How to Honor a Pet at Christmas After They've Passed

Christmas is a time for gathering with loved ones and celebrating their presence in our lives. If you’ve recently lost a pet, this can be a season of grief, highlighted by the joy others are experiencing. It’s normal for the holidays, and especially Christmas, to be challenging during grief. Losing a pet is a large loss, and can be quite devastating, depending on the individual in question. Even if it’s been years since you lost your pet, you might be remembering them during the holiday season. In this article, we’ll be exploring ways to honor your beloved pet at Christmas time. 

12 Ways to Honor Your Pet During Christmas

Rituals can allow us to express our grief, as well as our gratitude for the joy those we lost brought us. Remember your pet and celebrate Christmas at the same time in these twelve ways (for the twelve days of Christmas). Choose all, one, or none. If nothing on this list speaks to you, hopefully, it will inspire you to create your own special way of honoring your pet.

• Christmas tree urn

With the Living Urn’s patented BioUrn tree planting system, you can plant a Christmas tree with your pet’s ashes, so that they can spend the holidays with you every year. Decorating their tree will give you a special time to remember your beloved friend. The Living Urn’s BioUrn is easy to use, even if you’re not a gardener. 

• Pet urn

Pet urns are a wonderful way to keep your pet close by after they passed. If you had a dog, you could include your dog urn in your decorating scheme as a way to include your dog in the Christmas festivities. An indoor dog urn, like this ceramic one from the Living Urn, could be planted with Christmas plants, like a poinsettia, or Christmas cactus.

• Pet memorial stones

A pet memorial stone would make an excellent Christmas gift for yourself this year. Your memorial stone can come with a pre-selected saying, or be customized by you. This stone could be lovingly placed anywhere you’d like to remember your pet, like under the Christmas tree, by their favorite window, or in their favorite spot outside. 

• Custom pet Christmas ornament

Celebrate Christmas and your love for your pet with a custom ornament of them. It could be painted, hold a picture, or otherwise display your pet. It’s sure to warm your heart each time you look at it. 

• Display a Christmas themed photo of your pet

If you have a picture of your pet during the Christmas season, display it prominently to remind you of fond holiday memories. It could be as simple as putting it on the refrigerator with a Christmas magnet. Or you could blow up the photo and have it professionally framed.

• Go to your pet’s favorite place in nature

Give yourself a rest from the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season and go to your pet's favorite spot in nature. (If your pet was an indoor pet, go to your favorite nature spot.) This will give you time and space to remember your pet and have your feelings, whatever they may be.

• Make their favorite food

There’s probably food that your pet craved. Making their favorite food can be a special way to honor your pet and have them participate in the Christmas fun. You might need to adapt their food for human palates, for example, to honor a dog who loved peanut butter, you could make peanut butter cookies. 

• Donate time to a local animal shelter

Being of service to others is a classic way to help with grief. If you’re up for it, you might enjoy helping out at your local animal shelter. Not only will you have the company of the animals, but you’ll also be around other people. This can help with any loneliness that might crop up during this season. 

• Offer to pet sit for friends

If you’re staying in town for the holidays, you can offer to pet sit for friends leaving town. Not only will this give you a routine and interaction with a lovable pet, but it’s a huge help to your friends. 

• Create a photo album

Creating an album with photos of your pet gives you a way to remember your special friend. You can leave it out on the coffee table because there are likely others who want to remember them too. 

• Custom pet art

Similar to a custom Christmas ornament, one way to honor your pet is with a custom art piece of them. Artists will use a photo of your pet and paint, draw, wood carve, etc a beautiful image of your pet. This will allow you to remember your pet year-round, but especially around Christmas time.  

• Adopt another animal when you’re ready

When you’re ready, begin the cycle of love again with a new animal. Many animals need homes, so not only will you be gaining a companion, you’ll be making the world a better place.