Christian Memorial Gifts for a First Christmas Without Them

The first Christmas after a loss is its own kind of hard. The decorations come out and one stocking stays in the box. Everyone is cheerful, and the person who is grieving feels it most in the middle of all that cheer.

If someone you love is facing that this year, you are probably looking for a way to say I remember them too — without making the day any heavier. This is written for you.

What a memorial gift is for

It is not meant to fix anything. Nothing does. A good memorial gift does three smaller things:

• It says the person’s absence has been noticed. Grieving people often feel everyone else has moved on.
• It points to hope without pretending the loss is not real.
• It lasts. Grief does not end in January, and neither should the gift.

Scenes that speak to loss

Woman Enters the Kingdom of Heaven is the piece I would choose for someone who has lost a mother, a grandmother, a wife or a sister. It is not sad. It is a homecoming. It is also available as a printable.

Psalm 23 — as a framed canvas or a fine art print — is the psalm read at more funerals than any other, for good reason: “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead is the story where Jesus weeps at a friend’s grave before He calls him out of it. It gives a grieving person permission to do both — to mourn and to hope.

The Good Shepherd and Psalm 121 are gentler choices — good when you are not sure how much someone wants to talk about it.

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” — Revelation 21:4, NKJV

Which format

For someone living alone, a smaller piece is often kinder — an 8″×10″ fine art print at $34.99 sits on a bedside table or a shelf beside a photograph, and they can choose a frame when they are ready. For a family home where the whole family is grieving together, a framed canvas from $99.99 becomes a place on the wall where that person is remembered. If you are unsure about size, our sizing guide helps.

How to give it

• Give it before Christmas Day, not in the middle of it. A quiet visit in early December is easier on everyone than a gift opened in front of the whole family.
• Say their name. Write it in the card. Most grieving people desperately want to hear the name of the person they lost — and almost nobody says it.
• Don’t explain the scripture. Let the piece speak. One line about the person is enough.

Timing

Canvas and fine art prints are made to order, and I won’t promise a delivery date — it depends on your address and the carrier. If you want to give it in early December, order in November. There is more in what to know before ordering. If time has run out, a printable downloads immediately and can be framed the same day.

If the grief is yours

It is fine to buy one of these for your own home. Some people find it helps to have a place their eyes can rest on when the season gets loud.

“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.” — Psalm 34:18, NKJV

He is near this Christmas too. Even this one.

Browse: Framed canvas prints from $99.99 · Fine art prints from $34.99 · Printables from $7.99. Free US shipping.