Dave and Jenny Marrs continue to work through the grief of Dave’s mom’s passing this year and are feeling the loss even more during the holidays. The HGTV stars share how they plan to celebrate Christmas and honor her.
Dave & Jenny Marrs Share ‘There’s Still Joy,’ Despite Loss
During a December 2025 interview with “Dayton 24/7 Now,” Dave and Jenny discussed their show “Fixture to Fabulous” and their family life.
This season, the couple navigates the holidays without Dave’s mom, Donna, who passed away this year.
“We lost Dave’s mom this year, and this was our first holiday season without her,” Jenny said, as she started to get choked up.
The HGTV star continued, “She was the fun Nana who orchestrated all the memories and brought Santa to her house on Christmas Eve.”
“We’re going to celebrate and honor her memory and we’re going to just get together,” Dave shared.
“It’s going to be a different season, but I think there’s still joy,” Jenny added.
Jenny Marrs Is Focusing on Having a ‘Gentle’ Holiday Season
In a December 6 Instagram post, Jenny addressed being “gentle” during the holidays as they navigate the grief of losing loved ones.
“The Advent season is sacred, yet my calendar is busting at the seams. Even still, I want to soak this season in as fully as possible and am finding myself saying ‘no’ often,” Jenny wrote in the caption. “I want to create margin when it’s possible and not get caught up in the stress of my never-ending ‘to-do’ list.”
The HGTV star noted, “At the heart of it, what I really want is a gentle Christmas.”
She continued, “I want to be gentle with the seemingly pressing needs, asking: what can fall off the list? Gentle with myself as I navigate our first Christmas without Donna and Bob and Jill and Nana and our Dolly-girl. Gentle with my kids, knowing they are carrying deep grief that presents itself in unexpected ways. And, gentle with Dave as he faces the impossible — a Christmas without the one who created the magic his whole life — his mom.”
“I have a new perspective this year, and yet, I can walk in this season gripping ever-tightly to the Hope,” Jenny shared. “After all, we celebrate gentleness embodied — a baby born in humble circumstances who grew into a man who described himself as humble and gentle. The One who wanted to teach us ‘the unforced rhythms of grace.’ (Matthew 11:29, MSG).”
She added, “Join me, let’s walk in those unforced rhythms of grace and fight against the pressures to do more, buy more, be more. May this Christmas be a gentle, humble, and holy one. 🤍”
My dad passed away in 1999 about 2 weeks before Christmas. My mom was inconsolable and I was numb. I had to handle all the arrangements because my mom just wasn’t able to do much of anything at the time. I don’t know how I got through it. I don’t even remember anything before the end of the next January. I call that time period a grief coma.