This year, the deaths of over 60,000 people, in Scotland, will mean that more than 300,000 bereaved children, young people and adults will be facing their first Christmas without a loved one. Many of them will feel utterly isolated and alone even in the company of others.

Two years ago we opened our Helpline on Christmas Day and, Fiona, our first Christmas caller explained to us that, although she was surrounded by family and friends, she felt very alone and didn't want to burden her family with her sadness on a day of celebration.

That day, our Helpline was a lifeline for Fiona offering her a safe place to share her burden of sadness and loneliness with someone who was there, for a time, to help carry that burden with her. Not bringing that sadness into the family celebrations was important to Fiona, and our Helpline helped her achieve that.

We may catch our breath as we hear the first strains of Fairytale of New York on the radio, or in a shop store, and know that there will soon be no escape for our ears. Shop shelves will become laden and aisles strewn with all manner of Christmas things. Our TVs will start to fill with familiar sights and sounds the Coca Cola lorry offering hope that holidays are coming" and John Lewis tugging heartstrings once again. Cost of living crisis, or not, these companies compete hard for our trade and can make Christmas unescapable at every turn even if we want to escape.

For those who are grieving, the build-up and anticipation of the first Christmas, without their loved one, can be brutal.

Empty chairs at Christmas tables; gifts wrapped that will never be opened; traditions that wont be marked as they once were; cards that wont be exchanged; arguments that wont be argued; those would have been just perfect gifts that are seen but not purchased; favourite Christmas songs playing unannounced. Grieving people can often feel forced to play the hardest game of Charades that they have ever had to play.

It can be relentless and deeply painful.

And its not just the first Christmas... its the second... or third... the fifth... or tenth, whatever the number Christmas can be expectedly, and unexpectedly, difficult whatever the year since the death of a loved one.

We, at Cruse Scotland, believe that no one should struggle alone in their grief, and we want to ensure that our Helpline remains open, and free, for anyone who wants, and needs, that space to talk. We cannot do that without the generous support of others.

For every £10 that we raise, we can provide a one-hour Helpline call a lifeline to someone just like Fiona allowing a little light to shine in the darkness of the isolation and loneliness that grief can bring for many.

A donation of £50 could cover the costs of a 1-to-1 bereavement counselling session for someone, offering hope when the future seems empty.

£100 could train a Bereavement Helpline volunteer who will be there to listen and support people like Fiona, and who will support 200 people over the phone in a year.

Please give what you can to help us be that lifeline for many.

To find the bereavement support that is right for you, please visit: www.crusescotland.org.uk