As families gather to celebrate the holidays together, the searing loss of loved ones who are no longer with us is always felt. Their absence is a new pain to navigate and grief to tread through. And TikToker Chelsea Simons (@chelsea_simons525) knew that for her recently widowed grandmother, celebrating Christmas without her husband by her side would not be easy. So to make his memory last, she decided to gift her grandma with a Build-A-Bear programmed with her grandfather's voice.
"The firsts are always the hardest. This is our first Christmas without him, and i thought she’d love to hear his voice again," she captioned the video, which begins with Chelsea's grandma seated in a chair opening the gift alongside Chelsea's daughter. She instructs them to press the hand of the bear at the same time. "My grandma's reaction to hearing my grandpa's voice telling her goodnight for the first time since he passed in May broke my heart," she wrote.
It takes her grandmother a moment to process that it's her late husband's voice, but once she does she begins to cry, pressing the hand a few more times to hear it over and over. "Now you can have him with you every night to tell you 'goodnight'," Ashleigh says to her grandma before giving her a big hug.
@chelsea_simons525 The firsts are always the hardest. This is our first Christmas without him, and i thought she’d love to hear his voice again. #grief #loss #grandparents #christmas
The emotional video got many heartfelt comments. "Awww the way she's taking it in and processing all the emotions that unraveled when she heard his voice. I guarantee she thought she'd have to wait a while to hear that 'goodnight again ❤️," one TikToker commented, to which Chelsea replied, "I know it 😭." Another added, "I’m sobbing 😭 I know she’s going to bed every night with that bear🥺❤️🩹." When another viewer asked Chelsea how she got the recording into the Build-A-Bear, she explained, "I had a video of him and was able to just hold my phone up to their device that records the sound!"
Many people expressed how this thoughtful gift has helped them through their grief journeys. "I have similar like this but we videoed my stillborn daughters heartbeats! keep me going everytime i pressed her 🥰," one TikToker shared. Another wrote, "I got my Mom a bear as a child. She kept it until the day She passed. They even let Her get cremated with it. I then got myself a bear just like this with Her voice. It was the best decision."
Chelsea shared another video of her grandma becoming emotional at Thanksgiving earlier this year grieving her first Thanksgiving without her husband. Chelsea shared, "The first holiday with an empty seat at the table is the hardest. My sweet grandma is sure missing her husband of 62 years today. We tried to make today full of love and laughter for her, but he was still missed."
@chelsea_simons525 We’ll forever save you a seat at the table pop. 🤎 #missyou #grief #grandpa #thanksgiving
As the family sits around the table, her grandma wipes away tears and cracks a joke as she talks about the difficulty of the day without her husband. "There's a lot of good things about wine...it makes your eyes water," she says with a laugh. "If I can make it through this day, then maybe I can move ahead maybe to the next day. That's just the way it goes."
Chelsea's family was praised for giving her grandma space to talk about her grief. "I feel like when you're grieving, these conversations are so important. I grew up in a family that just didn't talk about it at all. Your grandma is lucky to have you guys ❤️," one viewer commented, and Chelsea replied, "We definitely talk about it. 🫶🏻."
Both videos are comforting reminders that the 'firsts' of holidays after loss can be made better with the love and support of family and friends.
Representative Image: The tip doesn't need to be big to make a difference. 
J. R. R. Tolkien in the 1920s
J.R.R Tolkien during his time in the British Army (1915-1920)
