorite Holiday Recipe
Food carries story and tradition.
Baking or cooking something they loved invites their essence into the room — and often brings comfort, laughter, and shared memories.
Some people even set aside a small portion “for them,” symbolically.
9. Create a “Memory Box” You Add to Each Year
Fill it with:
Photos
Notes
Little reminders
Stories
Pieces of their handwriting
Make it a living tribute you return to each season. It’s a way to continue the relationship rather than “move on” from it.
10. Invite Signs and Connection
The holiday season is rich with spiritual activity and thinning veils.
You can invite your loved one in by saying something like:
“If you can, show me you’re near. I’m open to receiving your signs.”
Signs may appear as:
Songs
Feathers
Lights flickering
Dreams
Sudden warmth
Synchronicities
A familiar scent
This is not imagination — it’s love communicating across dimensions.
Final Thoughts: Grief Is Love With No Place to Go — Until You Give It One
Honoring your loved one isn’t about holding onto sorrow.
It’s about acknowledging the truth that love is eternal, and connection continues long after physical form.
The holidays can become a time of healing, reflection, and deep spiritual closeness when you intentionally create space for remembrance.
Your loved one is not gone — just transformed.
They walk with you into every season.
And so it is,
R. Thorpe
Ronda Thorpe is a Psychic Evidential Medium, Energy Healer, and Spiritual Mentor based in San Diego, CA, offering readings and guidance to clients worldwide.
