The start of a new year often brings reflection – a moment to look back, take stock, and consider how we’d like to move forward. For anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, this can be a particularly emotional time. While others talk about new beginnings and personal goals, your thoughts might still rest on the person who is no longer here.
Yet, amidst the sadness, the new year can also offer a quiet opportunity for something deeply meaningful: resolutions that honour the memory of those we miss. These resolutions don’t need to be big or public. They can be gentle, personal acts that help you carry your loved one’s legacy into the year ahead - while also supporting your own healing.
Below are a few thoughtful ideas for New Year’s resolutions that focus on remembrance, connection and wellbeing.
Preserve family stories and memories
One of the most beautiful ways to keep a loved one’s spirit alive is to ensure their stories live on. Setting a resolution to record and share family memories can bring comfort and connection across generations.
You might:
- Write down favourite family stories in a notebook or journal
- Record conversations with older relatives, capturing their voices and laughter
- Create a digital memory folder with scanned letters, recipes or old photos
This process not only preserves precious memories but can also spark healing conversations. Sharing these stories keeps the person’s legacy alive and reminds everyone that grief, while painful, is also an expression of enduring love.
Create a memory book or box
Crafting a memory book or memory box can be a creative and therapeutic way to honour your loved one.
You could include:
- Photographs from special moments
- Handwritten notes or favourite sayings
- Small keepsakes – a piece of jewellery, a ticket stub, or a pressed flower
- Messages or drawings from family and friends.
For children and young people especially, a memory box can be a comforting tool to help process feelings of loss. It gives them a tangible way to revisit happy memories whenever they need reassurance.
If crafting isn’t your thing, you might opt for a digital memory book instead - there are many free online platforms where you can upload photos, write stories, and invite others to contribute.
Volunteer or fundraise in their memory
Turning grief into positive action can be one of the most fulfilling ways to honour someone’s life. You might choose to volunteer your time, raise money, or offer skills to a cause that held meaning for your loved one.
Ideas include:
- Supporting a local charity or community project they cared about
- Taking part in a sponsored walk, run, or event to raise funds in their name
- Offering a few hours each month at a local hospice, animal shelter, or food bank
Acts of kindness, however small, can bring a sense of purpose and connection – and help channel feelings of loss into something constructive. It’s also a way to share your loved one’s values and passions with others, ensuring their influence continues to ripple outward.
Create a living tribute
Planting something new can be a beautiful metaphor for remembrance. Consider starting a memorial garden, planting a tree, or even placing a few bulbs or wildflowers in their honour. Watching plants grow and change through the seasons can be a quiet reminder of renewal and continuity.
If space is limited, you might dedicate a houseplant or a small container garden. Every new leaf and bloom can feel like a gentle reminder of the love that still grows, even after loss
Take time to care for yourself
Grieving is not something that ends on a calendar date. It ebbs and flows, often resurfacing during anniversaries, birthdays, and milestones like the new year. One of the most meaningful resolutions you can make is simply to be kind to yourself.
Try to find small, nurturing routines that bring calm or comfort - whether that’s walking in nature, joining a bereavement group, or simply allowing yourself rest without guilt. Healing takes time, and it’s okay to move at your own pace.
Support when you need it
If you’re finding this time of year particularly difficult, remember that help is always available — and you don’t have to face things alone.
SAIF Care offers free and confidential bereavement counselling and support for people who have used an independent funeral director belonging to the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF). Their professional team can offer guidance, listening, and resources to help you through grief. Phone: 0800 917 7224
If you’re struggling to cope, the Samaritans are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, offering a safe space to talk, listen, and find support. Call 116 123 free of charge.
Other sources of comfort might include local bereavement support groups, places of worship, or counselling services that specialise in grief and loss. Reaching out is a sign of strength — not weakness.
Moving forward with meaning
As the new year unfolds, remember: there’s no right or wrong way to honour a loved one. Whether you preserve their stories, volunteer in their name, or simply light a candle on special days, what matters is the intention behind it.
Grief may change shape over time, but love remains constant. By finding gentle, purposeful ways to celebrate that love, you allow their memory to guide you into the future — not as something lost, but as something still deeply alive in your heart.
